Residency violators could pay more to golf

If one Buffalo lawmaker has his way, local residency violators Dave Thomas (East Amherst), Jim Comerford (East Aurora), and James Kane (West Seneca) pictured here, will have to pay more to use city golf courses this summer. God knows it's probably a good investment, since these guys have considerable spare time (you know,when the rest of us are working). South District Councilman Mickey Kearns is proposing an increase in fees paid by suburban golfers using Buffalo's Olmstead parks.

Suburban golfers may pay more : City of Buffalo : The Buffalo News

Two Faced Dave

The Harvard Cup football game will be played tomorrow between Burgard HS and Riverside HS. If the cameras are around, you know you will find Buffalo Public Schools' Athletic Director Dave Thomas. A source from the Burgard maintenance staff tells me Thomas showed up at the school's pep rally and told them how he wanted Burgard to win the game because they were from such a "well run" (his words) smaller program.

It will be interesting to hear what my friends at Riverside think about that. I'm sure he went there and told them the same thing. This guy is the most two faced person I know. He doesn't care who wins. All he cares about is getting as much money as he can from city residents for himself and his son (whom he also hired and is paying to coach 3 sports). This blowhard lives in East Amherst.

I remember jogging around the indoor track at the ECC city campus during the MLK basketball tournament last year. One of the local news stations was interviewing a player and Thomas kept on walking back and forth behind him just so he could be seen on camera. I felt sorry for Thomas. It was the most embarrassing display of self promotion I ever witnessed. Good luck at the game tomorrow, residency violator.

Williams/Kane's Salary Remain a Secret

This article was in today's paper regarding salary data for the Buffalo Board of Education. Superintendent Williams is reluctant to put this information on the city of Buffalo website. I was glad to see a link to another website wwwseethroughny.net, where some of the information was found.

On that website, I found that Bflo Director of Physical Education (East Amherst resident) Dave Thomas made $115,796 last year. With a sectional record of 2-699-0, I can see his pay was not based on performance. The Buffalo athletic programs have been a complete joke under his leadership (for lack of a better word). He mentioned once that Buffalo schools would someday have field hockey programs. Have you purchased the skirts yet? It also shows that his entitled son made $50,199 despite being a newer teacher. Must be nice when daddy hands you every coaching opportunity there is. I hope the retirement rumors about Thomas are true for the sake of all scholastic athletes in Buffalo.

Noticeably missing from this data was Dr. William's salary as well as the salary of West Seneca resident and William's chief of staff James Kane. What are these guys trying to hide? We will have to conduct our own independent investigation to uncover their salaries.

I remember when Williams tried to sneak out of Buffalo for a job in Memphis, Tenn. He was a serious candidate until the Memphis papers found out the Bflo schools were on the brink of disaster and people were trying to run Williams out of town. Then, he quietly withdrew. Looks like Memphis' gain continues to be our loss.

City schools’ payroll data won’t be going online*

Residency for Buffalo Public Schools

The residency policy for the Buffalo Public Schools teachers and administrators is of great concern to me. From what I'm told, with the exception of Math and Special Education, all teachers and administrators are supposed to be city residents. The reason those two subjects are exempt is because there is a great need for more teachers in those areas.

A friend of mine used a freedom of information request and found that several of the most recent hirees in the physical education department were suburban residents. This would be surprising if it wasn't for the fact that Dave Thomas, director of physical education in Buffalo, along with his wife, is a resident of East Amherst. His wife is the principal at South Park High School.

We've worked like crazy for 18 years to see our city girls finally become competitive against some of the wealthiest suburban areas in WNY. I know it is tough since there are many obstacles facing the city children. However, the record of the Buffalo Public School teams in sectional games is atrocious. Recently, for example McKinley and Hutch Tech lost in the first round of the baseball tournament by scores close to 11-1. This is unacceptable. Sadly, this is a common result with the only exception being boys basketball. The girls sports teams in the Buffalo Public Schools are not taken seriously by the administration. They are a disaster. Many of you with daughters in our soccer program will find this out firsthand if they end up going to a Buffalo Public School. I'm not knocking the schools themselves as I consider City Honors, Hutch Tech, and Da Vinci to be good schools.With it being 2009, you would think this would change.

It's funny how these people are so dedicated to city children, yet they don't want to live next door to them. I've lived in the city for 37 years, coached city athletes for 18 years, and couldn't even get an interview in Buffalo with a master's degree. Fortunately, I went out and found something else on my own. The only way a Buffalo resident can get looked at in the Buffalo Schools system is if they are part of one of the "entitled" families. That's ok, though. This issue of residency is being closely monitered and there will be an update in the near future. Dave Thomas ,you are welcome to come back and live amongst us.