The Board of Education's decision to allow busing of all elementary and middle school students in Buffalo is an innovative solution to solve competitive woes, but does nothing to address the actual problems of public education in the city. Students will now be able to choose to enroll in local charter schools, and the city will pay for the transportation costs.
This move was made in response to the growing popularity of Buffalo's charter schools and the busing options provided in the No Child Left Behind Act. In years past, the choice was only allowed until first grade and limited to smaller districts, so students were not moved across the city.
The new plan will cost as much as $2.2 million - money that does not exist, especially on the state level where 90 percent of the proposed funding would come. Spending that money to improve transportation needs and not the schools is a terrible solution. If there is money that can be spent on education, it should be spent in the actual schools, either paying teachers or improving facilities and supplies.
Legislators should not try to make students find the right schools but should bring the good schools closer to students. Less time spent getting to and from a distant school means more time at school. Bypassing the failing schools in order to let students go different places will only continue the cycle of failure, as that failing school loses money and competitive students.
The other problem is the increasing reliance on charter schools. While they often serve a specific purpose, their widespread acceptance only further fractures society. The public school system allows every student to pursue an education, and a society is responsible to provide education for the general population. Providing a choice is only an admission of guilt of not being able to provide adequate public schools.
Unfortunately, the reasoning behind the plan does not hold much water either. In response to the No Child Left Behind Act, administrators felt it was necessary to provide all students with the choice to transfer, not just the students in failing schools, as the act stipulates. Successful schools are made up of smart students, and those students will probably not want to move. The guise of choice will not help them the way more money in the system would.
The other problem was addressed by the only dissenting voice on the board, Susan Brennan. She raised the possibility that local students could be shut out of their schools because of an influx of transfers. Since the board does not have an actual plan yet about capacity, limits and priorities, it is a legitimate concern. Without an actual plan, the board cannot expect to throw money they do not have into it, even if the solution provides choice.
If the Board of Education is committed to the future of the students, it will concentrate its funding on the schools and not the transportation. While choice is a nice buzzword, it should not be necessary, as all the schools should be funded with cogent plans for teaching students to think critically. That starts by helping students, not shuffling them around.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
