Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Last week, an arbitrator ruled the Buffalo Public Schools' transfer of 54 teachers in three underperforming schools violated a collective barganing agreement with the Buffalo Teachers Federation. The district has now filed an appeal.

Superintendent Dr. Pamela C. Brown states, “The appeal is the best way to move forward in the interest of the children we serve to educate.”

The current arbitration calls for the District to cease and desist with implementation of the transfers in a plan that was approved by both the Board of Education and the State Education Department, in order to improve the academic achievement at these schools.

By appealing the award, the District remains eligible to receive over $5 million in State funding for 3 Persistently Lowest Achieving schools. This money is intended to directly support the classrooms at each of the 3 schools. A decision to implement the award without exercising the District's right to appeal all but guarantees that the District will be ineligible to receive the greatest amount of funding available from the State of New York for the current academic year.