After months of deliberation and scathing public criticism - much of it directed at Rochester Schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard - the Rochester School Board backed away from approving some of the 170 teacher layoffs that Brizard had proposed.

The change of heart came weeks after both the Rochester School Board and City Council approved the district's 2009-2010 budget, where cuts to teaching staff were clear.

In a 5-to-1 vote, the board approved cutting 140 teachers districtwide in all subject areas. (Board members Tom Brennan was the lone no vote and Cynthia Elliott was absent.)

Before votes were taken for music teachers, social workers, and psychologists - a heated discussion ensued.

Brizard has been saying for a year that the cuts are needed because the district is overstaffed.

They were recommended by principals in each school as part of a strategy to give the principals more autonomy in their decision-making, and create a clear line of accountability - something Brizard, board members, and union leaders have all said is needed.

But board Vice President Van White said he "waded into the weeds" and discovered that the decisions for terminating music teachers, "Did not pass the test of rationality."

Board member Willa Powell took repeated swipes at those principals that cut music teachers, saying that those principals were the weakest in the district.

"The poorest schools, curiously, will be the ones that are harmed the most," she said.

White asked that the decisions on music teachers, psychologists, and social workers be tabled again until board members could review them further.

The desire to save jobs is surely a noble one, but protecting turfs is germane to elected officials.

The process of how the cuts were made and approved is now open to suspicion. Brennan, Powell, and White said that they did not have all of the information they needed to approve the cuts. And Powell said no one came to her for recommendations on where to make cuts. (Hmm?)

Both White and Powell insist that they have not undermined Brizard, but it sure looks that way.

The board, whose main jobs are to hire and fire superintendents and approve budgets, has muddied the water. And as board member Melisza Campos put it, the board is second-guessing the decisions principals made. A principal can have legitimate reasons for wanting less music and more reading instructors.

Board President Malik Evans, who voted in favor of all of the cuts, said the decision to delay layoffs will produce a budget deficit.

White and Powell offered up the district's small cash reserve for next year, money held in case of an emergency, before the school year has even started.

The eleventh-hour teachable moment aimed at Brizard and his principals has made the case for charter schools - or even mayoral control.