Letters

Letters to the Editor: East Rockaway, Lynbrook

Feb. 5-11, 2015

Posted

Public education not a monopoly

To the Editor:

Previously calling our public schools “a monopoly” and one of the state’s “biggest failures,” Governor Cuomo delivered his State of the State speech on Jan. 21, sharing a vision that will devastate our public schools.

By attaching strings to a 4.8 percent increase in education spending, the governor is blackmailing the legislature to accept his reforms — despite the fact that his plan is not supported by scholarly research, and lacks any evidence that it will actually improve student achievement. Failure to accept his proposals will freeze funding at 2014-15 levels for the next two years.

Public education isn’t a monopoly, and it is not for sale. Our schools exist for the public good, and our government has a constitutional obligation to provide a sound, basic education. In 2006, the State Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, ruled that the State Education Department had underfunded schools. According to the court ruling, the state’s schools are owed $5.9 billion. Today, New York has a surplus in excess of $5 billion, and the governor continues to ignore the court’s ruling. 

On Long Island, education is not a failure. If Long Island were a state, it would rank first in the nation in graduation rate. We can also boast about having more Intel science semifinalists than any other state. 

Four years ago, this district considered implementing the Princeton Plan. Parents filled auditoriums around the district as information sessions were held to discuss the idea. Feelings were strong, and the debate was passionate. The decisions being made in Washington, D.C., and Albany have a profound impact at the local level, potentially far more devastating for our community than the Princeton Plan would have been, but Albany and D.C. are far away, and their doors are closed to us — unlike our local school board meetings.

Still, there are things we can do. We can and need to write letters and make phone calls to Senator Skelos and Assemblyman Curran that are just as passionate as the appeals made during the Princeton Plan meetings.

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