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Buffalo City School District, New York

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Taxes Y
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Budget Y
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Meetings Y
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Elected Officials Y
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Administrative Officials P
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Contracts Y
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Audits Y
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Public records Y
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Academics Y
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Background checks Y
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Transparency grading process


Buffalo City is a school district in New York. The District serves 37,000 students in nearly 65 facilities.[1] It is the second largest school district in the State of New York.

Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of New York school district websites

This Web site was most recently reviewed 2013-01-31.

The good

  • Budget
    • The most current budget is listed.
    • Budgets are archived for 5 years.[2]
  • Administrative Officials
    • Department heads are listed for each department.[3]
    • Contact information for administrative officials is provided including a mailing address, phone number, and group email.
  • Elected Officials
    • Elected officials are listed with a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.[4]
  • Meetings
    • Meeting minutes are archived for 11 years.
    • Meeting agendas are archived for 11 years.[5]
    • A meeting calendar is available and names the times and locations of public meetings.
    • Meeting video or podcasts are available.
  • Audits
    • The most recent audit is posted.
    • Audits dating back to 2007 are available.[6]
  • Contracts
    • Collective bargaining agreements are provided.[7]
    • Bids and RFPs are posted.[8]
    • Salary and benefits information is posted, as well as applications.[9]
  • Public Records
    • The public information officer is identified and maintained in the public relations office. This person provides a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.
    • A public records form is provided.[10]
  • Taxes
    • Tax revenues are broken down by federal, state, and local funding in the budget.[11]
    • Local taxes, like property taxes, are available online.
  • Academics
    • Academic performance reports for the school are posted online.[12]
  • Background Checks
    • The criminal background check policy and teacher certification requirements are posted online.[13]

The bad

  • Administrative officials
    • Many administrative officials do not have personalized emails provided.

Leadership

School Board

The Board of Education is in charge of policy-making for the District. Nine members are elected by popular vote, and meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.[14] Members are:[15]

Teacher Contracts

Teacher contracts are negotiated with the Buffalo Teachers Federation.[16] A copy of the contract can be found here. Contract information, including FAQ's, are listed by the Buffalo Teachers Federation here.

Teachers spent $9 million in 2009 on elective surgeries. The Buffalo teachers union president has said removal of the rider is dependent on upcoming negotiations.

Administrative Officials

The current interim Superintendent is Amber M. Dixon.[17] She was appointed in August, 2011, to replace the retiring Dr. James Williams. Dixon has worked as an administrator in the District for over 20 years, most recently as head of the accountability and projects initiatives department.[18]

A list of the superintendent's cabinet can be found here.

Unions

Teachers are represented by the Buffalo Teachers Federation. The BTF is an affiliate organization of the New York State United Teachers, the National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers.[19] The current President is Philip Rumore.[20]

School Budget

The final 2010-2011 budget document can be found here. The budget expected revenues for the year to total $805,972,860, with expenditures expected to match. This was an increase of $33 million in expenditures over the previous year's budget. Of the total, $89 million was specified for debt services.[21]

A 2010 independent financial audit found the district saddled with $1.7 billion total liabilities, having increased 26% over the previous year.[22]

Academic performance

The 2009-2010 New York State Report Cards rated Buffalo City School District as "In Need of Improvement (Year 8)." In specific academic categories, the District performed worst in English Language Arts (Improvement Year 8) and Math (Improvement Year 3). It was marked as "In Good Standing" in both science and graduation rate. Overall, 26 schools were rated lower than "In Good Standing." The twelve worst performing, categorized as under comprehensive restructuring, are: Bennett High School, Buffalo Elementary School of Technology, Burgard Vocational High School, Campus West School, Frank A. Sedita School #30, Grabiarz School of Excellence, Grover Cleveland High School, International School, Lafayette High School, PS 37 Futures Academy, South Park High School, West Hertel Elementary School.[23]

Reform

In 2011, the school district received a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation to reform science education in schools. The money will be focused on the district's 12 persistently low achieving schools, and will help create a five year program to make science education more exciting for students.[24]

External links

Buffalo Public Schools on Facebook* [1]

References

  1. ↑ About Us
  2. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Budgets, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  3. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Staff Directory, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  4. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Elected Officials, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  5. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Meeting Minutes and Agendas, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  6. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Audits, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  7. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Collective Bargaining Agreements, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  8. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Bids, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  9. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Salary and Benefits, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  10. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Public Records, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  11. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Tax Revenues, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  12. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, District Report Card, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  13. ↑ Buffalo Public Schools, Background Check, Accessed: January 7, 2013
  14. ↑ Board of Education
  15. ↑ Board Members
  16. ↑ Labor Relations
  17. ↑ Administrative Officials
  18. ↑ Amber M. Dixon named interim Buffalo school superintendent," WGRZ.com, August 25, 2011
  19. ↑ Buffalo Teachers Federation
  20. ↑ Officers and Staff, Buffalo Teachers Federation
  21. ↑ 2010-2011 Final Budget, Buffalo City School District
  22. ↑ Financial Statements, City of Buffalo, New York, Board of Education, June 30, 2010
  23. ↑ Buffalo City School District, Accountability and Overview Report Card 2009-2010, The New York State District Report Card
  24. ↑ "$10M Grant Aims to Reform Science Education in Buffalo Schools," WNED.org, October 11, 2011


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