New York State Education Commissioner John King, Jr. has suspended School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding for all 10 SIG school districts in the state. That includes Buffalo.
"The deadline is real; the funding is suspended," King said. "The good news is that six districts (Roosevelt, Poughkeepsie, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and Rochester) showed real progress toward meeting the requirements for a teacher and principal evaluation system agreed to in their SIG applications. All 10 districts can request a hearing. If these six districts get back to the table immediately to address the shortcomings in their plans, the hearings should go well for them."
King sent letters to all 10 districts (Schenectady, Yonkers, New York City, Greenburgh 11, Roosevelt, Poughkeepsie, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and Rochester) advising them of his decision.
King said the districts have 30 days to request a hearing on his decision. School districts had a December 31st deadline to submit their grant applications.
Late last week, interim Buffalo School Superintendent Amber Dixon last week said an agreement has been reached with two district employee unions, making the district eligible for $10-million in federal education funding to meet the state's deadline.