An acting superintendent of schools has been named by the Newburgh School Board to take over for the suspended superintendent who is now being investigated. Balmville Middle School Principal Lisa Buon will take over the office on Feb. 11.

Buon does not appear to have the full support of the board or a coalition of parents and taxpayers who attended Tuesday's raucous meeting.

During the five-hour board meeting, four board members scolded the other five members for: voting last week to suspend Superintendent Jackielyn Manning-Campbell, voting to seek out bids for a forensic audit of the district's books and voting in Buon.

The five-member group supporting those measures have not accused any administrators of wrongdoing, only stating that they have a duty to explore financial irregularities in the 2024-2025 budget. An auditor's report late last year stated that the district's current budget has a multimillion-dollar surplus, not a deficit, as administrators predicted last spring before it was approved by the previous school board. Several students and parents told News 12 that after hours of arguments involving board members and the audience, they felt as though the board is losing focus. “This is about education. This is about teaching children," City Councilman Omari Shakur said Wednesday. Shakur said he decided after the meeting to run for a seat on the school board this spring.

“No agendas and no sides, except for the children," he said when asked if he will support either of the two voting blocks. "That’s what this is about at the Board of Education: educating our children.” Dr. Buon has also publicly quarreled with the board and administrators during her time as a principal in the district. After the district suddenly reassigned her in 2019 from South Middle School to be a principal at Balmville Middle School, Buon filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination. Kwai McFarlane said she hopes Buon can help improve overall decorum and ease tension between the two voting blocks. McFarlane, with her 9-year-old sister next to her, said the board and administrators are doing a disservice to students by continuing with their public spats.

“If the egos are outshining the adolescents at this point, then I don’t even know what to do at this point," McFarlane said, "because they’re the ones making the decisions.” Buon declined comment for Wednesday's story, but said she would be prepared to take some questions on Thursday.

Until Buon takes over on Feb. 11, Deputy District Superintendent Onyx Peterson will lead the district's main office. It is still unclear whether Buon's legal fight with the district has been resolved. Buon's attorney has not yet responded to News 12's inquiry about the lawsuit which names the district and top administrators.