Many education advocates over the last few years have criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo for not supporting public schools. Now some question if he’s intentionally working against them.
About 1,000 people from school districts across the Capital Region filled Colonie Central High School’s auditorium Thursday night, Feb. 26, for the annual forum, entitled this year “Save Our Schools: Quality Opportunities for Public School Children.” Almost a dozen state legislators sat on the stage and listened to parents, teachers and students discuss issues facing school districts. Generally, there was bipartisan support from legislators to back increasing funding and retain local control of schools.
Ann Reilly, a Schenectady City School District Board of Education member, said Cuomo was trying to take more control over schools without fully funding districts.
“New York state has been systematically underfunding school districts, particularly poor and minority districts, in what we in Schenectady believe is a bid to see these districts fail so they can be dismantled and replaced by charter schools,” said Reilly.
South Colonie PTA Council President Mike Keane urged lawmakers to not let Cuomo “hold funding hostage for the privatization of schools.”
Similar to prior forums, the loss of $445 million to Capital District schools through the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) was the key focus. However, the governor’s reform agenda and unreleased state aid runs added new layers of discontent to the discussion.
Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, chided Cuomo for holding education funding “hostage” until state legislators approve his reform agenda.
“I’m going to recommend that everybody go home and file (Dignity for All Students Act) reports on the governor for these tactics,” said Deutsch, garnering laugher from the audience.
Watervliet City School District Superintendent Lori Caplan said the GEA and tax cap led her district to make several cuts over the years. She also claimed state aid was not being fairly distributed between districts, penalizing some schools more than others.
“We can’t cut our way out of this any longer and my students’ education has now been determined by their zip code,” Caplan said. “Frankly, I think all of us should be home with our families tonight instead of having to beg the governor for what our children deserve.”
Caplan, similar to other superintendents, said the district did not have a “spending problem,” but rather a “revenue problem.”
Jeff Masline, president of the Menands Union Free School District Board of Education, said the small district, with an annual budget around $8 million, has struggled since the GEA was implemented. “That has had us drain our fund balance year after year in some capacity,” said Masline.
Menands, which is a K-8 school district, offers its student the choice of where to attend high school. Masline said the “antiquated” state formula determining tuition rates have led to skyrocketing costs, which do not reflect the actual cost of services provided.
“Some of the special education costs for our students going to high school … our kids could go to Harvard for less money,” Masline said. “It’s a sad situation.”
The day after the forum in Colonie, along with others held statewide, Cuomo released a statement firing back at educators.
Cuomo said in the Capital Region there are more than 4,700 students enrolled in seven failing schools. He restated more funding would not fix issues facing school.
“While the education bureaucracy demands more and more money, the reality is school districts with failing schools have statewide seen an average 13.8 percent increase in funding over the past three years,” Cuomo said in a statement. “New York today spends more per pupil than any other state in the nation — $19,552 —nearly double the national average of $10,608 per pupil.”
Some speakers at the forum, questioned how schools are determined to be “failing” and claimed the state is nationally regarded as offering a quality education. Behind the data, however, several educators highlighted the costs of budget cuts.
“I want legislators to understand that schools are made of people,” Laura Bellinger, a former teacher at Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville Central School District, emotionally said, receiving rousing applause.
“Our students have academic and emotional needs,” said Bellinger. “They need a variety of programs in order to be career and college ready. All the cuts to education are absolutely detrimental to education.”
