Send a letter to DOE today: Don’t cut school budgets, instead invest in smaller classes!

July 5, 2022

Dear folks —

Despite our press conference last Wednesday with legislators and advocates, and more than 7,000 of her constituents urging the Governor to sign the class size bill, she has not yet done so. Instead she signed the mayoral control bill with some few minor tweaks, but ignored the intent of the legislature and so many parents and teachers, who implored her to do right by NYC kids and ensure that they get smaller classes next year.

We have plans as to how to persuade her to sign the bill soon, but meanwhile, today July 5 at midnight is the deadline for public comments on the DOE’s totally inadequate Contracts for Excellence plan, that fails to target one penny specifically towards lowering class size. Instead, as you know, the Mayor intends to cut school budgets from between $215 million to more than $1 billion, according to different estimates, which will inevitably cause class sizes to increase sharply next year.

Send a letter today to the DOE, urging them to refrain from cutting school budgets and instead invest in the smaller classes that our kids need and deserve. Students have lost so much over the past two and half years; the Mayor and the Chancellor should be doing everything they can to ensure they don’t lose their teachers too.

More soon, Leonie

PS It’s not to late to sign our petition to the Governor; it now has more than 8,000 signatures!