Keep the Promises Actions Calendar
A promise Kept, A promise Broken
May 8, 2008 12:25 PM
A Promise Kept: Last year, the City and State of New York made a historic commitment to reverse years of shortchanging city schools. The governor and state Legislature, despite falling revenues and daunting budget deficits, kept that promise. In April, the governor and Legislature actually exceeded their commitment with an increase more than $600 million for New York City public schools.
A Promise Broken: The City of New York also promised our students additional funding. However, the mayor, while sitting on a multi-billion-dollar budget surplus, put forth a school budget for the 2008-09 school year that is $450 million less than what was promised.
A Promise Restored: Looming state aid reductions are no longer a valid excuse. We fought a 13-year legal battle for school funding that is sufficient to deliver a sound, basic education. Part of the purpose of that fight was to protect our students from the ups and downs of the economy. Kids don’t get do-overs. Let’s give them a fair shake now!
The mayor and City Council can protect the schoolchildren of New York City by making sure that every dime of city funding that the schools rightly expected for next school year is delivered – and goes directly for services to children. The city made promises that parents, teachers, principals and the community counted on and that the state took as a gesture of good faith in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity agreement. Now we ask mayor and the Council to make sure those promises are kept.
The UFT urges the mayor and the City Council to take the following actions to fulfill the city’s CFE commitment:
- Reverse the executive budget’s proposed $428 million education budget cut.
- Restore the $36 million the City Council added last year, including funds for Teacher’s Choice, teacher work stations and computers, Provider’s Choice, Dial-A-Teacher and other Council initiatives.
- Maintain the buying power of Teacher’s Choice.
- Abide by the 2007 coalition agreement, including the school funding “hold harmless” provision (so schools that work well are not penalized for keeping their qualified staff or hiring experienced teachers) and the extra funding for English language learners, special education students and low-income students.
