“While aware of the state’s dire fiscal condition and its need to reduce spending, it is terribly unfair to ask children to bear the brunt of these cuts. Our children have struggled to overcome years of inadequate education funding and we are only beginning to move in the right direction. Imposing the type of severe cuts that are being proposed now would seriously undermine that progress and set our children back.

Making matters worse, implementing such cuts at the midpoint of the school year would mean dismantling existing programs and reorganizing classes, which would be particularly disruptive for students.

We all worked hard to find alternative revenues and other smart solutions this past spring, which helped immensely towards bridging the budget gap. With your help, we can do it again and avoid cuts to schools. Remember — Cuts are a Failing Formula!”

John Hendrik Clarke said, “History is a clock. It tells us where we are, but more importantly, what we must be.’ If we are the union, we must continue to fight for equity for all. And as New Yorkers, we must continue to keep the pressure on legislators from Albany, New York to Washington, DC. Our quest must be to secure public schools that reflect democracy in action because… the children are waiting. They are waiting for their only chance to get the education they deserve.

Phyllis C. Murray, UFT Chapter Leader
District 8