Buffalo Public Schools students and parents rallied outside of a Board of Education meeting Wednesday night, raising questions about the districts’ priorities.
In the meeting, BPS ultimately approved a 3% cost of living increase for certain exempt employees making over $100,000 a year. The two highest paid employees on the list are a chief academic officer and general counsel, who make roughly $191,000 and $190,000, respectively.
The increase has drawn scrutiny from parents and students who feel, amidst a deficit in the tens of millions of dollars, such pay raises shouldn’t be the priority.
"I'm not saying that people shouldn't get cost of living increases, and people should get paid for the work that they're doing, [it] just seemed like bad timing and a bad look," said Jessica Bauer Walker, co-chair of the Community Health Worker, Parent and Student Association for BPS. "Also, in the context of our population of our city, where the median household income is about $50,000."
Bauer Walker said the raise comes as the district faces a massive deficit, and most Buffalo households fall well below the bracket of workers getting a raise.
She added that students have been very engaged with the board and are frustrated with the board’s pace on issues that matter to them.
The students are "very frustrated, and they have a limited period of time. We're told all the time to be patient as parents and students, and at some point time is up," said Bauer Walker. "So, we have youth who still come back and engage with us, but they're out of Buffalo Public Schools at this point, and at some point we can't keep telling people to be patient."
The proposal included the 3% wage increase for those high-paid exempt workers if they were hired on or before May 1 of this year. It also includes $3,000 for exempt employees making less than $99,999. There were also changes included to the health insurance contributions for these exempt employees.
