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UFT Testimony

Testimony regarding the preliminary FY 2017 education capital budget

UFT Testimony

Testimony of UFT Secretary Emil Pietromonaco before the New York City Council Committees on Education and Finance

Good afternoon. My name is Emil Pietromonaco and I am the secretary of the United Federation of Teachers. On behalf of the UFT, I thank the City Council for its unwavering support of our members and our school communities. Your work makes a difference in the lives of New York City’s 1.1 million students. We commend the efforts of Education Committee Chair Dromm and Finance Chair Ferreras-Copeland, and thank them for inviting us to testify on the Capital Plan for New York City.

Overview

This year, we are encouraged that the Capital Plan is beginning to tackle some of the school system’s most intractable issues. The $1.4 billion proposed increase brings the five-year spending total up to $14.9 billion. With this money, we can potentially make significant progress towards alleviating overcrowding and reducing class size as well as increase the number of pre-kindergarten seats. We can also make strides in introducing more “green” technology into our buildings, as well as continue the removal of PCB-laden lighting fixtures. We can also address those schools that lack modern laboratories or access to the Internet.

A critical issue in this plan is the Smart School Bond Act. We are counting on New York State to provide $783 million from bond revenue to New York City. Losing that financing, or not having it in time for this year’s capital plan, will severely hamper technology projects, expansion of pre-kindergarten and the removal of temporary classroom units, i.e. trailers. 

Smaller Classes

For years now, parents and educators have complained about our crowded classrooms. Teachers usually have many students at different levels of achievement in a typical classroom; the more students there are, the harder it is for a teacher to provide individualized attention. Many schools have taken creative measures to meet the needs of populations that exceed a school’s capacity, even going so far as to convert closets into resource rooms for students.

Research has shown the positive effect on student achievement when classes are smaller, especially when the students are from low-income families. It’s always been common sense to us. Smaller class sizes are at the core of improving the quality of education in this city. Every child deserves to be in the right-size classroom so that he or she can receive individual attention.

The recently proposed Amendment to the 2015-19 Capital Plan attempts to address these issues. The recent addition of 11,800 seats, to bring the total number of funded seats to more than 44,000, is a huge step forward for everyone. According to the Amendment, almost 13,000 of those seats are under design. We are now at the mid-point in this five-year capital plan. In the months ahead, we hope the School Construction Authority (SCA) can provide stakeholders with updates on the design and construction of all 44,000 of these critical seats. Both the Independent Budget Office in its recent analysis and passionate advocates such as Class Size Matters acknowledge the need for many new seats beyond those already outlined in the Capital Plan, particularly in Districts 10 and 11 in the Bronx, Districts 15, 20, 21, and 22 in Brooklyn, and most districts in Queens.

What’s more, the $490 million specifically allocated to reduce class size in targeted schools is a welcome change in the conversation. We understand that the DOE and SCA are working together to identify schools that need relief, and we encourage them to include all stakeholders in that conversation. That way, all communities benefit. We are particularly encouraged that some relief is coming to PS 19 in the Bronx, which is at 147% capacity, East New York Family Academy in Brooklyn which is at 164%, and PS 131 in Queens, at nearly 200%.

We applaud everyone involved for making the necessary changes to the capacity/utilization methodology and updating enrollment projections. That figure is approximately 83,000.

However, we still need to fund more than 38,000 seats. Our work is cut out for us.

Rezoning

The New Capacity Program includes 5,000 seats that are planned for new residential developments or for parcels of land, should they be rezoned for residential use.

It is important that SCA and DOE monitor the city's rezoning plans for affordable housing. Even if the effect on schools is a student population increase of less than 5% (the threshold under the City's environmental regulations), the impact on students already in overcrowded schools would still be significant. We must make sure we are planning for all new needs created by the re-zoning and development. This is critical for neighborhoods throughout the city.

Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)

The UFT has long advocated for the creation of a truly universal UPK program in New York City, and we congratulate this administration on its successful implementation in just a few years. We thank all the stakeholders for making the program work, and tip our hat, of course, to our members who helped the city rev up in such quick measure.

We are encouraged that the proposed amendment would fund 7,600 additional UPK seats next year. The early education foundation helps our children succeed in elementary schools. UPK plays a pivotal role in laying the groundwork for a child’s social, emotional and intellectual development, which includes critical thinking, the ability to concentrate as well as transition from one activity to the next, and verbal and written communication.

Temporary Classroom Units

Decades ago, faced with a burgeoning population at many schools, the city was forced to create capacity quickly. Temporary Classroom Units (TCUs), also known as trailers, soon appeared in school yards all over the city. As we all know, TCUs were never meant to be a long-term solution. Unfortunately, hundreds of TCUs remained in use far longer than anyone had anticipated. They were too cold in the winter and too hot in the early fall and late spring. They sprung leaks, they grew mold and they rusted.

We’ve been the biggest critics on this issue, and today, due to our advocacy, as well as others, the city has removed hundreds of TCUs and plans to remove 100 more. The latest Amendment identifies 285 TCUs, which means 185 trailers will remain at the end of this capital plan. The city must maintain its commitment to eliminating these trailers; we ask for a binding commitment to a specific date for removal of all TCUs.

PCB-laden Lighting Removal

In 2011, the last administration told parents, teachers and students that it would take at least a decade to remove all of the lighting fixtures containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into classrooms throughout the city. PCBs cause cancer in animals as well as a number of serious non-cancer health effects, and studies indicate a similar impact in humans.

After the collective efforts of all concerned parties, including litigation, we are relieved to see that the project will be completed by the end of this year. This is a testament to the collective efforts of all involved that the city completed this project in half the time originally predicted.

Boilers

We commend the creation of greener schools in the Capital Plan. We particularly support the conversion of boilers to eliminate heating oil Number 4. The Environmental Protection Agency has designated heating oil Number 4 as one of the worst polluting oils. In fact, in 2011, the UFT’s Delegate Assembly passed a resolution demanding that this change takes place.

We also commend the SCA for conducting an expansive search to find companies with the capacity to perform this task. But the timeline for conversion of these boilers takes us through 2030, and as with the PCB-filled light fixtures, we encourage all concerned parties to work collaboratively to ensure that this project can be completed faster.

We also ask that the SCA pay particular attention to the two schools on Staten Island that are running on auxiliary boilers as a result of recent breakdowns, and that require replacement.

Tech Bond

Our schools, as we all know, are falling behind in technology infrastructure. The 21st century will not wait for our students. Many of our schools lack computer labs, Internet access, and Wi-Fi accessibility. But we hope to see that change once we hopefully receive the expected $783 million from the state’s Smart School Bond Act.

This money will specifically target technology and facility upgrades in our schools. Moving further into this new century, schools need to improve technology to prepare students for high-skilled jobs. It is impossible to think of a job today that does not require a computer with internet access.

Because we’re in the schools every day, we believe that we can help identify projects that would be most beneficial for our students, so we get the biggest bang for our buck. We encourage the SCA, the DOE and the City Council to include the UFT in the process of identifying beneficial projects for schools and students alike, and helping these agencies create a timeline for short-term and long-term projects.

Conclusion

We have worked with the City Council successfully for years, and now that we have an administration that thinks collaboratively and works cooperatively with all the shareholders, we can work together to address these many issues. We’ve accomplished a lot in the past two years. Let’s continue to meet those challenges together.

Thank you.

Related Topics: Education Funding