All was quiet on the biking front this morning, so a call was made to Buffalo Public School’s spokesperson, Stefan Mychajliw (ma-high-lou) concerning this Buffalo Rising story and this one. When asked about last night’s school board meeting, Mychajliw said, “Yeah, it was pretty anti-climactic.”
Mychajliw explained that there were no signs, no angry mob, but that 2 people did get up and speak about the benefits of having BPS students ride their bikes to school. “Dr. Williams invited them to speak and pulled them aside to explain that there was no policy banning bikes from Buffalo Public Schools. It doesn’t exist.”
Additionally Mychajliw said, “Dr. Williams has an open door policy on any issue that puts him face-to-face with questions like this. His schedule isn’t dictated by rumor, innuendo or half-baked press releases. He’ll come together and work with anyone on anything that pertains to policies [existent or not] that benefit children.” Mychajliw backs this statement up by saying that Williams can have back-to-back meetings planned, but that a call from a parent trumps anything on the day’s docket.
The upshot of the bike controversy according to Mychajliw (and without throwing anyone under the proverbial school bus), is that if a principal of a school wants a bike rack, they put in an order, it goes to bid…and they get a bike rack.
“This was 1 of 4 issues we were ready for last night, and it sort of fizzled. And really, all they had to do was call,” according to Mychajliw. “Dr. Williams is well aware that if every student walked or rode a bike, it would save the District about $30 million a year.”
The fact remains that very few inner-city kids own bikes, much less ride them to school. Maybe a concerned group can show up at the Buffalo Police Department’s Annual Bike Auction (date to be decided) and put some wheels in the hands of students. And perhaps a few students and their bikes will be reunited.