New Buffalo Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash says he's on a 100-day push to find weak spots in the school system and find solutions.
After being officially sworn in last night by Mayor Brown, the superintendent listed some of this plans and some areas which have to be worked on right away. That includes responding to Washington claims of Civil Rights violations in district operations.
"We must keep the families that are here and not let them leave us. We need to have their families and children for a greater Buffalo, but we also must continue to attract and stabilize a strong middle class here in Buffalo," Cash said.
"That's what happens when you have a really good school system."
That ties into Washington's demands for more schools in good standing along with a push for another City Honors and the already-started Emerson 2 culinary school.
The school board is pushing for something to be done about the district's severe absenteeism problem.
"There has to be parental accountability and it can't just be something that we hope for," said Board Member Larry Quinn.
"We do have Social Services to deal with. We also have Say Yes that has been helping on this. And, so, as much as it's truancy officers and maybe they play a role here but I think we need to adjudicate parents if they have a young child and they are missing 38 days of school, it's simply not acceptable."
Quinn is also joining the board majority push to change board meetings and possibly do away with the current public comment period, with the board member saying the comment period took up 40 percent of last year's meetings.
