Two state assembly members from Buffalo are demanding answers from state Education Commissioner John on his mandate to the city's school district.
Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Assemblyman Sean Ryan appeared on the steps of East High School late Monday afternoon. They want answers to commissioner King's recently issued mandate.
"But if we keep thinking that some outside entity, you know whether its BOCES, Superman or State Ed is come out and save us, we are wrong on that," said Assemblyman Ryan.
Ryan is expressing concerns about the mandate issued by King. King is calling on the Buffalo School District to offer Erie 1 BOCES vocational training for Lafayette and East High Schools students to improve graduation rates.
But the District already teams with Johns Hopkins at both high schools. Peoples-Stokes said that program should remain in place.
"I know the district points at state Education, state Education points at the district, but in the middle of all of that there are some children that need to be educated, and so right about now it's time to stop pointing fingers and get it down," said Assembly woman Peoples-Stokes.
The lawmakers say there many unanswered questions for the District, parents and students about Commissioner Kings mandate.
Assemblyman Ryan notes that with a high rate of international students who don't speak English attending Lafayette High School, a vocational training program is not the answer.
"Every teacher at Lafayette High School has asked for more professional development on how to education kids with a second language, and the access to the ELA courses is limited by the budget constraints," said Ryan.
Graduation rates at Lafayette have continue to decline since 2010. The rate fell to 21% percent last year. Rates also plummeted at East to 27%. But Peoples-Stokes says preliminary results that have not been released indicate a new rate of 47%.
WBFO News asked both lawmakers if they're concerned about a potential attempt by the education department to take over the district.
"I'm majorly concerned about that. Majorly concerned because it only takes one or two, and it has to start somewhere, and this should not be the start," said Peoples-Stokes.
"And on this idea of a potential state takeover. The state takeover is the biggest silver bullet out there, that somehow this could save us. New York State only has taken over one school district, it's been an absolute failure," said Ryan.
The District must meet an August 12 deadline for the state education mandate. If implemented, parents would have to decide to transfer their children out of those schools just weeks before the new school year begins.