News update: class size hearings on Feb. 29, and more

Feb. 8, 2024

1.Save the date! The City Council Education Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday Feb. 29 at 1 PM on the proposals of the Class Size Working Group, and what the DOE is doing or not doing to lower class size. If you support the goal of smaller classes, please sign up to speak. We will also provide talking points, but best would be to speak from your own experience and your child’s, about how excessive class sizes have affected their education. If you cannot attend the hearing, either in person or remotely, you can also submit written testimony online at the same link. There will also be a press conference beforehand at noon on the steps of City Hall.

2.  State budget hearings were held in Albany this week and last, and both Chancellor Banks and Mayor Adams were grilled separately on their failure to move forward with an actual plan to lower class size. Some Legislators said their failure to do so could affect their position on renewing Mayoral control. See news clips from NY1, and The City, here and here.

My written testimony described how the DOE has not only increased class size for the last two years in most schools, despite the additional $1.3 billion they’ve received from the state in Foundation Aid, but also how the Mayor’s proposed budget cuts to schools and the capital plan will likely lead to even sharper class size increases in the future, making it impossible to comply with the class size law in the out years.

3. Speaking of Mayoral control, we also submitted comments last week to the State Education Department, countering the myths surrounding this system of one-man rule, and how little real accountability it has provided, despite Eric Adams’ claims otherwise. As one example, we described the failure of past Mayors to follow through on their campaign promises regarding class size, and to use the state funding available for this purpose as it was originally intended.

You can also check out the presentation I gave to the Education Committee of the NYC Bar Association on Tuesday night on the history of school governance in NYC, along with some proposals to amend Mayoral control.  On March 31, State Ed is supposed to report back to the Legislature with a comprehensive review and assessment of the overall effectiveness of Mayoral control in NYC, along with a summary of the testimony submitted online and at the borough hearings, where more than 95% of speakers explained quite eloquently why they opposed the continuation of the current system.

Talk to you soon, Leonie

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
phone: 917-435-9329
[email protected]
www.classsizematters.org
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Host of “Talk out of School” WBAI radio show and podcast at https://talk-out-of-school.simplecast.com/