Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent to retire in June

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams-Knight will be retiring at the end of the school year.

Her intent to retire letter will be submitted at a school board meeting Wednesday evening, she said during a press conference Wednesday. School Board President Dr. Kathy Evans-Brown said they will accept the letter.

June 30 will be Williams-Knight’s last day. The school board is hoping to name a new superintendent in March.

Williams-Knight was appointed to superintendent of the state’s second-largest school district in July 2022 after more than 30 years of working for Buffalo Public Schools. She attended K-12 in the district before rising to principal, interim superintendent and then superintendent.

In 2023, Williams-Knight’s contract was extended until June of 2026 and came with a nearly $7,000 pay raise.

Williams-Knight said she is hoping to spend more time with her family, but that no time will ever be the right time to retire. She is choosing to retire in June because she said the district is in “a very good place.”

The next superintendent will be the district’s 10th in 21 years.

Dr. Kriner Cash served in the role prior to Dr. Williams-Knight. He was appointed in 2015 and resigned three weeks to the day after a 14-year-old student was stabbed ten times outside of McKinley High School. He previously worked as a chief of accountability and system-wide performance for Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida.

Prior to Cash, many served as Buffalo Public School Superintendent for a year or less. James Williams, serving from 2005 to 2011, was forced out of his role.

“The really amazing part of all of the career that I have had is that in some small way I do believe that I have contributed to the betterment of the lives of our children, and that will stay with me for a lifetime,” Williams-Knight said.

The school board plans to look both internally and externally to find Williams-Knight’s replacement.

View the whole press conference in the video player below.

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Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University.

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