Buffalo, NY – Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera today announced the introduction of legislation (A11634A) that would direct the New York State Education Department to appoint a State Monitor for the Buffalo Public Schools to provide independent oversight of the district’s academic and financial planning, strengthen transparency and accountability, and help restore public confidence in the district’s leadership.

The proposal is modeled after successful state oversight structures utilized in other New York school districts, including Rochester, and comes as the Buffalo Public Schools face mounting financial challenges, governance concerns, and an ongoing crisis of public confidence.

Under the legislation, the Commissioner of Education would appoint an independent State Monitor to work alongside the Buffalo Board of Education and district administration. The monitor would serve as a non-voting ex-officio member of the Board and be empowered to review fiscal and academic decisions, develop long-term improvement plans, ensure compliance with state requirements, and increase transparency through regular public reporting. The monitor would also be authorized to intervene when Board actions conflict with state law, approved financial plans, or academic improvement goals.

The legislation comes amid a series of troubling developments within the district.

The Buffalo Board of Education approved a $1.4 billion budget containing a deficit exceeding $60 million, forcing the district to draw from reserve funds to close the gap. At the same time, district leadership authorized 51 central office job cuts, increased classroom sizes, reduced specialized instructional support in mathematics and English language arts, and initiated discussions regarding the closure of as many as six schools.

Public concern intensified after the Board approved salary increases for senior administrators already earning six-figure salaries while simultaneously reducing services and staffing.

Most recently, the district has been engulfed by controversy surrounding allegations of sexual harassment involving former Superintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga and Board Member Lewis “Muki” Hawkins. Those allegations have prompted investigations and generated widespread public concern regarding the culture, governance, and oversight practices within district leadership.

“When a school district is facing financial instability, internal conflict, allegations of misconduct, and concerns raised by its own elected board members, the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Rivera said. “The public has every right to demand transparency and accountability. I think, at this point, state intervention is necessary.”

The Board has received additional public criticism stemming from its discussions to abandon the long-planned relocation of Leonardo DaVinci High School to Buckham Hall on the campus of SUNY Buffalo State University.

For more than four years, Buffalo Public Schools, SUNY Buffalo State University, state officials, students, families, and community stakeholders worked collaboratively toward establishing Leonardo DaVinci High School at Buckham Hall. In 2023, Assemblymember Rivera and then-State Senator Sean Ryan successfully advanced legislation in Albany specifically to facilitate this transition. The legislation authorized Buffalo Public Schools to sublease the building from SUNY Buffalo State and made the rehabilitation project eligible for state building aid, creating a pathway for this vision to become reality.

For nearly four decades, the school operated on the campus of D'Youville University, providing students with a unique educational model that integrated high school learning with direct exposure to college life and coursework. That connection to a college campus is central to the school's identity and mission.

When D'Youville and the district agreed that their final lease extension would conclude in 2023, the Buffalo State partnership was presented as the next chapter for Da Vinci. Students and families were assured that the relocation to the former School 8 building on East Utica Street would be temporary. The district invested approximately $12 million in emergency renovations to prepare the building as a swing space while Buckham Hall was being readied for occupancy.

Erica Kulik, a parent of two DaVinci High School graduates, is among many from the DaVinci community that has expressed dissatisfaction with the Board’s reasoning.

“These kids deserve a new, state-of-the-art building,” she said. “Their teachers and the administration deserve better than what they were given. DaVinci should be moved to a building that reflects the collegiate atmosphere.”

Rivera emphasized that the introduction of legislation to appoint a State Monitor does not constitute a state takeover of Buffalo Public Schools. Rather, it creates a temporary oversight structure designed to support district leadership while ensuring independent review of major financial, operational, and academic decisions.

“The goal is not to replace local control. The goal is to restore confidence in local control,” Rivera said. “A State Monitor will help ensure that decisions are made transparently, that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly, and that the focus returns to where it belongs, which is the classroom.”

The bill requires the development of comprehensive five-year financial and academic improvement plans, mandates public hearings on district governance, academic performance, and fiscal operations, and establishes regular reporting requirements to the Commissioner of Education, Board of Regents, Governor, Legislature, and the public.

The monitor would also assist in resolving disputes among district leadership and make recommendations to improve operations and reduce costs.

Rivera, who is the Democratic nominee for New York State Senate District 61, and who faces no Republican opposition in November, pledged to make passage of the legislation a top priority upon taking office in the State Senate in January.

“Buffalo’s students cannot afford another year of dysfunction,” Rivera said. “We need stability and we need leadership that puts students ahead of politics and controversy. This legislation will help us begin rebuilding trust and creating a stronger future for the Buffalo Public Schools.”