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Editorial: Endorsements for Buffalo School Board

Voting in the Buffalo School Board elections is too often left to a relatively small segment of motivated city residents: Parents, teachers, school administrators and staff members, along with some friends and family.

More citizens need to realize what is at stake. The quality of Buffalo’s public schools influences every aspect of life in the city.

All nine seats on the Buffalo Board of Education are up for election, which happens once every 15 years.

When new members of the board are seated, they will be put right to work figuring out how to negotiate a new contract with the Buffalo Teachers Federation, and whether to strike a deal on a new contract with Superintendent Kriner Cash.

The News’ editorial board makes endorsements only for contested races. The election is May 7. Whether you agree or disagree with our choices, we urge you to vote.

AT-LARGE SEATS

Eight candidates are running for the school district’s three at-large seats. Some are well suited to these critical positions, one combines a level of passion and sense that makes her a good bet and others are obviously out of their depth.

None of the at-large incumbents – Board President Barbara Seals Nevergold, Patricia Pierce and Larry Quinn – is seeking re-election. Our endorsements for these three districtwide seats are:

• Jeffrey M. Conrad: A leader in a variety of settings, Conrad has demonstrated a long-term interest in education, including his current efforts at the Northland Workforce Training Center and as a basketball coach at the private Park School. Of his work at Northland, he notes that students are performing poorly in the Test for Adult Basic Education, which measures skill levels and aptitudes. That so many Buffalonians are unable to perform at a minimal level, Conrad correctly identifies as a crisis. Part of his solution is to address issues at a younger age.

Conrad also wants to address issues of equitable staffing, especially regarding mental health counseling.

As senior director of workforce development at Catholic Charities of Buffalo, Conrad calls himself a “big data person.” He supports extending Cash’s contract and negotiating changes in work rules in the teachers contract.

He is a former member of the Buffalo Common Council.

• Carolette Meadows: If ever there were someone to take a chance on, it is Meadows. A former member of the District Parent Coordinating Council, Meadows is a focused, committed and passionate advocate for students. She was among the parents whose activism led the federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to find that Buffalo schools were illegally discriminating in admissions to top schools, including City Honors.

She believes teachers should receive more money as part of contract negotiations that have just begun, but also says the district needs “more accountability to students.” She would like to see more minority teachers in the district as well as smaller classrooms, although she didn’t talk about how to pay for that. She said she is open to the possibility of extending the contract of the superintendent.

She is disturbed by disparities in resources in the schools, from the availability of sports uniforms to teacher staffing, and wants to attack “cookie-cutter discipline” and help to ensure that children can safely travel between school and home, a critical factor that influences absenteeism. She is a nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

• Ann Rivera: An educator in higher education for 23 years, Rivera brings with her an impressive list of qualifications and a demonstrated passion for children, especially those with special needs.

A sampling of her resumé testifies to her commitment to education: She was a preschool teacher in Michigan and tutors children with learning disabilities. She is a member of the Parent Congress in Buffalo Public Schools. She served as a board member of the Achieve program for students with learning differences at Villa Maria College and on a committee studying disproportionate suspensions for students with disabilities and students of color.

She sees a problem with equity of services across the district. She says that as the district negotiates a new contract with the teachers union, it needs to look for efficiencies to reduce costs. That could help to offset raises for teachers, which she supports. Eliminating inappropriate referrals to special education would also save money, she said. She generally approves of the work being done by Cash, but wants to see him do better in areas such as improving diversity and an inclusive curriculum.

Other candidates seeking at-large seats are Tim Hartigan, Jack Kavanaugh, Desmond Nalls and Larry Scott.

EAST DISTRICT

Patricia Elliott-Patton is the choice, for the passion she has displayed as a member of the District Parent Coordinating Council. Elliott-Patton, an assistant director for Community Action Organization, has been a devoted advocate for her children during their school years.

Among her priorities are extending Cash’s contract and doing away with out-of-school suspensions, which she says propagate a school-to-prison pipeline, particularly for young black men. She favors the creation of a second City Honors School.

Her challenger for the seat being vacated by Theresa Harris-Tigg is Kathy Evans-Brown, a newcomer who won the endorsement of the Buffalo Teachers Federation. Brown has some good intentions, about raising graduation rates in the schools and bringing more diversity into the teaching ranks, but seems less sure of how to accomplish her goals.

PARK DISTRICT

Retaining incumbent Louis Petrucci is the best path for students, parents, the district and city.

Petrucci, who oversees licenses and permits for the City of Buffalo, served on the School Board between 2007 and 2013, including a year as board president. He was chosen last June to fill the vacant seat representing South Buffalo.

He served on the executive board of the Council of Great City Schools, executive director for the Big 5 (as treasurer). His master’s degree examined nontraditional factors that influence graduation rates at South Park High School.

Petrucci is driven, even serving on the board of community engagement team at South Park during the time he was not on the board. He knows all is not perfect, recognizing the district’s deficiency in addressing the needs of new Americans. He should get another term representing Park District.

His opponent, Austin Harig, a claims adjuster for Geico, ran in 2016 as a high school student. He lost in a close race to former Park District Board Member Carl Paladino.