BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Board of Education unanimously approved an $80 million, five-year contract with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) to provide bus passes for eligible students, but the vote was met with concerns about cost.
Wednesday's vote, approved at a special board meeting just one week before the start of the new school year, guarantees NFTA bus service for roughly BPS 11,000 high school students. The passes are 10-month passes for students who live 1.5 miles or more from their school and are provided for all Buffalo Public Schools, charter, private and Catholic school students with that mileage.
Interim BPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Prophet-Bullock said the stakes were high.
"It would destroy our community if we could not get this deal done," Prophet-Bullock said.
Despite the unanimous vote, board members expressed reservations, particularly about the price of the passes compared to what a standard rider pays.
"I haven't seen a justification for why Buffalo Public Schools is being charged more than $10 more than a bus pass that you would have 365 days a year, morning and night," Board Vice President of Student Achievement Adrianna K. Zullich said.
The special meeting was called after last week's regular meeting revealed the board had not yet seen the contract and was unaware a deadline was approaching next week.
"That was our fault and a direct result of the chaos that we were operating under with the departure of that superintendent," BPS Chief Financial Officer Jim Barnes said.
Board member Larry Scott said part of the increased cost is tied to security.
"Some of this increase is because of security, and the NFTA is saying that they have their own security staff to make sure that our students are arriving to and from school safely," Scott said.
Dr. Prophet-Bullock said reliable transportation is directly tied to student success, including graduation rates, academic performance and college and career readiness.
"When we are saying, Ebony, we want higher graduation rates. Ebony, we want better reading and writing and math. We want kids to graduate college and career ready," Prophet-Bullock said.
With many unhoused students in the district, some of whom rely on school for heat, meals and stability, Dr. Prophet-Bullock said getting the contract finalized before classes begin next week was critical.
"That is extremely important. And so for those things, making sure that those babies can get into school so they can eat, so they can read, so they can write, so they can see their favorite coach, so they can see their favorite AP, guess what? I will gladly pay the $15 extra," Prophet-Bullock said.
Under the contract, the NFTA will provide the following:
- 4,000 primary passes
- 40,000 single trip limited passes
- 21,000 limited use 7-day passes
- 5,000 limited use day passes
- Summer passes for summer school students
The NFTA released this statement to me following the vote:
"We are pleased with the Buffalo Board of Education's decision to renew its transportation contract with us. This will ensure thousands of students continue to have safe, reliable service to school and school related activities. We appreciate the board understanding the value of NFTA services for students, and now we can all focus on making sure students and families have a smooth transition for the new school year. We are incredibly proud to serve Buffalo students and look forward to continuing this partnership."
-NFTA Spokesperson
