This week, the Common Council held five meetings. For this summary, we will focus on two meetings: The Legislation Committee and The Education Committee. The Legislation Meeting addresses local laws, ordinances, and general legislation, except for civil service matters. The Education Meeting pertains to issues regarding teachers, schools, school property, training, and the Board of Education.

During the Education Meeting, the Common Council heard a summary on federal funding from Buffalo Public Schools CFO Geoffrey Pritchard and commentary from the Urban Think Tank on how the Council and the Buffalo School Board should spend the money. First, Pritchard laid out in a short presentation how federal funding works. Buffalo will receive federal funding from two different federal stimulus programs: the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act ("The CRRSA") and the American Rescue Plan ("The ARP"). The CRRSA provides $89.1 million, and The ARP provides $200.1 million for a total of $289.2 million. The CFO stated that any plan needs to use the funding to build capacity through sustainable high yield investments to do an equity-based needs assessment and should have a heavy focus on compliance with federal guidelines.

Dr. Keresztes from the School Superintendent's Office showed stakeholder survey results on what to do with the American Rescue Plan funding. Find the results of the surveys here: https://www.buffaloschools.org/page/97505.

The Urban Think Tank asked that BPS push for 75% grade level proficiency in English and math and make sure high school graduates are college- and career-ready. The Urban Think Tank stated that only 25% of students have grade-level proficiency in English, and only 20% have grade-level math proficiency. The Urban Think Tank also said Buffalo students are level one on the NYSED Index on College, Career, and Civic Readiness, the lowest rating. The group would like BPS to improve that to a level four on the NYSED index. Multiple business leaders and faith leaders spoke in support of the Urban Think Tank's requests. However, Dr. Keresztes disagreed with Urban Think Tank's facts, stating that Buffalo's graduation rates have improved drastically – from 50 to 75% – in the last six years and that 75% of Buffalo Schools are in good standing for reading and math proficiency.

Common Council President Pridgen believes the City of Buffalo needs to do better for students because, "If we're not 100%, that means we still have work to do." He urged community groups and government officials to think of the children rather than infighting about how the changes should occur.

During the Legislation Meeting, the Council stated it intends to approve the Right to Know law. The Right to Know law mandates that Buffalo officers provide a reason for stopping a vehicle (or a person) at the end of the interaction and leave a business card that contains pertinent phone numbers for BPD. Lastly, Right to Know requires officers to ask for and receive consent before searching a person or property without a warrant. The officer must explain to the person that there will be no search if the person refuses. Common Council changed a portion of the law to negate it from affecting "public protests." However, because New York State and the U.S. Constitution protect the right to protest, the effects should be negligible.

The Council noted that the deadline for Mayor Brown to veto the removal of the speed zone cameras has passed. Therefore, the removal of the speed zone camera law will take place on September 1, 2021. Until that time, the law is still in effect – however, residents may appeal any tickets they receive under the law before September 1.

Need more than just a summary? Contact us at info@ppgbuffalo.org, or find full meeting information and schedules here: http://buffalony.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx