By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Buffalo community leaders are offering innovative ideas to improve the city’s schools, and several newly elected, reform-minded school board members would probably be receptive to the proposals.

There’s only one problem: nearly all of the necessary reforms conflict with the district’s labor contract with the Buffalo Teachers Federation, and the union doesn’t seem very interested in sacrificing for students.

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The latest suggestions for reforms came this week from Community Action Organization of Erie County CEO L. Nathan Hare, WGRZ reports.

Hare believes students need more individual time with teachers, and wants the city’s educators to commit to three hours of office time each week to tutor students.

“It would allow the student to be able to strengthen themselves academically, immediately after school, while they’re still fresh, while they’re kind of school oriented,” he told the television station.

Hare, who has “been working to improve the lives of Buffalo’s youth for years,” also suggested segregating students by gender, starting in the fourth grade.

“It’s just dramatically effective,” he said. “Because you are able to reduce the distractions either gender creates for themselves.”

“Hare points to a study done by Stetson University in Florida over a three-year period that shows boys improved 49 percent on a state test in all boys classes, compared to being in coed classes. That same study shows girls improved by 16 percent when taking the test in all girls classes,” according to the news report.

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Hare is the latest community leader to offer ideas on how to address the district’s embarrassingly low student achievement. Pastors, business leaders and others have also offered to help.

But virtually all of the suggested changes would need the formal approval of the BFT in the form of a new teachers contract. Considering that union officials haven’t agreed to new contract terms in more than a decade, and  would not even respond to Hare’s ideas, we think it’s safe to say they’re not particularly interested in change.

That’s a very big problem, one that has already cost the district millions in federal and state education funding because of the union’s refusal in recent years to agree to reforms tied to the money.

To truly invoke change in Buffalo schools, we suggest community leaders build a campaign and bring it to the union’s doorstep.

Those who care about the future of Buffalo schools need to explain to the union that they disapprove of its selfish position.

Picketing at union headquarters, sit-ins on the union’s doorstep, protests in the streets, billboards and television advertisements, and any other means typically used by teachers unions during contract negotiations would be an excellent start.

The BFT will never relinquish control over school operations and the budget until the public demands it, loudly.

And only by regaining that control will Buffalo’s community leaders have an opportunity to finally put student interests ahead of union greed.