The plight of Buffalo's public schools has become the subject of a New York Times editorial.
The piece outlines how the system's magnet schools were a national model of successful racial integration in the mid 1980's before eroding into a dysfunctional and highly segregated system today. The piece cites the local teachers' contract as wasteful and outdated, past leadership as "abysmal," and blames racial disparities at select high performing schools on biased admission systems.
It goes on to say that "Minority children are disproportionately trapped in [New York's public] schools that lack the teaching talent, course offerings and resources needed to prepare them for college and success in the new economy."
The editorial calls for new laws and stronger state oversight in desegregating the system and turning the schools around.
