BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The calls for Nardin Academy President Sandra Betters to resign continue to grow as stakeholders announce the withholding of future financial support.
On Thursday, Nardin Academy High School students and a few elementary school students walked out cheering and waving signs in support of their teachers. The students told 7 News that since president Betters was hired two years ago, things have deteriorated, with some faculty members leaving. Those that spoke out said they have learned Betters’ leadership has created a “toxic” environment.
On Friday, the Nardin Academy Board of Trustees issued a statement calling for the immediate resignation of Betters and the Board Chair. The statement was attributed to nine trustees and said other trustees supported the call for the resignations but chose not to provide their names for personal reasons.
You can read the full statement below:
“The current situation and subsequent public attention of Nardin Academy has damaged the integrity and reputation of our historic institution.
As such, we are calling for the immediate resignation of the President and Board Chair.
We do not take such an action lightly, but as members of the Nardin Academy Board of Trustees, our primary responsibility is making decisions that are in the best interests of Nardin Academy and our students.
In this instance, it is in the best interests of Nardin Academy and our students that these resignations be immediately tendered.”
On Saturday, the Kenneth L. and Katherine G. Koessler Family Foundation Inc. issued a statement announcing it was joining the nine trustees in calling for the resignation of Betters and the Board Chair. The statement also said it would be withholding any future financial support of Nardin Academy until a change in leadership is made. You can read the full statement below:
“The Kenneth L. and Katherine G. Koessler Family Foundation Inc. joins the nine Nardin Academy Board of Trustees as well as faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders such as the Keane family who have called for the immediate resignation of the President and Board of Trustees Chair.”
The Kenneth L. and Katherine G. Koessler Family Foundation Inc. has a long history of philanthropic support of Nardin Academy, but we feel very strongly that until this change in leadership has been made, we will be withholding any future financial support of Nardin Academy.”
In addition to the philanthropic support, our board includes many former students and past trustees of Nardin Academy.”
We would not be making such a difficult decision without the best interests of Nardin Academy and its students in mind.”
On Sunday, a statement was released on behalf of Daniel, Leslie, Stephanie and Victoria Keane announcing they were also joining the calls for the resignation of Betters and the Board Chair and also announced the withholding of future financial support until a leadership change is made. You can read the full statement below:
"We join the nine Nardin board members and other Nardin benefactors in withholding our future support for the Academy until the Board of Trustees makes an immediate leadership change. The students and their families deserve better. Faculty deserve better. Nardin deserves better.
Following a leadership change, we will be actively involved in Nardin’s renewal, which will benefit the entire community.
We understand how difficult this situation is for everyone involved. It is heartbreaking for us to witness the turmoil surrounding our beloved Nardin Academy and what it has represented: a center of academic excellence rooted in the Catholic faith that reinforced the values of loving and caring for others. For generations, Nardin has been a special place where students have thrived. In the classroom, on stage, on the playing field, and in the community, its students and graduates have represented the very best of Nardin.
Our family has an intense passion for Nardin Academy. Stephanie and Victoria, recent graduates, received excellent educations and like so many Nardin students, they loved and respected their teachers and were well prepared by them for college and life beyond the walls of the Academy.
As a family who has long supported Nardin, we are very concerned about the large number of faculty who have left their positions, creating a void that will be difficult to fill. Nardin’s faculty members make significant sacrifices to work there, and we are grateful for the nurturing environment they fostered and the tremendous impact they had on Stephanie and Victoria’s Nardin experience.
The Nardin Community distinguishes this high school from others in Buffalo. It is disheartening to see the stark alteration to the schools foundation."
The school sent the following letter to its community which was provided to 7 News as a statement on behalf of the school:
Statement From Elizabeth Dodge, U.S. Provincial, Daughters of the Heart of Mary and Tish Van Dyke, Chair, Nardin Academy Board of Trustees Regarding Calls For Leadership Change at Nardin Academy
"Nine members of the 24-member Board of Trustees of Nardin Academy recently called for the resignations of the school’s president, Dr. Sandra Betters, and the Chair of its Board of Trustees, Tish Van Dyke, despite a pending formal independent assessment of Nardin’s leadership, including Dr. Betters and the entire Board of Trustees.
