The Buffalo community had a chance to meet the front runner for the schools superintendent position. Candidate Dr. Kriner Cash told a crowd in Performing Arts Thursday night he can turn the city's schools into much better facilities because he has already done it in a much larger system.
Cash was formerly superintendent in Memphis City School District before being pushed out when city schools were merged with the surrounding county. He is likely to be named superintendent here soon.
The even was moderated by WBFO's Focus on Education Reporter Eileen Buckley and WGRZ Reporter Claudine Ewing. Buckley and Ewing asked Cash a variety of questions.
"But right now, for four or five hard years, let's run, let's run hard. Change it, get out of it, stop making excuses and get Buffalo into world class in everything it does," said Kriner Cash.
Cash told the audience of about 200 everything is fair game for improvement, with some basics stressed.
"Literacy is the single most important thing in our whole business," noted Cash. "Once our children are literate. Once our children are skillful with literacy, they can conquer all of the other subjects. And so, we go full throttle to help improve, even teen mothers who are pregnant. We had an adolescent development program for teens who were pregnant."
To make that program work, Cash says the fathers were brought in, whether teens or in their thirties.
Cash stated health issues are a concern which must be dealt with along with solutions like making sure children are properly fed and can see and hear and then good teachers will turn them into good students who can achieve in the world to come.
Cash explained who he established a dinner program for children in the Memphis District.
"You can't turn to page 57 in the textbook on geometry and start dealing with quadratic equations and all of that stuff if you can't see, you're hungry, didn't get any sleep. So, dealing with the whole child and all of the issues affecting our young people becomes a simultaneous goal while we're also working to improve achievement," stated Cash.
Cash also brought up the controversial issue of standardized testing stating that there is a need to educate the 'whole child'.
“We’ve become perverse in our obsession with test scores in this country, and it’s a runaway train,” said Cash. “But having said that, we cannot not have good assessments about where we stand, because our children are competing with children all over the world.”
During his time in the Memphis, Cash secured a $92-million dollar Gate's Foundation Grant. WBFO's Eileen Buckley asked Cash how would work in Buffalo to generate grants for the city schools.
“One billion dollars," responded Cash. He told the audience if selected as the city superintendent, he would seek out the widow of former Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, Mary Owen Wilson, and ask her for funding. “I’m going to ask for all of it,” stated Cash. “And all you can do is say, ‘We can’t give you all of that, Dr. Cash, but we can give you, uh, $300 million.’ See? Always go for the stars, and if you get the moon, you’ll still be further than you were.”
The hour-long public forum ended with Cash explaining that he wants to be in Buffalo to help the district.
Buffalo School Board members interviewed Cash August 4th. They all appear to be in favor of hiring Cash, but wanted him to meet the community before a final decision. The board is expected to call for a special session for a vote on new leadership. Five other candidates conducted interviews for the job, but the school board leader said Cash was their top pick.
"I don’t want to go to Tonawanda. You don’t need me up there. But I want to come here. This is the work and I am passionate about it and uniquely qualified for it," Cash said. "But right now, for four or five hard years, let’s run, let’s run hard. Change it, get out of it, stop making excuses and get Buffalo into world class in everything it does."
