Troy Record
Albany
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2011/02/20/news/doc4d60c0ff32f42792203169.txt
Hundreds of parents and education advocates marched through downtown Albany to protest Governor Cuomo’s proposed cuts to education. Armed with posters featuring pictures of students and stickers that read “Tax the Rich,” protesters representing a variety of organizations gathered in front of the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday morning.
“These cuts will have a devastating impact to children and we just can’t afford this,” Robert Jackson, plaintiff of the Campaign for Fiscal Equality and a New York City Councilman, told reporters at the rally. Supporters from all over the state representing organizations like the Alliance for Quality Education, New York Communities for Change and Citizen Action of New York spoke out against the cuts, proposing instead for an extension on taxes for the richest 3 percent of New Yorkers.
Many of the protesters were bused in to Albany, where they faced brutal winds and cold temperatures during the hour-long march. Jackson spoke at the rally, as did State Senators Bill Perkins and Gustavo Rivera.
Cuomo’s proposed budget includes $1.5 billion in cuts to education. Jackson and Campaign for Fiscal Equity successfully sued New York State over adequate school funding after a 13-year court battle, and now assert that proposed cuts would “wipe out” funding that was previously delivered to schools as part of the CFE settlement.
“Any way you count it last year’s budget took back half of the CFE money that was provided to schools and Governor Cuomo’s budget would take back the rest,” said Geri Palast, CFE executive director.
“Governor Cuomo’s cuts to our kids’ schools are the largest in history, if they are adopted the damage to students will be permanent because children do not get a second chance,” said AQE Executive Director Billy Easton. “The primary beneficiaries of budget cuts to our schools are the wealthiest three percent of New Yorkers who have been singled out for a multi-billion dollar tax cut.” Jackson said that the proposed cuts represent the layoffs of 10 percent of teachers across the state.
However, Lt. Governor Robert Duffy said Tuesday that layoffs aren’t needed, and that money can be cut from other areas where there are waste and inefficiencies. He also suggest wage freezes for one year, which Cuomo has also suggested for state workers.
Other organizations in the coalition protesting Saturday includes the New York State Association of Small Cities School Districts, New York Immigration Coalition, New York Communities for Change, New York City Coalition for Educational Justice and Advocates for Children. The CFE was founded in 1993 when the organization filed a lawsuit against the state, establishing the state’s constitutional obligation to provide adequate school funding to provide children with a high school education.
Cuomo did not leave the Governor’s Mansion during the demonstration, but protesters did leave a sticker on the front gate.
