BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s a big pronouncement from District Parent Coordinating Council President Sam Radford.

"In a lot of ways this is probably one of the most important years in the history of Buffalo Public Schools," said Radford.   

He’s spent more than a decade fighting for students in the Buffalo Public Schools and believes this year could determine the future course of the district.  

"Once every 15 years you have all of school board members up for election, that happens May 2019,” he said. “This year the teachers’ contract comes to an end, the superintendent’s contract comes to an end.”

Radford believes under the leadership of Criner Cash, and without the divisiveness that once plagued the school board, the district has made some major strides.

"Dr. Cash has turned this district around and it's all trending in the right direction,” he said. “All of our scores are going up, one of the best graduation rates in our history. We've seen us do things like having parent centers in every sector of the city. You see us have these community schools.”

"He has a vision of what he wants to do and that's important," said Buffalo Teachers Union President Phil Rumore of Cash.

He says progress would not have been possible without the current school board.

"What we had in the past was a divisive school board that was at odds with one another and nothing got done. So, what we need to do is have a school board that's unified. They can have disagreements but agree to talk to one another," Rumore said.

He says the other thing to watch will be the teacher contract talks.

"I think the most important thing is that we have to attract and keep our teachers. And the most important way is to do that is by having good learning and teaching conditions, smaller class sizes, and programs for the children that need help," Rumore said.

And while Radford says he's happy with the district's progress, there’s more work to be done.

"More work has been done now than has ever been done in the history of Buffalo Public Schools, but we've got a long way to go," he said.