By Staff Reporter
BUFFALO — The Buffalo Board of Education is scheduled to vote tonight on a plan to close schools that has been rewritten at least twice since it was unveiled Oct. 2. At least one board member says he saw the newest changes only Tuesday morning.
The board meets at 5:30 p.m. at McKinley High School on Elmwood Avenue. On the table is a revised proposal from interim Superintendent Ebony Prophet-Bullock that would close six schools, down from the eight the district named on Oct. 2. The district says it needs to shrink its footprint because it faces a projected $60 million budget deficit, WBEN reported.
“We’re between a rock and hard place,” Dr. Prophet-Bullock told WBEN on Oct. 15.
What changed, and what didn’t
The district replaced the closure plan posted on its website with a new version on Monday night, according to WBLK, citing The Buffalo News. Under the newest version, as described Tuesday by WGRZ and WBLK:
- The Ronald Peoples School of Scholars would stay open.
- School 17 on West Delavan Avenue, a pre-K through fourth grade school, would close, and its building would become administrative offices.
- School 33, the Bilingual Center in South Buffalo, is still slated to close.
- Middle Early College would leave shared space at Bennett High School for its own building on Northampton Street, replacing East Community High School.
- Leonardo da Vinci High School and Research Laboratory High School would share Riverside Academy’s building on Ontario Street next year, and Riverside Academy would close.
Drew Science Magnet and Academy School at 86 also remain on the closure list, WGRZ reported Tuesday morning. Even accounts published the same day disagreed on where some programs would land, such as Buffalo Rising Academy, Career Collegiate Institute and the alternative high school. That is a measure of how fast the plan has been moving.
The Chronicle reported Sunday on an earlier revision that followed pushback over a proposed high school merger and bilingual seats.
“The plan just keeps changing”
Park District board member Erik Bohen supports closing some schools. “We don’t have the money to sustain all of our schools,” he told WBEN. But he told WGRZ on Tuesday that he had not decided how he would vote.
“I couldn’t tell you right now because the plan just keeps changing,” Mr. Bohen said. He said some of the latest changes were sent to board members late Monday night, and he didn’t see them until Tuesday morning.
Still, he said there is pressure to decide now. “Children are being placed in schools for next year, and the children need a place to go,” Mr. Bohen said.
Central District member Lewis “Muki” Hawkins told WBEN last week that he wanted more time. “We can’t be forced into making bad decisions,” he said. “Whatever decision we make, has to be one that is the best for our students.”
Bilingual families say they haven’t been heard
The Bilingual Center is the city’s only bilingual school outside the West Side, School 33 parent Tim Monreal told WGRZ. He said Spanish interpretation was not provided at community meetings and listening sessions, and some documents were not translated into Spanish.
“One of the really important things about School 33 is, of course, the bilingual education component, of which there are many civil rights protections,” Dr. Monreal said. “My hope is that we put the students of BPS first.”
Federal civil rights guidance says districts must communicate with parents who have limited English in a language they can understand. Whether the district has done that during this process is a question the board can ask before it votes.
What the board is deciding
The district serves about 28,000 students on a budget of about $1.2 billion, much of it state aid, WBEN reported. The original plan would also have cut 73 teaching positions. The district has not said publicly how much the revised plan saves compared with the original, or how much of the $60 million gap it would close.
Those are the numbers board members will need tonight: savings by building, how many students move and where, how long their bus rides get, and what happens to programs like the Bilingual Center’s. Last year, then-Superintendent Pascal Mubenga proposed closing two schools and the board balked, WBEN reported.
If the board votes tonight, it will be deciding on a version that was posted Monday night. If it waits, Mr. Bohen says, placements for next year could be disrupted and the district could face financial consequences. Either way, the board will have to explain the choice to the families involved.
The Chronicle has asked the district for its savings estimates for the revised plan and will update this story.
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