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AMHERST CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT — Organizational Meeting and Regular Business Meeting with Public Hearing, Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Our parent watchdogs have scanned the upcoming agenda for AMHERST CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT. We found 7 items that need your immediate attention before the vote.
| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 10) |
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Handing Over Your Child’s Data Privacy to an Unknown Third Party
Under item L.18, the board is voting to authorize an outside group called the ‘Risk One Operations Center (ROC)’ to negotiate and approve all data privacy agreements for school software. This removes the board’s direct oversight and gives an unelected, unknown entity power over what happens to our children’s sensitive data. This is a massive delegation of authority over student privacy.
Recommended Action Plan
PACK THE ROOM: This is a critical threat to your child’s privacy. Email the Board of Education and demand Item L.18 be pulled from the Consent Agenda for a full discussion. Ask: ‘Who is the Risk Operations Center? Who holds them accountable? Why is the Board giving away its authority to protect our children’s data?’ Advise them to vote NO or face a recall effort.
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Loss of local control over student data privacy.
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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Giving the Superintendent a Blank Check for Contracts
Item L.15 authorizes the Superintendent to approve all district contracts for the entire 2026-2027 school year without bringing them to the board for a public vote. This structural change eliminates transparency and allows the administration to hire controversial consultants or purchase ideological curriculum (like SEL programs) without any public scrutiny or board accountability.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board of Education. ‘I demand Item L.15 be pulled from the Consent Agenda and rejected. The Board must not abdicate its fiscal oversight. Every contract must be made public and voted on by our elected representatives.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Loss of financial transparency and parental oversight.
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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Secretive Five-Year Teacher Indoctrination Plan
The board is voting to approve a five-year ‘Professional Learning Plan’ for all teachers (Item S.6). These plans are the primary vehicle for injecting controversial ideologies like Critical Race Theory, ‘anti-racism,’ and radical gender theory into the classroom under the guise of teacher training. The 1,102 KB plan document is listed but was not made available for public review.
Recommended Action Plan
INVESTIGATE: Email the Board of Education and demand the vote on Item S.6 be postponed until the ‘CTLE Professional Learning Plan 2026-2031.pdf’ is posted online for 30 days for public review and comment. ‘Parents have a right to know what our teachers are being trained to teach.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: The cost of shifting classroom focus from academics to activism.
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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Using Your Tax Dollars to Lobby Against Parents
Under items H.4 and H.5, the board is appointing representatives to the Erie County Association of School Boards (ECASB) ‘Legislative Team.’ This means our local school tax dollars will be used to fund a lobbying group that may work against parental rights bills in the state capital. Parents have a right to know what political agenda this group pushes with our money.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board of Education: ‘Regarding items H.4 and H.5, I demand to see the official legislative platform of the ECASB before you appoint members to its lobbying team. Our tax dollars should not be used to lobby against parental rights.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Undisclosed portion of district funds/dues paid to ECASB for political lobbying.
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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Hiring a ‘Mental Health’ Grant Coordinator to Expand School Overreach
Item S.10 creates a new position: ‘Mental Health Awareness and Training Grant Coordinator.’ This signals a major expansion of the school’s role from education into mental health services. These grant-funded positions often come with federal or state mandates for universal mental health screening, data collection, and ‘trauma-informed’ practices that can pathologize normal childhood behavior and bypass parental consent.
Recommended Action Plan
ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS: Email the Board of Education regarding Item S.10: ‘What specific grant funds this position? What are the data-sharing requirements? Will parents have opt-out rights for any screenings or training associated with this grant? We do not co-parent with the government.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Strings-attached grant funding that mandates specific programs and data collection.
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 7) |
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Rubber-Stamping Undisclosed Special Education Plans
Under items S.2 and S.3, the board is voting to approve recommendations from the Committee on Special Education without providing any public information or attachments. While individual student plans are private, these agenda items can contain approvals for new programs, vendors, or therapeutic approaches (like MTSS) that affect many students. Approving them with zero description is a failure of transparency.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board of Education: ‘Before voting on Items S.2 and S.3, please provide a non-confidential summary of any new programs, vendors, or district-wide policy changes being approved. Parents deserve to know what interventions are being adopted in our schools.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Undisclosed costs for new programs or vendors.
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 6) |
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‘Wellness’ Committee Pushing a Non-Academic Agenda
The board is appointing members to the district ‘Wellness Committee’ (Item I.6). These committees are often the source of policies that push Social Emotional Learning (SEL), ‘climate surveys,’ and other ‘whole child’ initiatives that take focus away from academics. The committee includes outside consultants and a university professor, indicating an agenda that may not align with community values.
Recommended Action Plan
GET A SEAT AT THE TABLE: Email the Board of Education. ‘Regarding Item I.6, I request that a concerned parent who prioritizes academic excellence be appointed to the Wellness Committee. We must ensure its focus remains on genuine health, not social engineering.’ Also, file a request for all past and future meeting minutes.
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Shift in focus and resources from academics to subjective ‘wellness’ metrics.
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