BUFFALO, N.Y. — As the school year draws closer, a vast majority of Buffalo teachers have rejected the Buffalo Public School District's reopening plans.
In a recent survey, the Buffalo Teachers Federation says 70 percent of teachers oppose the district's reopening plans, saying the school district does not provide for "safe and healthful conditions" to conduct their jobs.
According to the survey, the majority of teachers believe the current reopening plans do not provide quality education to students and do not conform to state and federal laws and regulations. Those teachers also voted in favor of the Buffalo Teachers Federation pursuing legal action.
Philip Rumore, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation released a statement saying in part, "The district has not met the required State and Federal guidelines to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, parents, teachers and community. Yet, although instruction is 100 percent virtual, it is mandating all teachers to report to their schools/sites two to three times a week; thereby, endangering their, their family’s and the community’s health."
Rumore goes on to say that if the school district is able to demonstrate that it can meet "all the safety requirements" then Buffalo teachers would be willing to reach an agreement allowing them to voluntarily teach from their classroom.
"We will continue to work to ensure that our schools have safety protocols in writing in place, to ensure that our students, parents, school staff and community are not put at risk of infection by the COVID 19 virus," Rumore said.
Rumore said the union had filed in state court a request for arbitration and would seek to expedite the issue with the pending approach of the start of the school year. But he says they were also ready to seek an injunction.
Rumore also told 2 On Your Side's Ron Plants in a later interview that he had written letters about the concerns of teachers to Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash, which were copied to the school board, and there was no response.
"The district has shown no willingness to work with anybody," Rumore said.
We also pressed Rumore on whether he had directly reached out beyond the written correspondence to the superintendent. He seemed to pull his punches when speaking about Cash, but was ready to go after other district officials.
"I know the superintendent fairly well and I find it hard to believe that this is something that he is pushing," Rumore said. "My guess is that he has put this into the hands of some people that are just abusing their power."
In fact, Rumore had a brief shouting match with District Chief of Staff Dr. Darren Brown-Hall during a press conference back on August 3. The press conference was set up by various parent groups to address their concerns with the reopening plan. Rumore said he was stating his position on the lack of actual input by teachers on the district's reopening plan committee when Brown-Hall interrupted.
The district has said previously that Cash had delegated responsibility to various district officials to put together the reopening plan when we requested comment from him earlier this summer.
Brown-Hall did not return our call for comment. And a district spokeswoman said a released statement was all that would be presented to the press.
Buffalo Public Schools' General Counsel Nathaniel Kuzma actually released the following statement Monday in response:
"The District is disappointed but not surprised by the Buffalo Teachers Federation tactics (BTF). It has been clear from the beginning that the BTF was not going to be a solution oriented collaborative partner with the District.
"Similar to the successful reopening of Central Office, the District’s School Reopening plan follows all required health and safety measures as designated by the Center for Disease Control, the Erie County Health Department, and our Health Advisory Committee of experts.
"Without students in the building, the district is confident that teachers will be safe instructing students from their classrooms, and students will receive the vital and meaningful instruction that teachers are responsible for."
