Suspended New York state principal pulled in $606,000 during paid leave: report
Principal Crystal Boling-Barton's lawyer says his client would prefer to be back leading a school
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A suspended principal from Buffalo, New York, on paid administrative leave since 2017, raked in $606,000 during the past four years – and the district has yet to hold a hearing on the effort to fire her, according to a report.
The Buffalo News reported that the process to fire Crystal Boling-Barton has been moving at a snail’s pace even considering the usual "slow process under the best of circumstance." The paper said the COVID-19 outbreak has also played a role in the delay.
Boling-Barton, the former principal at McKinley High School, was accused of misappropriating money, a claim that she has denied. WGRZ reported in 2019 that some of the funds in question are tied to purchases for an African American exhibit at the school. The paper said Barton is accused of misusing about $10,000 over three years. No criminal charges were ever filed, the report said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The station said the principal was accused of reimbursing herself thousands of dollars without appropriate documentation.
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Robert L. Boreanaz, her attorney, told the newspaper that he is confident that his client will be vindicated and will return to school. His client has accused the district’s superintendent of discrimination and harassment. The school district and Boreanaz did not immediately respond to after-hours emails from Fox News. The district denied her claims, the report said.
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The four-and-a-half years' worth of paychecks opens the school district to criticism. A district spokeswoman told the paper in an email that they have "been unable to move the needle on the expedition of the 3020-a for Crystal Boling-Barton," a reference to the termination procedures in New York state.
"We feel it has been dragged out to the financial detriment of the district," she told the paper.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Boreanaz told the paper that his client would prefer to be back leading a school, which "she's done for the past 30-plus years.