BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Public Schools is moving forward with plans to close two schools ahead of the 2026-27 school year, as part of an initiative to create "sustainable and high-quality" learning environments while expanding access to specialized programs.
Dozens of students, educators, parents and community members attended a public meeting to voice their concerns about the closures, which have yet to be named. A committee will make a final recommendation by the end of this month.
The district surveyed Buffalo families in November, receiving about 1,800 entries. Dr. Sharon Brown, BPS Chief of Student Support Services, presented those survey results at the meeting.
"Enrollment was number one for the respondents that the committee look at enrollment first when determining which schools should be closed, location of school, academic standing, and attendance," Dr. Brown said.
The community was then allowed to express thoughts on the closures during the meeting, in the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts Auditorium.
Jes Wheeler, a BPS mother of three, acknowledged the difficult nature of the decision while calling for transparency in the process.
"I want a district where everybody feels safe and at home in their schools," Wheeler said. "No matter what schools close, there's going to be a hole in the community, and that's just an unfortunate part of closing schools. But in order for us to have the best results for these students, unfortunately, two schools do need to close. I would just like to see the transparency."
Buffalo community member Leighton Jones raised concerns about equity in the closure process.
"I do think that most of the schools that are under-funded or have the issues that they do are going to be a plurality of minority, and we need to consider that specifically, just because they don't have like the highest graduation rates that does not mean that that school deserves to be shut down," Jones said.
Jim Barnes, Chief Financial Officer for BPS, emphasized the financial necessity behind the closures.
"It's an absolute financial necessity that this district is in that we close schools; two schools, that we eliminate the virtual pathways program, and that we reduce the budgeted FTE count. That situation was carefully analyzed," Barnes said.
Barnes explained that if the district fails to act, it would run very low on cash. The district is currently running an $80 million deficit.
No decisions have been made yet on which two schools will close. The decision will be made by the end of the month.
Feedback from the meeting will be discussed this Thursday with the closure committee. Two more public community meetings will be held, with dates to be announced soon by a BPS spokesperson.
A majority of people who attended Monday night's meeting stated there was a lack of communication about this meeting. I asked a BPS spokesperson about this and was told that the school district sent out numerous notifications through social media, robocalls, text messages and the district's website.
The School Closure Committee updates can be found through this link.
