The DOE has proposed a Contracts for Excellence spending plan that is completely inadequate to provide an equitable or adequate education to NYC kids -- contrary to the intent of the law, which was passed to fulfill the goals of the CFE lawsuit.
Please make your voice heard by sending your own letter to DOE, with a copy to the Commissioner and your legislators, by clicking here. Deadline is Sept. 3. Or you can email your comments to ContractsForExcellence@schools.nyc.gov
The DOE claims
that the state has allocated no more funding to the program, though NYC
is getting $538 million more in Foundation aid as a result of CFE. No funds in the plan are
specifically targeted towards lowering class size, though this was a
central issue that led the state's highest court to find NYC kids
were deprived of their constitutional right to an adequate education. If principals choose to use some of these funds to hire teachers for that purpose, they have to pay 40% more than they do for other teachers, because they have to cover the costs of their pension and benefits from their own school budgets, whereas DOE usually covers these costs centrally.
The following memo was sent by Class Size Matters, Education Law Center and Alliance for Quality Education to the Commissioner and the Regents Chancellor, explaining our deep concerns and profound objections to the DOE's totally inadequate proposal. Please send your own letter today!
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