With less than two weeks before the Buffalo school board is slated to vote on its budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, it's under pressure to spend millions to put aides on every school bus.
This follows in the wake of disclosure a six-year-old was molested five times by an 11-year-old. Apparently a police officer dug deeply into bus surveillance videos in the case and found the images.
"I mean if this is factual then this is a travesty and it's going to be addressed very severely," promised Board Member Carl Paladino.
"Why are we just finding out? Unfortunately, the bus company holds the videos, they have possession of it. For some reason, they did not bring it to our attention. We're responsible, obviously, for what happens on the buses. "
It's been several years since all buses were staffed with aides and the district has had difficulty hiring aides to fill the slots it wants filled because of complicated hiring processes and the work shifts.
