Contact: Nikki Jones, AQE 518-432-5315 and Frank Maurizio, NYSUT 518-213-6000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Parents and educators set to reject cuts to school funding at 18 locations across the state
What
Parents, students, educators and community members will hold 18 simultaneous press conferences across New York state on Thursday, March 4, to oppose Governor Paterson's proposed $1.4 billion cut to state education funding.
The Message
The governor's $1.4 billion cut to schools statewide, if enacted, would come on top of a broken promise that the state made - and the Legislature enacted -- in response to the court order in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity litigation. Included in the commitment was a promise to provide increased resources so that New York's children receive their constitutional right of a real opportunity for a sound basic education. That constitutional promise was broken in the current fiscal year when funding was frozen at the prior year's levels, resulting in teacher and program cuts. Now Governor Paterson has proposed to make further cuts, below the freeze, with a regressive budget that will stymie student progress and result in additional loss of programs, services and jobs in schools. High-needs schools and students would be the hardest hit.
Who
Alliance for Quality Education, Campaign for Fiscal Equity, New York State Association of Small City School Districts, New York State School Boards Association, New York State Council of School Superintendents, New York State United Teachers, School Administrators Association of New York State, and the New York State Congress of Parents and Teachers.
When
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Where
A statewide list of locations and times follows.
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Albany - Legislative Office Building LCA press room, 11:00 a.m.
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Jamestown - Jefferson Middle School library, 195 Martin Road, 1:30 p.m.
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Peru - Peru Central School District High School community room, 17 School Street, 12:00 p.m.
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Troy - Troy High School, 1950 Burdett Avenue, 11:00 a.m.
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Schenectady - Mount Pleasant Middle School, 121 Forest Road, 11:00 a.m.
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Yonkers - Lincoln High School library, 375 Kneeland Avenue, 11:30 a.m.
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Middle Island - Longwood CSD, Longwood HS Library, 100 Longwood Road, 12:00 p.m.
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Syracuse - Edward Smith Middle School cafeteria, 1106 Lancaster Avenue, 6:00 p.m.
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Peekskill- Peekskill High School library, 1072 Elm Street, 11:00 a.m.
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Manhattan - Murry Bergtraum High School, 411 Pearl Street, 12:30p.m.
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Manhattan - MS 54 Booker T. Washington School, 103 West 107th Street, 3:00 p.m.
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Bronx- PS 11 - Town Hall Meeting,1257 Ogden Avenue, 5:00 p.m.
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Brooklyn - IS 318 Eugenio Maria De Hostos 101 Walton Street, 3:00 p.m.
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Brooklyn - PS 13 Roberto Clemente Press Conference, 557 Pennsylvania Avenue, 12:00 p.m.
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Brooklyn - IS 171 Abraham Lincoln - Town Hall Meeting, 528 Ridgewood Avenue, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
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Queens - IS 125 Thomas J McCann, 46-02 47th Avenue, Woodside, 3:00 p.m.
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Queens - Make the Road, 92-10 Roosevelt Avenue, Elmhurst, 11:00 a.m.