BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Western New York Education Equity Task Force (WNYEETF) gathered Wednesday at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo to address what leaders are calling a critical time for Buffalo Public Schools. This came after recent leadership changes, including a new superintendent and a new BPS board member.
The meeting comes after lawmakers said there has been a "loss in confidence" in the district, following recent allegations of sexual harassment involving a board member and the former superintendent.
BPS Board Member Roscoe Henderson, who represents the North District, said the focus must remain on what matters most.
"Students and student achievement, that's what it's about," Henderson said.
Henderson said collaboration across all stakeholders is essential to moving forward.
"Figure out how we can all work together with parents, with teachers, with folks in the community, with the schools, with our legislators, with everyone, because otherwise we're not going to approve," Henderson said.
The New York State Education Department has also assigned an advisor to the district. State lawmakers are considering a proposal to appoint a state monitor.
The task force has been active for the last 3 years, meeting every first Wednesday of the month in person or via Zoom. Samuel Radford III of the Western New York Education Equity Task Force said the group wants to channel the current moment into collective action.
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"People are suggesting that there's lost confidence in the school district, and what we wanted to do is we wanted to harness that energy to focus on what we can do collectively," Radford said.
Bishop Michael Badger of Bethesda World Harvest International Church said the stakes are high for students.
"So that they're[students] prepared for this new economy of AI and all of the things that they've got to face," Badger said.
The task force wants to move past oversight and focus on teamwork, asking how everyone can help improve education for local children. The group will use results from an ongoing parent survey to guide their next steps.
Parent leader Jessica Bauer Walker said the current crisis may be the catalyst needed for real change.
"I think sometimes some of the ways that we're working have become quite normalized, and so what this opportunity might be is things have gotten pretty bad to the point where people are seeing it as a crisis and know that we can't keep operating in the same ways. It's hard to make change, but we really need to change for our students," Bauer Walker said.
The conversation continues next Tuesday, August 12 at Mount Olive Baptist Church from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Western New York Education Equity Task Force invites parents and students to attend a community forum that will be led by parents and students themselves.
