New Yorkers Unite for "My School, My City, Our Future"
Campaign
With the court-imposed July 30 deadline fast approaching,
New York advocates are using
grass roots tactics and a single, unified message to
wage an emergency campaign for action by the legislature
and the governor. The stepped up pressure and renewed
unity could provide the leverage advocates are seeking
to break up the political logjam in Albany and force
Governor Pataki and the legislature to finally provide
adequate funding for New York schools as ordered by
the court in CFE v. State,
New York's school funding case.
The campaign, called the My School, My City, Our
Future Campaign, was launched on June 1, 2004 by
the Campaign
for Fiscal Equity and the Alliance
for Quality Education. Supported by individuals
and organizations statewide, the campaign's collective
message is clear-cut: to have a real opportunity for
success in the future, our kids need more resources
now. The slogan "my school needs" has been adopted by
students, teachers, and parents, who have been sporting
stickers produced by CFE to describe their schools'
specific needs, be it fair funding, smaller classes,
pre-K programs, computers and labs, books and libraries,
or better buildings.
The campaign boasts two components, a grass roots statewide
letter writing campaign that has children and parents
telling Governor Pataki what their school needs and
a culminating rally in New York City on June 17 that
will bring together students, teachers, parents, advocates,
policymakers, and celebrities. Each New York City councilmember
has been charged with bringing constituents to the event,
while efforts are underway for groups to march to the
rally in unison. Subsequent to the event, thousands
of letters addressed to Governor Pataki urging him to
fund our schools now will be hand delivered to the governor's
office by New York students.
With the court deadline less than two months away,
the shift to grass roots tactics is a powerful means
to wield pressure on the governor and the legislature,
whose failure to commit real dollars to the CFE remedy
has impeded the passage of this year's budget. The campaign
serves to buttress the public engagement forums that
CFE has held with other statewide organizations since
the New York Court of Appeals declared
in June 2003 that the state's current educational
funding system is unconstitutional.
During March and April 2004, CFE, in conjunction with
the New
York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) and
the League
of Women Voters, held forums around the state to
gather input on its landmark costing-out analysis, the
New York Adequacy
Study, and the proposals of its Sound Basic Education
Task Force, which recommend reforms to ensure a constitutionally
acceptable funding system. With the proposals already
in the court's hands, however, advocates believe that
the time has come to put the pressure on the governor
and legislature to ensure compliance with the court
order and garner the media attention necessary to achieve
this aim. If successful, their efforts could impel the
governor and the legislature to have the courage to
change the way New York schools are funded rather than
letting the court do their job for them.
Justice Leland DeGrasse, to whom the Court of Appeals
has remanded further hearings in CFE v. State,
has already stated his intent to appoint a panel of
three special masters to assess the state's compliance.
Prepared by Stacy Feldman, June 14, 2004
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