SAVE OUR SCHOOLS--WRITE A LETTER OPPOSING THE BUDGET CUTS

Parents of public school children urgently need you to participate in a letter-writing campaign to prevent devastating budget cuts to our neighborhood schools. Please write to your state assemblymember, state senator, and the governor immediately and tell them to reconsider the budget cuts to schools.

The city budget is scheduled to pass THIS WEEK--but there is always a way to move money around within the budget before it gets passed.

Here are some easy steps you can take that could make a difference:

1. Call 311. Tell the operator that you do not approve of the budget cuts to public education. The mayor reviews these statistics regularly.
2. Copy the letter below (or write your own letter), and mail it to your state assemblymember, state senator, and the governor.
3. Make sure your local school is conducting a letter-writing campaign THIS WEEK.
4. Ask your neighbors to mail a letter. Letters and faxes carry the MOST weight with elected officials. Phone calls carry less weight. E-mails carry the least weight.

Below is a sample letter and the addresses of our local officials. To find out if your State Senator is Eric Adams (20th Senate District) or Kevin Parker (21st Senate District, see the map of Senator Adams' district and the map of Senator Parker's district.

SAMPLE LETTER

June 21, 2010

Recent announcements to cut school-based budgets by 4% or more (approximately $300 million) will devastate and destabilize our public school system. These cuts are in addition to prior budget cuts to New York City's public schools that amounted to an additional 8% since January 2008 (approximately $600 million).

Teachers, parents, and concerned New Yorkers urge you to reconsider the school-based cuts and review the central administrative spending more closely, specifically the proposed spending on new positions at the Department of Education headquarters; private, no-bid contracts; standardized testing; accountability measures that don’t provide accurate results; and new teacher recruitment.

Please do not take more money from our classrooms. This will lead to larger class sizes, elimination of course offerings, and fewer enrichment programs in our schools.

I strongly urge you to reconsider the target of your cuts and spending. Find other alternatives. Protect our public schools and public school teachers and the strength of our local communities.

Do not play politics with our children.
Make education your priority.
Fully fund our public schools.

Yours truly,

ADDRESSES AND OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION

State Senator Eric Adams
572 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Phone: (718) 284-4700
Fax: (718) 282-3585

OR

State Senator Kevin Parker
1300 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
Phone: (718) 629-6401
Fax: (718) 629-6420

Assemblymember James F. Brennan
416 Seventh Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: (718) 940-0641

Governor David A. Paterson
Phone: (518) 474-8390
Email: fill out the form at
http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Fax: (212) 312-0700

Please help!