Security, transportation and labor relations highlight Buffalo School Board meeting

School security

The board approved nearly $2.7 million for new walk-through weapon detection systems, with Buffalo-based Ink Labs winning the bid. Superintendent Tonja M. Williams said the Evolv Express Weapon Detection System should be implemented in all 65 district schools by the end of December.

"I hope that it gives people a level of comfort," Williams said Wednesday. "We want our parents to feel comfortable sending their children to school, and for our students coming into schools to know that they are safe."

The equipment costs are about $1.9 million – which breaks down to about $28,650 per physical detector – while software and service costs make up the rest. School board member Larry Scott applauded the district for selecting a local, minority-owned business for the task.

Ink Labs on its website says its detection system uses sensor technology but also relies on artificial intelligence to differentiate guns from commonplace objects such as coins or phones. The systems can scan 4,000 people and their belongings per hour. Williams said previously the district would pursue a quicker security process to allow students to get to class on time.

After a stabbing incident at Buffalo School of Culinary Arts last month, parents said their students would be up to an hour late and in some cases marked absent due to the required time to pass through the wanding process.

The district also approved about $550,000 for updated models of two-way radios and digital repeaters to improve communication among security officers and other school personnel. Another $18,000 was earmarked for 150 new Grainger handheld metal detectors for security guards. American Rescue Plan and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds will be used to cover the costs, according to board documents. 

Solutions to the bus driver shortage

Ramona Reynolds, director of the Office of Parent & Family Engagement, said about 2,380 English-speaking families responded to the district's call for parents interested in being reimbursed to drive their children to school. She said enrollment would soon open to families with English language learners, a process urged by board members Paulette Woods and Sharon Belton-Cottman, with translations available on social media and other forms of outreach. A district representative said English language learners make up about 25% of the district's students.

The goal of reimbursing parents to drive their children to school is to consolidate bus routes and reduce the time children spend on the school bus. The district expects more information to be gathered before the dawn of the pilot program: equity factors, whether these children are already being driven to school, and their specific locations and school destinations.

A second approach to addressing the transportation crisis is the district's proposal to move from two-tiered bell times at 8 and 9 a.m. to three tiers, at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., sent to the teachers union in a memorandum of understanding last month. Adding an additional bell time would allow bus drivers to complete two routes in the morning shift instead of one.

Contract negotiations update

Adjusting school start times is interwoven with the contract negotiations with the teachers union, as the current contract stipulates that teachers not work before 7:50 a.m. and not after 4:05 p.m. BTF president Phil Rumore said he is gathering feedback and on Friday will receive the results of a questionnaire he sent to teachers.

Nathaniel Kuzma, the BPS general counsel, and Rumore said the two sides will meet at the bargaining table again Tuesday, with the district presenting a new proposal. The teachers are the last of the district's 11 unions to finalize a contract.

Rumore shared a positive update since the last board meeting, in which teachers demonstrated through a walkout and a threat of no confidence in the district and superintendent. 

"The teachers were not pleased with the initial proposal, but we feel that there has been a better tone to negotiations," Rumore said in addressing the board.