NYC School Fights Back Against Budget Cuts

A Jackson Heights charter school facing a budget freeze (which is tantamount to a budget cut as these school rely on year after year increases) decided to fight back against the cuts. In addition to letter writing and pone banking politicians the school got together and took their message to the street. Check out this inspiring video:



Here is what one of the organizers said about the event:

As you might know, we have been hit with the devastating news that politicians in Albany are seeking to "freeze" charter school funding at 08-09 levels for the next school year. For our little school in Jackson Heights, that would represent a loss of revenue (a "cut") of $500,000 to $612,000 for next year, on top of the state aid we don't receive due to the funding lag, a double cut. Needless to say, this would mean a massive change in our ability to function as an effective, successful school. After a staff meeting yesterday, we decided we needed to speak out and fight against this unfair double cut on New York charter Schools.

Taking the morning to prepare, I worked with our staff to guide our 350 middle school and high school students into action. Students received a teach-in and question and answer session. Then students broke into 12 different classrooms to write letters, call elected officials, alert the press, make signs, design chants, make flyers for our local community. We hit the street an hour and a half later at let our community, Jackson Heights, know how the Renaissance community feels about these proposed cuts. We rallied in front of two Jackson Heights local officials offices and marched down the main commercial district in the neighborhood, 37th avenue. Needless to say, it was inspiring.

The video is Part 2 of a 3 part series chronicling the protest, you can check out the other parts if you click on the video.

Jerk Professor Suing Over Lecture Notes

A professor at the University of Florida, my alma mater, is suing a company in Gainesville, Florida that hires students to take notes and then sells the notes to other students. The company being sued is Einstein's notes. I think Einstein's notes was around back in my day but I don't really recall much because I usually just got high all semester until 3 days before the exams and then bought the notes for all my classes that some nerd who went to class everyday wrote down and sold for money so he could eat or whatever. (Wink!)

When I saw this story on wired.com my immediate reaction was, "What an asshole!". But it got even better when I realized the class he "teaches" is Wildlife Issues. Wildlife Issues was one of those classes that had a reputation for being an easy class, along with other greats such as Exceptional People, Insects, and Making a Sandwich.

I never took the course but I think it was more or less an 8th grade Zoology class. It was a class you took to fulfill a requirement or because it fit into your schedule and because you knew you would get an A.

I think this guy is just pissed everybody keeps acing his easy-ass class.

Below you will find my notes for the course Making a Sandwich: Sammy or Sammich?

Education: Bloomberg's Biz

So, it may seem as if I'm a little late to the punch, seeing as this NY Times article was posted exactly a month ago, but I'm going to comment anyway. Yes, now that Eric and I are both school teachers in public schools (and dues-paying members of the United Federation of Teachers), I have been paying more attention to news about education. And this story takes the cake for "outrageous" and "idiotic."

In our monthly union meeting yesterday, it was mentioned that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is planning on cutting more money from the education budget this coming fall. Basically the equivalent of at least three full-time teachers' salaries per school in the whole district (14,000 schools).

This is in addition to the budget cut he already executed, coincidentally, on the first day I started my new job. That cut was a surprise attack. Since all the schools are linked and receive their budgets through the city, the city can go in and take funds whenever they want. And that's exactly what happened. The budget cut was authorized, happened overnight, and the next morning, payroll secretaries and the like checked their computers to find that money they had already accounted for and/or spent was gone. Oh wait, it wasn't a total surprise. Schools received an e-mail the night before, notifying them that the money would be gone in the morning.

My favorite quote from the article is this gem:

"Mr. Bloomberg, speaking on Thursday at Google’s offices in Chelsea, said the cuts would have 'no impact whatsoever,' adding, 'I know of no organization where you couldn’t’ squeeze out 1.7 percent, or even a lot more.'"


Sure, if you are a company who can raise prices, lower quality standards, or do whatever it has to do in order to sustain itself after a cut like that. But schools don't make a product, they educate students. So maybe each school should tell 1.7 percent of its students they can't go to school there anymore?

Jan 20, 2009 Cannot Come Soon Enough

President Bush today unveiled his proposal for the 2009 federal budget, which includes:

• $35 billion increase for Pentagon spending (to $515 billion)
• $21 billion to the Energy Department for nuclear weapons programs
• $70 billion "bridge fund" for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
• 11% increase in Homeland Security funding
• 19% increase in border security funding
• No increases in funding for domestic appropriations to account for inflation or population growth
• No increases in funding for most eduction programs ($60 billion)
• $200 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years

Bush "also seeks to eliminate or sharply slash 151 programs he considers unnecessary.

This year, the largest number of program terminations - 47 - are in education including elimination of programs to encourage arts in schools, bring low-income students on trips to Washington and provide mental health services.

Bush's budget proposes eliminating the $283 million federal program to help people make their homes more energy efficient and would cut energy aid to poor households by $500 million, a 22 percent drop over this year's spending."

God bless America.