"Can Buffalo’s public schools become more of an engine of progress for the city – and more importantly, a catalyst for student achievement?" This is a question that has been asked across the region and most recently in a landmark study commissioned by the Buffalo Board of Education.

This newsletter focuses on recent developments and issues in public education – issues that affect all of us. We all have a stake in the public education system – whether we currently have children or grandchildren attending school or not.

As you may know, I actively support public education in the New York State Assembly and have fought hard each year for funding increases in our schools.

My legislative decision-making and my personal activism are informed by a few basic beliefs and ideas about education. First, every child deserves the very best educational opportunity that we can create and every family should be able to select a school of their choice.

Historically, some families have always had a choice of the school their children attend – they have had the financial ability to send their children to private or parochial schools or to move to suburban areas that offer excellent public school choices. But, "the times they are a changing" – public school choice is now becoming a reality to more families across the region – choice of schools regardless of financial circumstances. Thanks to the charter school law, which I helped pass, and to a bold move by the Buffalo Board of Education,to take advantage of public school choice there will be a growing educational option for our children. Among the many features that charter schools offer, nothing is more important than the choice that they represent for children and families. That’s fair and that’s right.

Closely linked with my belief that families should be able to select their children’s school is my strong belief that restoring excellence in education in Buffalo is a major key (perhaps the major key) to revitalizing our city. Many families make choices about where they live based on the availability of good schools. We do have many good schools in Buffalo – but we need to have many, many more. And we need to strengthen and maintain policies and laws that allow parents to choose schools for their children. From a purely economic perspective, the key to restoring an eroding tax base in Buffalo is to attract and retain families in our city.

In March, 2003, the Buffalo Board of Education engaged the Education Innovation Consortium (EIC), a not-for-profit policy group associated with the University at Buffalo, to lead a study of creating charter schools in Buffalo. The EIC, under the direction of Dr. Donald Jacobs and Anne Marie Tryjankowski, led a team of state and national researchers and policy analysts in the study of the creation of a network of charter schools.

After eight months of study, a report was drafted and submitted to the Buffalo Board of Education. In a bold and courageous move, the Board of Education made history on December 3, 2003 by resolving to "aggressively implement a portfolio of charter schools". The Board has officially launched this project under the title "Renaissance Project Schools Initiative". The Education Innovation Consortium will work with the Buffalo Public Schools Office of Planning to identify and open Buffalo School District-authorized charter schools. It is anticipated that the first Renaissance schools will be open in September, 2005.

In the coming weeks and months you will, no doubt, be hearing more about charter schools and about the Buffalo Renaissance initiative. If you have children, you may even want to look closely at charters as an option for your children. Here are some facts about charters that may assist you in understanding their importance to families across the region:

• Charter schools are public schools. They are funded with local and state taxes that come through the district of residence of the enrolled students. There is no additional tuition cost for parents.
• While exempt from many laws and regulations, charter schools cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation. In exchange for greater flexibility in operating, charters are held to high levels of accountability.
• Charter schools are subject to more comprehensive internal and external accountability measures than conventional public schools. Charter schools operate on 5-year contracts – the charter can be revoked at the end of the five-year contract if the school is not performing satisfactorily.
• Charter schools have mixed results academically. A recent New York State Education Department evaluation of the state’s charter program, however, reports an accelerating pattern of charter-school gains, with many charters exceeding the gains made by their districts of location.
• The record clearly shows – locally and around the state – that charters do produce a wider variety of educational choices, including structural innovations such as longer school days and school years. They are also able to target services to at-risk students.
• Charter schools are proving to be a vehicle that brings families back to live in urban centers. Washington D.C. presently has more than 13,000 students in its charter schools, about 17 percent of the city’s public-school enrollment. The charter schools in D.C. have turned around a 30-year decline in the District’s public-school enrollment. Other communities across the country are using charters to enhance choice for students. Chula Vista Elementary School District in Southern California has welcomed a half-dozen charter schools as the leading edge of broader school-level decentralization as well as transformation of central district functions; New York City has recently announced plans to authorize 50 charters over the next five years.

As is often the case with progressive change, there are people and organizations mounting an opposition to charter schools. There have even been recent calls for a moratorium on charter schools in New York State. Last year I fought against an attempt to impose such a moratorium and am happy to report that the proposal failed to pass the State Legislature. You can be assured of my personal commitment to opposing any form of moratorium and to fighting for greater school choice for the children and families across our region.

The Renaissance Project Schools Initiative offers the prospect a true renaissance for the City of Buffalo. I would like to ask of that you support to this critically important initiative and continue to support my efforts in Albany to bring the highest possible quality education to Western New York.

If you would like to know more about the Renaissance Project Schools Initiative, the report to the Buffalo Board of Education is available from:

Education Innovation Consortium
Carriage House
672 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14209-2296

Last year, the governor tried to cut school aid by $1.4 billion before the Legislature stopped him, passing a bipartisan budget over his vetoes to restore $1.1 billion of his cuts. These restorations helped protect the quality of schools, while averting the largest property tax hike in state history.

This year, the governor’s budget contains at least $304 million in cuts to school funding – including $240 million for certain expense-based aids such as BOCES, transportation and special education. On top of that, he ignores inflation, rising enrollments, and the need to help students meet higher standards. The New York State School Boards Association and the Educational Conference Board estimate that state aid would need to increase by $650 million merely to sustain existing programs. The governor’s school aid cuts again threaten to force school boards to choose between cutting programs or raising property taxes to make ends meet.

In his rhetoric the governor boasts of increasing school aid by $4.7 billion during his tenure. Yet each year, it’s the Assembly that must fight to provide schools with the resources they need to meet the high academic standards that will attract the jobs of tomorrow’s economy. In fact, our schools would have $3.8 billion less if the Assembly had gone along with the governor’s previous budget proposals.

We must invest in education to unlock our children’s full potential – it’s that simple. There’s no question that our state is facing difficult financial times and sacrifices have to be made, but we can’t gamble with our children’s future. And we cannot allow the governor to balance a flawed budget at the expense of our schools, students and homeowners.

We must help schools renovate and repair unsafe buildings and relieve overcrowded classrooms.

We must also increase accountability to make sure resources are used effectively.

Money won’t solve all our schools’ problems, but with adequate resources we can begin addressing the barriers to a good education.

Assemblymember Sam Hoyt was honored for his support of charter schools in New York City at the annual conference of the New York Charter Schools Association.

Assemblymember Hoyt received the Charter School Champion award, along with New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. The award is given annually to New Yorkers who demonstrate leadership in advancing charter schools.

"Assemblymember Hoyt understands that charter schools provide public school choice, innovation and opportunity," said New York Charter Schools Association President Bill Phillips. "He has been a fighter for children and a hero to the charter school movement, particularly in the City of Buffalo where charters are changing the face of public education."

"Children and parents deserve choices when it comes to their education and charters provide an option to the status quo," Assemblymember Hoyt said. "As the representative for the second largest city in New York, I have watched the middle income flight from our cities and I know that we will not see the revitalization of our cities until we restore confidence in our public education system. Then and only then will we see young families moving back to our cities. Charters can help make that happen."

Charter Schools are public schools of choice that receive increased freedom from regulations in exchange for strict performance goals. Charter schools operate under a five-year contract and can be closed if academic performance goals are not met.

New York State’s 50 operating charter schools enroll some 15,000 students, with another 10,000 students on waiting lists. There are 11 charter schools in and around the City of Buffalo, with an enrollment of 3,200 students – a figure expected to grow to more than 4,000 this fall.