Veronica Ryszkiewicz (far right), a French teacher from IS 72 on Staten Island, said she came to ensure that the stimulus money “is dedicated to what our President earmarked it for — education. We understand that our mayor feels that if no one shows up, it means no one cares, so we’re here to show that we care!”

Gladys Jones (left), a UFT home daycare provider for six years, said, “People can’t afford not to have child care. Without that, they’ll be going into the welfare system, and how will that help anything? If children are our future, we really need to allocate that stimulus money wisely.”

Valerie Lashly (back row, second from right), a chapter leader at PS 151 in Brooklyn and 5th grade teacher, said “We’re having difficulty purchasing materials now; we don’t have paper for photocopies, or ink for our printers — the children work on computers but we can’t print anything. If we have cuts, we’ll have even less.” Lashly said she also came to the rally “for my daughter, who goes to a CUNY school - budget cuts will affect her, too.”

Anne Quinones (back row, far left), a paraprofessional in pre-K for 25 years at PS 151 said, “Under five titles and three mayors” said she’s seen a big reduction in resources in the last four years. “Now we have no social worker, and no family worker, who ran the parent component. So we’ve seen parent participation drop. We’re here to have a voice.”

From left, new teachers Carissa Runza and Ashley Alvarado, Diane Howard, a 20-year veteran teacher, and paraprofessional Delia Hughes.

New teacher Ashley Alvarado of PS 81 in Queens is in her second year of teaching. “I was almost excessed last year, and I just don’t want to see that happen again. Our school is crowded already.”

Paraprofessional Delia Hughes, who came with a large group from PS 81, said, “I was the last hired, so I would be the first to go. Our school really needs paras — there are 1,300 students, with a main building, four portables (trailers) and an annex.”

Eve Ottavino, (third from right) a 4th-grade teacher at PS 39 in Park Slope said, “budget cuts would devastate our school. I would have 40 kids in my class with no support, and we would lose music and art.

“We’re losing money for supplies already — there’s not enough paper for our copy machines. Each year, the list of supplies we ask parents to bring grows longer, and teachers spend a lot of our own money, too. As the economy worsens, the parents can’t keep bringing in supplies.”

John Ressos, a first year teacher at her school (back row, far left) added, “Class sizes will go up as the number of teachers go down, and cuts affect all the extras like after-school programs that inner city kids need.”

Chapter Leader Suzanne Bassil (second from left, front row) said, “I told everyone they had to be here today – there are no do-overs in education! It will affect the child if they don’t have the resources and services they need.”

Gloria Tillery, a paraprofessional from PS 274 in Brooklyn came with her grandson, Nasir, who is in pre-K at her school. “I think this will mean bigger classes. We need all the teachers we have now.”

Michelle Wilcher, (third from right) a paraprofessional for more than 15 years, currently at P369 K, a District 75 school in Brooklyn said, “It’s a domino effect – if you make cuts in one area, it affects everything else. We’re one New York and we need each other!”

Her colleague, teacher Melissa Kirkpatrick (far left) added, “This isn’t about teachers or unions but about the whole city, our wonderful city.”

A large, spirited group came from PS 90 in Coney Island. New teacher Brielle Klein (second from left, front row), a third year teacher, said, “We already suffered cuts as it is – we had seven teachers excessed.”

Betty Matos (front row, far right) in her 33rd year of teaching, said, “We’re here for the kids,” and credited their principal, Madelene Chan (middle row, far right), a former teacher and assistant principal, with creating a strong learning environment at their school. “I’m here to support my teachers,” Chan said. “It would be detrimental to children, families, and the entire Coney Island community” if there were any cuts or reduction in services.

Adam Zirofsky, a social worker for 10 years, brought his three-year-old daughter Kayla to her first rally because, “this is educational. I want her to experience the union and feel that she has a voice as she gets older.”