Board adopts four discipline-appeal resolutions, overturns one and upholds three

The Utica City School District Board of Education on Wednesday considered four appeals of disciplinary decisions made by the superintendent and adopted four resolutions, overturning one penalty and upholding three.

Chair said in reading the first resolution that "the disciplinary action imposed by the superintendent is overturned" and that the board "directs the superintendent to expunge the suspension from the student disciplinary record." The chair declared the motion carried "four–zero."

On a second appeal the chair read that "the board finds competent substantial evidence that the student engaged in the charge misconduct and deems the penalty imposed appropriate given the nature of the misconduct." The chair called the motion carried; a numerical tally for that vote was not specified in the transcript.

A third appeal was considered in the same manner; the board again found competent and substantial evidence to uphold the superintendent's penalty and the chair announced the motion carried.

For the fourth appeal the chair asked "All in favor?" and recorded "Aye," adding that there were no opposed votes. "All four resolutions have been adopted with regard to student discipline," the chair said.

The resolutions were presented under Section 3,214 of the New York Education Law and addressed whether the administrative record contained sufficient evidence to support the superintendent's disciplinary decisions. The board's first action included an explicit direction to expunge a suspension from the student's record when the board found the record did not establish the charged misconduct.

Following the vote, the board moved on to a public budget hearing. The board did not provide individual member roll-call names tied to each vote in the transcript; where a numerical tally was announced it is reported above.