Let’s see.

We already have charter schools and Randi has agreed to more!

Our schools are already underfunded!

Since when have our class sizes been reduced? They have looked the same to me for a decade!

25/55? Don’t hold your breath on that one becoming law anytime soon.

Vouchers? Oh well, one for you.

I want to see effective lobbying not hearing about what a great time everybody had.

March 14, 2006, was Albany Lobby Day: a day for members of the United Federation of Teachers to have their say about the state of education. This was a day to go inside the chambers of legislative officials. The message was clear.”Break the Legislative Logjam and address the needs of city public schools: Fund the Campaign for Fiscal Equity Downpayment, Now.

We have seen how cuts and freezes in the budget translate into cuts to students. Earlier cuts have already caused serious disruption in the education of our inner city youth. We were in Albany to be heard.

First, the failure to adequately fund the SAVE LAW which was established under the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act) is a travisty. This means the SAVE program which was meant to help create an emotionally safe school environment for all children, and allow teachers to teach, cannot be fully implemented in schools. There are SAVE rooms. However, the funding to provide personnel to enforce standards of conduct, is not present. Instead, the police have taken up residence in schools and in many instances remain on call in both urban and suburban communities.

“The criminal justice system is out of control. It is sentencing and locking up citizens, especially young African-Americans, at a frightening rate, far greater than any other industrialized country in the world. From: “Prison Labor, Slave Labor: Where Are We Going?” Tom Lowe

If we look carefully at the government spending patterns, we note that the cost of incarceration in the U.S. is estimated at $26.8 billion annually. Estimated costs of incarceration for African-American males are $11.6 billion annually. Yet the government cannot fund supportive early intervention programs within our public schools. Such programs would prevent the warehousing of inner city minorities in prisons; it would lower class size; and provide for academic, medical and emotional intervention of troubled youth. Tom Lowe has reported the following:” Our leaders in Congress have put 21,000 federal prisoners to work in prison industries, currently making goods for the Federal government. The federal prison population is swelling by leaps and bounds. It’s sitting at 130,000 at the moment and expected to climb to 200,000 by 2006.”

In addition to the above, it is difficult to comprehend how more prisons are on the drawing board for NYC. The prisons are leaving Rikers Island and coming into local neighborhoods. Yet, the prospect of building new schools to replace our crumbling schools have become a dream deferred. Where are the political pundits who campaigned on a platform for education? How has their commitment to education manifested itself?

As teachers, and political advocates for students, we lobby as well as teach. And while we work to effectuate change, we know that the process is long. Therefore, we have become more and more resourceful. We visit thrift shops, teacher workshops, and dollar stores in search of school aids and supplemental material. We write proposals and receive grants to fund various projects and initiatives. And finally, we take out-of-pocket, non-reimbursable monies to enhance our classroom environments because the Teachers’ Choice allotment of $220.00 is never enough. Then, while we wait for the funding, we watch our schools literally crumble before our eyes. And then we ask,”How will it end?”

As educators and taxpayers, we have every right to challenge the legislators who represent us in government. We have every right to hold legislators accountable for the pledges they have made regarding their commitment to education.UFT Albany Lobby Day is our opportunity to have our say. It is also a time to listen. Because our next opportunity to have our say will be at the polls.

Phyllis C. Murray,
Chapter Leader
District 8 Region 2

While you were having such a good time in Albany (on my dime) I was in the Region 3 classroom teaching 150 students on how to determine sediment sorting and dealing with some student issues during my prep and lunch periods. I would think your time would have been better served if you would have taken 37.5 minutes and tutor some of the children that you interacted with on your trip.