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I
T WAS A VERY EMOTIONAL DAY.
Students were crying. There were no
answers given, said Mark Emanation, a
community organizer with Citizen Action
of New York and the Alliance for Quality
Education (AQE) in the Capital District.
Emanation was referring to the Educa-
tion Lobby Day held at the Capitol on
Wednesday. The AQE organized the event
to protest and rally against budget cuts
that they say are causing an educational
crisis in New York State. The Assembly
and Senate recently redirected $200 mil-
lion that Gov. Andrew Cuomo had set
aside for competitive grants, but organiz-
ers say that it is nowhere near enough.
Competitive grants are chunks of
money that the governor set aside to have
school districts compete for. Its unfair to
ask children to compete for money, every
child has a right to a quality education.
Not just a quality one, but a great one,
said Jessie Lapolla, an organizer with AQE
in the Capital Region.
Besides moral issues with the compet-
itive grants, Lapolla said that they just
arent fair. In New York State, if we ask
children to compete . . . its just not a level
playing field. Inner-city and rural schools
are affected the most, but all kids get
affected by these cuts. Lapolla noted that
schools in wealthier districts give more
opportunities to kids than in poor ones.
Emanation agreed: The problem with
competitive grants is that schools who
need them the most dont have grant
writers. The wealthier schools do.
Budget cuts in recent years have
forced schools to trim the fat everywhere
that they can. In Averill Park, there are
gaping holes in their school funding,
Lapolla said. They are looking at having
to cut all nonmandated programs like
kindergarten, electives, AP courses, arts,
music and extracurricular activities such
as sports and clubs.
Emanation said this situation is com-
mon in school districts all over the state.
In Cambridge, schools will lose 14 teach-
ers next year, they will go to half-day
kindergarten, they will lose before- and
after-school programs, Pre-K, extra cur-
ricular actives, sports, and AP courses.
Since kindergarten isnt mandated by
New York state, both Emanation and
Lapolla expect to see it on the chopping
block in many school districts.
Thats the story with all of these
schools dealing with these cuts, Emana-
tion said. These schools have already cut
bus runs, they havent bought a new com-
puter in years, teachers havent gotten
raises, and theyve already got teachers
teaching extra courses. They are right
down to the bone now. Everyone is trying
to do their part, except for the extremely
wealthy of New York state.
Emanation and others feel that the
governor should close tax loopholes for
corporations and redistribute money
back to people who need it most, espe-
cially youth. These kids are being told
that they need to get an education, they
need one to get a job. But were not pro-
viding that, he said.
Lapolla and Emanation were happy
with Wednesdays turnout. An estimated
1,800 people from all over the state
showed up to lobby their legislators, write
letters, and rally in the Capitol building.
Most of the people down there werent
lobbyists, Emanation said. They were
real people. We had clergy, union people,
teachers, parents, little kids and lots of
high-schoolers. It was very uplifting, but
they didnt get a very good answer.
Weve never had an
event this large before,
Lapolla said. People are
starting to realize how
much these cuts really
hurt. If there are more
cuts, next year will be even
bigger. Putting back $200
million from the competi-
tive grants to general sup-
port aid is great, but more
needs to be done. If they
want us to go away, they
need to do right by our
schools.
ERIN PIHLAJA
N E W S F R O N T M
SCHOOL OF PRIORITIES
Hundreds turn out to lobby the state for more school aid where its
needed most
Get smart: Students and activists rally for public
education funding.
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