Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "I'm really excited. The weather is beautiful here so far. I'm loving it."
Dr. Pascal Mubenga, new Superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools, joined
WBEN on Wednesday during his second week on the job.
With the first day of school coming up in just over a week on Thursday, Sept. 4, Mubenga will be overseeing the implementation of a bell-to-bell cell phone ban, which is a statewide policy.
"We have a really great staff at the Central Office, as well as the school level. They've been working really hard with the governor," said Dr. Mubenga on Wednesday. "We have all of the protocols in place. Yesterday we started dispatching all of the storage materials. Our schools are going to be well prepared.
"It's really a good mandate, so that our students won't be distracted."
Mubenga acknowledges, however, that the ban is going to be a challenge and a transition for students.
Every school in the district, he says, will have their own protocols on how to address the ban.
Click below to see the district's distraction-free policy.
Mubenga has more than 25 years of experience in public education. He most recently held the position of superintendent for Durham Public Schools in North Carolina, a district that educates more than 30,000 students, similar to Buffalo.
His arrival in Buffalo comes during a high profile investigation by Buffalo Police detective Richard Hy, who is accusing the district of obstructing sexual assault and child abuse investigations.
Mubenga told WBEN he is up to speed on the case.
"The school board made the right now to bring in a third party. I'm just waiting for the outcome of the investigation to be able to act accordingly," he said. "I promised the board and the community I'm going to be 100% transparent."
Dr. Mubenga’s contract with the district is for four years with an annual salary of $285,000.