Under state and federal law, students are allowed to transfer out of academically-troubled schools, like many of Buffalo's schools. The problem is finding a school to transfer into and Albany has told the Buffalo Board of Education to find a way by June 30.
Buffalo Schools Superintendent Pamela Brown says there weren't many students who wanted to transfer to better schools.
More than 500 students wanted to make that choice and 59 of them couldn't find a place in one of the 13 in good standing school. Those schools were filled.
The superintendent says there is no requirement to lift the rules for admitting students to schools like Hutch-Tech to take in transfers, limiting choices.
Outgoing school board member and former board president Lou Petrucci says there are few easy choices.
"If we're going to accommodate that many children or even a high proportion thereof, we're going to have to offer additional programs, find some type of additional method, maybe we establish new schools...new programs, but something that's going to rise to the level that makes us compliant with SED, but also fulfills the wishes of parents to put their child in a high-performing program," said Petrucci.
One possibility would be to close a school and re-open it with a new program. Another would be to start a new school in one of the buildings the district isn't planning on using next year.
Others include charter schools, suburban schools or parochial schools. Each carries complexities and Brown says the district should know within a week or two what it wants to do as the district's fiscal situation continues to tighten.
