Parents, teachers, students and elected officials criticize DoE's contract for excellence, class size reduction proposal

Many parents, teachers, and elected officials spoke out this week at public hearings on the Bloomberg administration's "Contract for Excellence." A submission of this Contract, including a class size reduction plan, is required by the state in order to receive additional state funding due to the settlement of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity Lawsuit.

Comments were limited to two minutes. We've collected some prepared statements below:

Assembly Member Cathy Nolan, Chair of the NY State Assembly Education Committee here.

Council Member Robert Jackson, Chair of the NYC Council Education and the original CFE plaintiff here.

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters and a public school parent here.

John Elfrank-Dana, Teacher and UFT Chapter Leader, Murray Bergtraum High School here.

Seth Pearce, New York Student Union here.

Patrick Sullivan, Manhattan member of the Panel for Educational Policy here.

Ann Kjellberg, parent at PS 41 in District 2 here.

Noreen Connell, Educational Priorities Panel, here

UPDATE:

Read the testimony of teachers, parents and other concerned citizens at the borough hearings -- very compelling! in pdf form: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.

UFT President Randi Weingarten, here

Jo Anne Simon, President-elect, New York Branch - International Dyslexia Association here