Donn Esmonde, Join the movement for a better future

By Carl Paladino

Donn, we need insular columnists like you and Rod Watson to grow up. The community is fed up with the failed Buffalo Public Schools (BPS.) They want their new Board of Education (BOE) leadership to end the incestuous era of elected and appointed cowards who, with teacher and administrator union leadership, seek self-empowerment and are intent on preserving the cycle of poverty.

One would expect Crystal Peoples to have compassion for inner city children and call out the failed leadership, including black leaders, on whose watch our schools have circled the drain for generations. Instead, she supports more of the status quo, more delay and rhetoric, an extended national search process to find yet another incompetent professional carpetbagger who will be dumb enough to come to the worst school district in the State and who, like the others, after years of on the job training, we will pay to leave. We’ve been there and done that three times.  Today’s school children deserve an immediate opportunity to leave the generational disgrace that black leaders call “public education.”  How can their hypocrisy be so obvious to everyone but not to the press?

The BPS has a less than 50% official graduation rate (probably more like 30% considering the number that are pushed through by the unspoken rule that for every five failing students, four are pushed through and one is actually failed).

Administrators find it easier to manipulate statistics than to actually deal with problems. Teachers are told to not take attendance.  If a child is not marked off, the child is “presumed” to be present. They then give each other awards for improving attendance.

The BPS suffers embedded cognitive dissonance in all constituencies, a debilitating lack of morale, weak, incompetent and entrenched leadership, featherbedding and blatant reverse racism with friends and family (rather than merit) hiring, appointments and promotions; all of which has destroyed the incentive for teachers and administrators to achieve.

Donn, don’t you and Rod want at least one real career accomplishment in your life?  Stop being the critic and join us in an effort to make Buffalo a great place to live and raise a family.

We knew our reform agenda would continue to cause a lot of acrimony with the BOE minority and their followers, who are quickly becoming irrelevant and who will push back until the community rises up and pulls them off the wall.  We knew it wouldn’t be pleasant for them. As a critical thinker you should understand this too. They play the race and sex cards because they have no logical or intelligent alternative solution to offer.  If they were really interested in the children they would welcome Jim Weimer with open arms. They would advocate for vouchers, tax credits and charter schools to give the children real choice and give traditional education competition to inspire achievement.

Jim Weimer has more to offer as Superintendent than our lame Interim Superintendent and his entire executive staff combined.  He has decades of institutional history, knows the ability and qualities of all the players, is a proven manager and leader who commands the respect in all constituencies- and most importantly he is a family man with substantive values and the courage to take on a hideous mission.  Last Wednesday’s desperate attacks on Jim and his family were a shameful, unprofessional display of irresponsibility by the opposition.

The Board minority have historically never encountered people like the Board majority who are committed on a mission to do the right thing. Failure is not an option in our playbook.  Stop listening to the cross-eyed union and racist fanatics who consume our meetings. Listen instead for the rumblings of the silent majority of parents and citizens who need and want us on that wall.

You are in an important position to assist in our mission to repair this broken system and you are witnessing a last-ditch rabid attempt by the sinking minority to save their empowerment.

Join the movement for a better future for the children of Buffalo.