EDITORIALS
Tuesday’s Buffalo school board vote will determine future of district
Published: May 02, 2009, 12:30 am
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Tuesday’s Buffalo School Board elections, involving three at-large seats, will amount to a referendum on School Superintendent James A. Williams. The contest pits challengers, some with teacher union support, against three veteran incumbents who generally side with the superintendent.
This election will determine whether Williams, hired four years ago and under contract through June 2011, retains his slim 5-4 margin of board support. If Tuesday’s balloting shifts that balance, the direction of the city school district— a district with a dismal 46 percent graduation rate that Williams is trying to improve through changes that are still taking hold—will be unclear.
We support the incumbents, who have shown the right support for educational changes, have the right experience to continue improvement efforts now under way and have proven themselves to be hard-working board members. Ideally, a School Board member encompasses a strong work ethic, willingness to do the necessary homework and the ability to ask the right questions and to come to a fair decision without undue political influence. Florence Johnson, Christopher Jacobs and Catherine Collins have done so, and deserve to continue in their current roles.
The tragedy is that this election, if history is any guide, will draw only scant attention from voters. It will be held at a time of year when few people are accustomed or inclined to head to the polls, whatever sense it makes for the school budgeting year. Whatever side city residents and especially city parents want to support—the status quo, or change— they should exercise their best chance to affect the district’s direction: Vote.
All three incumbents are part of Williams’ slim majority. They are challenged by Patricia Devis, a chemistry professor at Erie Community College North; John B. Licata, a Buffalo attorney; Bryon McIntyre, a Buffalo firefighter and substitute teacher; Rosalind J. Hampton, a nurse; and Rebekah A. Williams, who works for Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and Buffalo Re-Use and is not related to the superintendent.
Hampton, Licata and Williams coordinated their campaign efforts and the incumbents are running as a team. McIntyre and Devis are running independently.
Voters should take a close look at the incumbents’ performance in office, which in some cases has been spotty. But the slate can be expected to stay true to a Williams agenda.
Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore rightly notes, though, that challengers who could bring fresh ideas and energy deserve consideration. His union endorsed Licata, McIntyre and Devis, and is opposed to the incumbents because of graduation rates that are lower than when the incumbents were elected and when the superintendent arrived—and the controversial issue of School 44, an alternative school the district continued to pour money into despite high failure rates.
On the other hand, the city’s business community— through the Buffalo Partnership—argues that the three incumbents are the only thing between a chance for Williams to be successful and the BTF taking over the school district.
While the incumbents have not been shy in their support of Williams and his initiatives, the challengers have been cautious at best in that regard. Campaign themes have included accountability and evidence of progress, well in line with the kind of vigilance that board members should be expected to provide.
But Williams, who has instituted various programs and initiatives, should be given the chance and the support to finish the job. While his tenure has sometimes been rocky, he has instituted educational and program changes that show promise but will need more time before they can be properly evaluated. Reversing shameful graduation rates, improving English and math scores and ushering more students into higher education is no small challenge in an impoverished city, but the effort Williams is directing must continue.
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