The very public nature of the those demands, numerous misconceptions and half-truths, as well as recent news coverage has been severely damaging to the Academy’s reputation and has divided our community.
As an ex officio member of Nardin’s Board, I (Elizabeth), have grave concerns about the actions of the minority of the Board who are pressing for Sandra’s and Tish’s removal. At times, their words and actions have been deeply cruel and damaging. As Trustee Larry Quinn said in a recent email to fellow Board members, “You have just destroyed the reputation of a very decent, committed woman [Tish Van Dyke], who has spent thousands of hours working on our behalf to help and assist Nardin. The endless string of accusations and innuendo have had their effect, you have broken our chairman – one of the most decent women I have ever met.”
Simply put, this kind of behavior does not hold true to our mission.
When concerns about Dr. Betters were first raised by certain members of Nardin’s faculty and other stakeholders, the Board acted responsibly to engage outside counsel to assess the basis for the concerns. The Board agreed to a sound process for the completion of the assessment and the delivery of the final report of counsel, in accordance with customary protocols established by attorneys who specialize in this sensitive area.
Now, certain Board members have publicly expressed a desire for the Board to call for the resignations of our school’s President and Board Chair before the assessment has been completed by counsel. This rogue statement, released to media without Board consensus or approval, has done further damage to Nardin’s reputation. Furthermore, the demands to depart from our agreed upon process have emboldened members of our community to publicly criticize Sandra, and those criticisms have been echoed most recently by some students, in full view of the community served by the school and its stakeholders. This irresponsible behavior has further damaged our school.
The demands of some Board members pressuring others for action before the assessment report is released is ill-advised and is simply poor governance. We have no doubt that in their minds, these Board members believe they are acting in the best interest of Nardin. However, their precipitous demands for action are not supported by an appropriate inquiry (and subsequent final report) and demonstrate blatant disregard for our agreed-upon process and, more importantly, the reputation of the beloved and outstanding learning community that Nardin represents.
At the end of the day, being a Catholic school requires more than simply teaching doctrine. It means that all those in our community—faculty, staff, and Board members—must behave in a manner that is congruent with respect and appreciation for others, even when we disagree.
We are so grateful for the generosity and contributions of Nardin’s donors and benefactors and recognize the tremendous impact they have had. We also know that Nardin’s mission and our dedication to our Catholic identify must always supersede any other influence, including monetary ones. Nardin’s commitment to living our Christian values of inclusivity, equity, and fairness can never be based on financial factors. Nardin Academy bears the name of its foundress, Ernestine Nardin, a Daughter of the Heart of Mary, and we are committed to protecting and maintaining her vision of educating children in a faith-based culture.
We have every confidence that the best interests of Nardin will be served if we as a Board adhere to reasonable standards of good governance and fairness. We reject the urging of those who would have us short circuit our agreed process of deliberating the important issues before us. And we look forward to working with the entire Board to carefully examine the findings of the final assessment report, which will be completed and issued to our Assessment Task Force shortly.
We also reject recent speculation that we received advanced knowledge of the findings in the assessment, or that either of us have predetermined our position on how Nardin should move forward. That speculation is false and counterproductive. To our knowledge, no one on the Nardin Board has seen the report, and accusations that we will do anything other than carefully consider the report’s findings and then act accordingly and responsibly are off base.
We look forward to healing divisions on the Board and in our school community. We also look forward to tackling the important issues that loom before our school. We recognize that Nardin is in a precarious place right now, and that some in the community may be actively working to undermine the school. However, we are committed to regaining the trust of our stakeholders, uniting around Nardin’s mission as a Catholic institution, and most importantly, continuing to provide excellent education to the children in our care."
