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Heads up! We have scanned the upcoming agenda for BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. We found 9 items that need your immediate attention before the vote.
| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 10) |
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District Hires SEL/Restorative Justice Consultant for $50,000
The district is paying WestEd, a national activist consulting firm, $50,000 for ‘Student and Family Support Programs.’ The contract documents confirm this is for training and coaching on Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Trauma-Informed Care, and Restorative Justice, replacing academics with therapeutic and ideological programming.
Recommended Action Plan
PACK THE ROOM: This is a critical threat. Email the Board (contact info on district website) and sign up for public comment. Demand they vote NO on Consent Agenda Item 15.E. ‘Our schools need to focus on math and reading, not expensive psychological programming from outside consultants. Vote NO on the $50,000 WestEd contract.’
💰 Impact: $50,000.00
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| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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District Spends $39,780 on ‘Restorative Justice’ Services
The district is paying the ‘Erie County Restorative Justice’ coalition nearly $40,000 for ‘restorative services.’ Restorative Justice often replaces traditional discipline with talking circles and other therapeutic interventions, which can undermine classroom order and safety.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘I demand Consent Item 15.J be pulled from the Consent Agenda for a separate discussion and roll-call vote. Parents deserve to know what a $40,000 contract for Restorative Justice entails and what impact it will have on student discipline.’
💰 Impact: $39,780.61
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| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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District Buys ‘Comprehensive Sex Ed’ Textbooks
The district is spending over $24,000 on sexual health textbooks titled ‘Be Proud, Be Responsible!’ and ‘Reducing the Risk.’ These programs go beyond basic biology and focus on sexual behavior, risk reduction, and other topics that many parents believe should be discussed at home.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND REVIEW: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Parents have a right to review the curriculum used to teach their children about sensitive topics. Before voting on Item 17.B, the Board must make the ‘Be Proud, Be Responsible!’ and ‘Reducing the Risk’ textbooks available for public review and comment.’
💰 Impact: $24,242.73
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| HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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District Embeds DEI & SEL into K-4 Art Curriculum via $317k Textbook Purchase
The district is spending $317,611 on new K-4 art textbooks. The selection criteria explicitly required the books to include ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’ ‘culturally & linguistically responsive teaching,’ and ‘social-emotional learning,’ injecting ideology into what should be a creative, academic subject.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND REVIEW: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Item 15.C spends over $300,000 on art books selected for their ideological content, not just artistic merit. Parents demand to review these materials to ensure they are age-appropriate and free from political agendas before this vote.’
💰 Impact: $317,611.25
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| NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 7) |
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District Spends $161,500 on iPad Charging Carts
The district is spending $161,500 on charging carts to support the use of iPads in schools, officially for standardized testing. This purchase further entrenches screen-based learning in the classroom, but the district has not provided evidence that increased device use leads to better academic outcomes or what instructional time it displaces.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND EVIDENCE: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Before approving the $161,500 purchase for iPad carts under Item 17.H, please publish the independent, non-vendor-supplied evidence that shows increased iPad use improves academic achievement, and detail how much daily screen time this adds for students.’
💰 Impact: $161,500.00
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| NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 6) |
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District Renews Student Internet Monitoring Software for $154,770
The district is renewing its ‘Lightspeed’ internet content filter for over $154,000. While content filtering is required, this software gives the district the power to monitor students’ online activity and can be configured to block websites based on political or ideological viewpoints.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND POLICY: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding Item 17.I, what is the district’s policy on using Lightspeed to monitor student search terms for non-threatening political or social views? Please confirm that parents will be notified if their child’s activity is flagged for non-criminal reasons.’
💰 Impact: $154,770.00
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| MONITOR (LEVEL 5) |
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Vague Title — Manual Review Required
The district is spending $28,594 on a ‘Teacher Center Course Catalogue’ for professional development. The specific courses being offered are not detailed in the provided documents, which could conceal training on ideological topics like SEL, DEI, or Critical Race Theory.
Recommended Action Plan
INVESTIGATE: Open the files ‘Session 2 Catalogue 2026.11.04-2027.01.16.pdf’ and ‘BOE Recommendation Session 2 Catalogue 2026.11.04-2027.01.16.pdf’ attached to Item 12.A in the Official Agenda (linked above) to confirm whether they contain ideological training for teachers.
💰 Impact: $28,594.48
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| ALERT (LEVEL 2) |
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Meeting Opens with Ideological Land Acknowledgement
The meeting opens with a ‘Land Acknowledgement,’ a practice often linked to political activism and critical theories. This sets a specific ideological tone for the meeting before any business is conducted.
Recommended Action Plan
Monitor: This is often the first step. Watch for this language appearing in curriculum.
💰 Impact: Ideological Ritual
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✅ Wins to Defend
Good moves worth showing up to support so they stick.
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| Major Win (LEVEL 7) |
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Board Commits to Focus on Student Outcomes
The Board is adopting ‘Guardrails’ for its own conduct, including a rule that at least 50% of its meeting time must be spent monitoring student outcome goals. This is a major step towards ensuring the Board focuses on academics rather than political distractions.
How to Lock It In
AMPLIFY THIS WIN: Show up or email the Board to thank them for Item 1.D. Publicly supporting this makes it harder to reverse later and sets a model for other districts. ‘Thank you for prioritizing academic outcomes with the new Board Guardrails.’
✅ Why It Matters: Board Accountability
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