BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) The bus driver shortage in Buffalo Public Schools has improved slightly since the start of the school year, but still, about 50 children are late for school each day and about 400 are late in getting home each afternoon, according to the Buffalo News.
In an effort to find a solution to the problem, a task force headed up by Samuel Radford is attempting to implement a three-bell system rather than the current two-bell system.
Schools in the district start at 8:00am or 9:00am. By moving to a three-bell system, schools would start at 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., and 9:30 a.m.
The idea to change start times has already been rejected by the Buffalo Teachers union. Out of 2100 teachers who voted in October, 84% did not support changing the times.
"We have decided, at the Education Equity Task Force, that this is a solvable problem," Radford told WBEN Friday. "We've gone to the people who are ultimately responsible for education in New York State; Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Education Commissioner."
Radford said the group has requested that the governor declare a state of emergency, and use her emergency powers to override the teachers contract and implement the three-bell schedule.
"Technically, this is not the only option in getting a three-bell system," said Radford. "The school board and the Superintendent can unilaterally impose the three-bell schedule, and so could the State Education Department. We're looking for the governor and State Ed Department [to act] because the teachers union and the district cannot come to an agreement. They've been trying to negotiate a contract for three years. They haven't made progress and now the union has taken a vote of no confidence against the Superintendent and the school board."
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Radford said students in the district cannot continue to miss out on a full instructional day or not be able to get to modified sports, or be stuck at school, not knowing if a bus is coming at the end of the day. "This is a solvable problem," he added.
Earlier this week the Buffalo Common Council unanimously passed a resolution that asks Governor Hochul to declare a State of Emergency over the Buffalo School District's transportation issues. That would allow the district to change start times without approval from the Buffalo Teacher's Federation.
But if this is forced on teachers, is it only going to anger them and ultimately lead to a teacher shortage, worse than the district is already seeing?
"The teachers are already angry. At this point, this can't be about the teachers. This has to be about the students."
Radford called the system "dysfunctional at the highest level" if adults can't get kids to school every day on time; can't offer a full day of instruction and can't have after-school programs because of transportation.
