Buffalo School Closures Affect Over 2,200 Students

Now that we're just about a month into the 2026/27 school year, parents and students in New York State's second-largest school district are dealing with the potential of having at least 8 school buildings closed this year, according to news reporting from WGRZ-TV and later confirmed by the district's leadership in a video posted on social media.

As it stands today, if the proposal that is being discussed by leadership at the Buffalo Public Schools goes as planned, 8 current schools will close down, with five of those buildings being repurposed and reconstituted as new schools.

PS 33 Bilingual Center, PS 59 Dr. Charles R. Drew Science, PS 82 Ronald Peoples School of Scholars, PS 90 Early Childhood Center, PS 131 Academy School @ 86, PS 208 Riverside Academy, PS 309 East High School, and PS 366 Research Laboratory High School would all close.

PS 59, PS 131, and PS 366 would remain closed permanently, while the remaining buildings would turn into new programs:

Research Laboratory High School would combine with Leonardo da Vinci High School and move into the Riverside High School building,
East High would become the new Buffalo Rising Academy,
PS 90 would be turned into a special education pre-K center,
and PS 33 or PS82 would be converted into BPS administrative and/or office space for district personnel.

In total, 108 full-time jobs would be eliminated by these changes, along with changes to more than 2,200 current students who would need to transfer to new programs or find themselves learning in new buildings.

While this has caught some parents, teachers, and students by surprise, it should not be unexpected, as the Buffalo Public Schools and its $1.2 billion general fund budget have had some structural issues that it has been facing for many years.

Parents at a few of these schools have banded together and started petitions to try and convince school leadership to keep these buildings open. This includes parents at PS 59 Dr. Charles R. Drew Science and PS 82 Ronald Peoples School of Scholars. In addition, some elected school board members spoke out against the closures, saying more conversations are needed.

As more students in the city of Buffalo attend charter, religious, and private schools, the public school district has been dealing with a shrinking student population. With fewer students, the district is facing some tough decisions. To talk through those decisions, school leadership is having a series of public meetings to give details about the plan:

Virtual Meeting on Thursday, October 8th at 2 p.m.,
An in-person meeting at Renovation Church on Thursday, October 15th,
and an in-person meeting at TPS 156 Frederick Law Olmsted on Tuesday, October 20th.