Buffalo, as has long been the case, offers a couple of top high schools and many more inadequate ones. But the suburbs are not a monolith. There are more good schools than bad, but some offer little more than the most-criticized Buffalo schools. Most fall somewhere in between. And whether city, suburban or rural, the best and worst sometimes are within walking distance of each other.
Money has a lot to do with inequities.
But it's not necessarily because of a lack of money being spent. Sometimes it's how money is spent. Whichever the case, an analysis of Regents test scores shows only 15 percent of the public school students in Erie and Niagara counties are excelling. More often than not, it's the schools with the most limited academic programs and support services where at least 15 percent of students scored below 65 percent on the state Regents test, The News' analysis found. Clearly, they do not.