THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OFFICE

OF SCHOOL INNOVATION ROOM 475 EBA Tel. 518/474-4817 Fax 518/474-7558

July 30, 2013 Pamela Brown Superintendent Buffalo Public Schools 419 City Hall Buffalo, NY 14202 Dear Superintendent Brown: As a condition to receive and maintain federal 1003(g) School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding to implement a Restart model in Highgate Heights (School #80), Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) was required to submit a fully executed Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) contract to the Department by July 1, 2013. This EPO contract was required to meet the quality indicators identified in the request for proposals (RFP) and be compliant with Education Law 211-e. This requirement was made clear to BPS through the initial RFP, issued in November 2012; the preliminary award letter I sent in March 2013; and the Grants Award Notice that was sent to you from the Grants Finance Office of the Department. On June 5, 2013, NYSED sent BPS a reminder of this upcoming deadline. BPS has been receiving pre-implementation SIG funding for this project since April 2013. With regard to this requirement, I note that BPS failed to meet the deadline for submitting a fully executed EPO contract. Rather than submitting a fully executed EPO contract, BPS instead chose to submit a 2011 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Westminster Foundation (its proposed EPO) which highlights the commitment to partner with each other for a Promise Neighborhood intervention. While the Promise Neighborhood intervention is complementary to the SIG plan, it is a different commitment with different partners and parameters. The MOU itself does not meet the standard for SIG funding, as it does not specifically address the requirements of the SIG RFP and Education Law 211-e. On July 2, 2013, BPS submitted a one-page addendum to this MOU, providing a blanket statement that the partners agree to adhere to the provisions of Education Law 211-e. However, the specific elements of Education Law 211-e, as they will be implemented in School #80 beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, were not identified. BPS did not fulfill the requirements of SIG as you did not provide the Department with a fully executed EPO contract by July 1, 2013. As a result of the failure to submit a timely and complete EPO contract that meets the elements of the RFP, including the provisions of Education Law 211-e, BPS is at risk of termination of this grant. In order to maintain this grant, you must submit a fully executed EPO contract for School #80, no later than noon on August 12, 2013. The EPO contract must be specific to the Restart SIG plan for School #80, must follow the requirements outlined in the SIG RFP #TA-11, and must contain the following elements and be fully compliant with Education Law 211-e:

1. Specific and clear articulation that the Westminster Foundation will assume the

powers and duties of the superintendent for purposes of implementing the educational program of the school, including all of the areas identified in Education Law 211-e;
2. Specific and measurable performance expectations and benchmarks for school

operations and academic outcomes, and failure to meet such expectations or benchmarks may be grounds for termination of the contract prior to the expiration of its term;
3. Explicit articulation of the process and timeline by which the EPO will make

recommendations to the BOE around a) budget decisions; b) staffing population decisions; c) student discipline decisions; d) curriculum decisions; e) the daily schedule of the school; and f) the school calendar;
4. Explicit articulation of the process by which students will be assigned to the school,

and the EPO and district role in that process;

5. Explicit articulation of the school-specific process by which employees will transfer in

and out of the school and the EPO role in that process;
6. The services that BPS shall provide to the school; and 7. The manner in which the school shall apply for and receive allocational and

competitive grants. If this EPO contract is not received by the Department by noon on August 12, 2013, or if the Department determines that the submitted contract does not meet the quality standards set forth in this letter, the Department will begin action to terminate your SIG funding for School #80, consistent with any applicable federal regulations and procedures. Should you have any questions or require additional assistance please contact Owen Donovan at (518) 473-8852 or odonovan@mail.nysed.gov. Sincerely,

Sally Bachofer c: Debra Sykes Judy Elliott