WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — More students in the Williamsville Central School District will actually be back in the classroom Tuesday as district leaders proceed with their scheduled relaunch program. This follows the rocky start of the school year, which still has many parents upset and confused about what went wrong.
Monday was a scheduled day off for the school district so 2 On Your Side was not able to reach the district spokesman. But with the start of some in-class instruction days Tuesday for grades five and six, and then staggered starts for the remaining middle and high school grades in the next two weeks, some parents are still seeking more information.
Reverend Terry King, who has a son entering his freshman year at Williamsville South High School, told 2 On Your Side he is still frustrated.
"There's still no answers from the district on a lot of the underlying concerns about how we got here," King said.
Reverend King says he has written letters requesting information to the school board members and the acting superintendent Dr. John Mckenna. He had actually replaced Superintendent Dr. Scott Martzloff who was put on administrative leave by the board. Now King thinks apparent legal issues, which could be expensive, could be cropping up. That is based on the type of response he has received.
"Even though those that have been directed by counsel have been told not to speak on behalf of the district, they're still free to talk privately," King said. "And they won't. A number have said that because of their personal counsel - they've been advised not to speak on the issues as well."
King says he is still puzzled somewhat by what the district called "hyflex" learning in its September 21 relaunch announcement. This came after all the talk about hybrid models of instruction. He questions the level of teacher engagement.
"In early summer they had approved and supported the hybrid model," he said. "And now to go with this "hyflex" and unroll it without the board actually authorizing it - that's another question to be answered."
King adds, "There's a lot of ambiguity about what that's gonna really look like."
Reverend King, who has also posted his concerns on Facebook, says he is reaching out again to the state education department for clarification. And King is now considering running for a school board seat. That school board will meet again Tuesday evening via Zoom at 7 p.m.
