Kriner Cash also announced that school will begin for Buffalo Public School staff on September 1.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Public Schools announced Thursday morning during a press conference that the district will begin the school year fully-remote.

Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash said the decision to begin the school year on a fully-remote basis was a unanimous decision among district and school board officials.

Kriner Cash also announced that school will begin for Buffalo Public School staff on September 1.

The district will work toward a hybrid model and a full in-person model, “maybe sometime this year,” Cash said. “It’ll depend on the science” to change from fully-remote to hybrid model.

Buffalo Board of Education President Sharon Belton-Cottman said that the district worked six months to arrive at decision to begin school year with all remote learning for city students.

“Everyone should be concerned about what is happening in urban America,” said Belton-Cottman.

Pres. Belton-Cottman also added that it took longer to make school reopening decisions because the district has 33,000+ students.

Superintendent said that electronic devices for students in Pre-K to Grade. 2 have been ordered. Students in Grades 3-12 will also have devices as they did in the spring.

“All of our students will have devices as long as we can get it to them.” Dr. Cash says volunteers will go door-to-door to deliver them if needed.

All school sites will be open 2 days per week, providing meals to students for the entire week. Dr. Kriner Cash added that 2.9 million meals have been served since pandemic started among only 28 school sites in Buffalo.

Buffalo school district has decided to open fully remote in September.

Parent groups and the teachers union thanked Buffalo School Superintendent Kiner Cash for including them in its planning process. Now, the district is so far ahead of other districts in meeting all logistical challenges. According to Phil Rumore, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation.