“The State Senate Majority Coalition, made up of Republicans and Independent Democrats, have betrayed the children of Yonkers in calling for “Mayoral Control” of the Yonkers Public Schools.
The elected Senators from Yonkers were not consulted. The many PTA and Town Hall meetings held by our representatives, attended by our parents, our teachers and our community members, repeatedly sent a clear message of “leave politics out of our schools”.
Our politicians in Albany should be informed by the voters/parents affected that the Majority Coalition at no time met with our state representatives or community leaders before their obvious political over-reach and betrayed our students.
The Mayor of Yonkers calls for action. Where was the action when year after year Yonkers City Hall placed all deficits on the school side of the budget? Where was the action in 2009 when the City demanded $1,000,000 from the school district be transferred to the city, and never repaid the “loan”?
While the Yonkers Federation of Teachers has great respect for Mayor Spano, different mayors over the years have taken money out of the school budget to fill holes in the city’s budget. In early 2000, as New York State sent down many millions of dollars in a settlement with the city, the then Mayor of Yonkers repeatedly reduced the funding to the schools of Yonkers. The City never replaced the $30 million in cuts during those years. City Hall should spend time solving our financial problems and not complicate education with more politics.
We stand with the many parents who have publicly stated that they want educators, not politicians, running our schools. Every school district in Westchester has an elected Board of Education. Why doesn’t Yonkers?”
Patricia (Pat) Puleo is Yonkers Federation of Teachers (YFT) President.
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Comments 5
The reason Puleo wants no change is because the New York Federation of Teachers Union has all the pols in Albany bought & sold.
More Spano toadies out of the pond!!! C’mon, let’s see, who has more influence in Albany; the teachers or the Spano’s ??? Just look at who’s carrying the water for ole Mikey’s takeover. Who could that be? The local elected officials or the leadership of the senate…. be real!!!! This is a political power grab pure and simple. Call for an elected school board and be done with it!!!
That is about the most misguiding paragraph I have ever seen. Like Mayor Spano or not, something has to be done about the “hostage like” finances of the school system.
Pat Puleo, You are useless in getting factual info out to the public….simply sending out an email is no enough. You lost the supt. and now the entire board structure. Where is the teacher and parent rallies or are you another union leader hiding and waiting….simply useless!
Now really, Yonkers education community. Did you really think that this whole fiasco was Bernie and budget mistakes? Did you really think that the Mayor you have so much respect for was going to play by the rules and take his cue from the people of the city on the control issue? Do you really believe that your new Superintendant is there to do anything else but the Mayors specific bidding?
This, my friends, was a flat out power and money grab. When you have political dirty work to do, who do you think was the lead person who lobbied state leadership about Mayoral control and worked around your local elected representatives? Did you say the Jailed one?
Why do you think Mike would go to such lengths to get Mayoral control of the BOE? Wake up brothers and sisters! We are like the big birthday cake in the bakery window and Mikey had his face pressed up against the glass smacking his lips. He wants his big bite NOW!