DEBI ROSE CALLS FOR COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM TO IMPROVE
SCHOOLS AND UPGRADE NORTH SHORE SCHOOL BUILDINGS -- "Excellence Is The Only
Acceptable Standard"
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Board of Education and the
City of New York must do a better job of allocating resources so that students
can learn and teachers can teach, New York City Council Candidate Debi Rose
said today.
"As an educator for more than 20 years, I have absolutely
had it with watching the educational needs of children being compromised by
politics," Ms. Rose said. "We must stop debating and start doing what we all
know will improve the education our children receive: reducing class sizes,
repairing buildings, supplying books, and – yes folks – paying
teachers more."
On the North Shore in particular, more money is needed to
repair aging schools and build new ones. For too long, Ms. Rose said, the Board
of Education has neglected the North Shore and allowed well-built school
buildings to deteriorate by failing to conduct regular maintenance.
"This is unacceptable," Ms. Rose said. "If elected, I will
fight to make sure that the North Shore receives its fair share of capital
budget monies for schools. Some people may scoff at this, but try teaching a
child to read when the classroom roof is caving in. Try teaching a child to add
and subtract when there is no place for him to sit and look at the blackboard.
"
Ms. Rose said schools must provide adequate resources for
learning, such as textbooks, libraries, computers, as well as artistic,
athletic and vocational programs.
"Books, music, art, and sports are not luxuries—they
are fundamental components of education," Ms. Rose said. "We should be able to
run this city so that we can maintain and even upgrade the quality of resources
for our children even if we hit a rough spot in the economy."
Specifically, Ms. Rose said any education reform package
must include the following ingredients:
Construction and/or Repair of School Facilities:
Fairness for the North Shore in allocation of school construction monies and an
increase in the City’s capital budget for new school construction and
repairs of aging schools. The Board should expand its leasing program to
retrofit and adapt existing buildings to educational uses. Incentives must be
created for school contractors who complete projects ahead of schedule or under
budget, while insuring compliance with building codes.
The Teacher Shortage: Competitive salary and benefits
for teaching professionals and student teachers, including tuition assistance,
scholarships and grants for education majors in area colleges who are committed
to work within City school system. Loan payments of incoming teachers
discharged based on performance. Recruitment of SUNY and CUNY graduates
encouraged. Incentives to teachers to participate in the state program to be
certified as "master teachers;" and pay for "master teachers" to mentor novice
teachers in the first three years. Incentives for teachers to attend and
present at conferences and to publish.
Class Size Reduction: Hiring additional teachers and
professional staff. Funds must be marked for class size reduction (i.e. PCEN,
Title 1), and universal Pre-K funds used to open up additional classes. Both
New York State and the federal government must provide more aid for City
schools, and Justice DeGrasse’s findings in Campaign for Fiscal Equity v.
State of New York should be implemented. The per student funding ratio utilized
by State must be altered so that New York City students are not
shortchanged.
Privatization and Mayoral Control: Debi Rose opposes
privatization of public school system and vouchers. She also opposes mayoral
control of the Board of Education. Schools should be run by educators. Debi
supports the idea of School Board elections to be held at the same time as
general elections. She supports "term limits" for District Superintendents and
School Board members.
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