Category: Action Updates

The 2020-2021 state budget was voted on just a week ago, but the fight is far from over. The enacted budget included nothing to address our children’s educational, social and emotional needs, especially amidst the devastation that COVID-19 is spreading in our communities. With a zero percent increase, the budget leaves school districts exposed to … Continue reading We can’t stop fighting

Most of the budget bills are out, and waiting to be voted on. What we know so far is devastating. This budget will cut funding for schools that are in urgent need or more resources, not less. It could cut funding for hospitals amidst a pandemic. The legislature is still considering rolling back the historic bail reform … Continue reading NY legislators must reject the budget!

April 1st — it’s budget day.   Most of the budget bills are out, but we’re still missing some key bills. What we know so far, this budget is devastating. This budget will cut funding for schools that are in urgent need or more resources, not less. It could cut funding for hospitals amidst a pandemic. The … Continue reading Tell your legislators to vote NO on the budget

Governor Cuomo has positioned himself on the podium as a national leader in a time of global crisis. But as our state hurtles into the global center-point of the pandemic, we’re also fast-approaching our state budget deadline on April 1. And behind the closed doors of budget negotiations at the Capitol, Governor Cuomo is pushing for … Continue reading Students need Medicaid, too

New York State is facing a moral reckoning: will we take away from children and their families, or ask the ultra-wealthy to pay a little more? Right now, our leaders are debating this very question, as they negotiate the State budget. But the reality is that there should be no question about the answer — … Continue reading Governor Cuomo Says to Prepare for School Cuts

Schools in New York could remain closed for the rest of the school year. Mayor de Blasio made this announcement yesterday just as parents, teachers and students in New York City began to adapt to the new reality of remote learning. The possibility of schools statewide remaining closed until the fall looks more like a … Continue reading Remote Learning: Is It Working?

The COVID-19 pandemic makes it increasingly likely that we are a matter of days, not weeks, away from New York State finalizing the budget. This health crisis could lead to a state fiscal crisis. The last time New York faced a financial crisis, Governor Cuomo chose to balance the State budget on the backs of children … Continue reading Protect Children, Not Billionaires

By April 1st, Governor Cuomo and the New York State Assembly and Senate will come to an agreement on New York’s $170 billion state budget. This means we have just a few days left to tell our Senators and Assemblymembers that they need to fight harder than they ever to ensure New York invest in our children … Continue reading Our children’s futures are on the line

Governor Cuomo’s fighting for a budget that would severely shortchange our public schools. But the Governor cannot pass a budget alone. Next week, New York State legislators will release their state budget proposals. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will ultimately join the Governor in making the final decisions in the … Continue reading New York’s budget needs to put children first

New York is home to more billionaires than anywhere else on the planet. Yet just blocks from the center of the epicenter of the global financial universe, students are going to public schools that are barely scraping by.   New York has enormous wealth, but we also have one of the worst track-records for inequity … Continue reading Students need #BudgetJustice