NYSASCSDHome
Board of Directors
Committees
Membership
Directory Newsletters
Officers
Upcoming Meetings
Legal Opinions
Staff
|
NYSASCSDHome
Board of Directors
Committees
Membership
Directory Newsletters
Officers
Upcoming Meetings
Legal Opinions
Staff
|
|
PRESS RELEASE URGENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 2004 CONTACT: Robert E. Biggerstaff, Esq. Executive Director and Counsel
NYS Association of Small City School Districts
The Board of Directors of the NYS Association of Small City School Districts voted unanimously on Sunday, August 8th, to file a lawsuit against the state seeking reform of state aid to education. At the Association’s annual conference in Geneva, N.Y. this past weekend, Association President Susan Skidmore declared, “It is clear now that the Legislators and Governor are not able to enact fundamental education reform for the entire state without judicial involvement.”
Last year, the Court of Appeals in CFE v. NYS ordered the Legislature to reform education funding in NYC by July 30th. Their failure to reach agreement by that date has made evident the continuing political paralysis preventing many students from urban and other poor districts from receiving a quality education.
There are 57 small city school districts throughout the state, from Long Island to Niagara Falls. They are “small” cities but large school districts and serve a quarter of a million children or two thirds of the urban children outside NYC. The Association will be seeking to form a coalition of city; rural and poor suburban districts similarly situated.
Mrs. Skidmore, who is a member of the board of education from Elmira City Schools, concluded, “Small city districts tax 20% harder than the state average but spend 20% less per pupil than average. For our children and for the children in poorer schools throughout the state the system is totally broken. We must fix it now or we will short change another generation of kids.”
|
•Albany
|