CALL ALBANY LEADERS AND YOUR LEGISLATORS to Vote NO to a Budget filled with Governor Cuomo’s Destructive Education Agenda Reforms

TAKE ACTION NOW!
CALL ALBANY LEADERS AND YOUR LEGISLATORS to Vote NO to a Budget filled with Governor Cuomo’s Destructive Education Agenda Reforms. Tell Them, Local Control of OUR SCHOOLS is NOT FOR SALE!
Governor Andrew Cuomo: 518-474-8390 @NYGovCuomo
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie: 518-455-4800 @CarlHeastie  
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos: 518-455-3171 @SenatorSkelos  
Senate Coalition Co-Leader Jeffrey Klein:  518-455-3595 @JeffKleinNY 
Find your assembly member here: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/
Find your senator here: http://www.nysenate.gov/senators

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 30, 2015 
More information contact:
Eric Mihelbergel (716) 553-1123; nys.allies@gmail.com 
Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com
NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) – www.nysape.org

Legislators Must VOTE NO for Budget filled with Governor Cuomo’s Destructive Education Agenda Reforms; Local Control of OUR schools is NOT FOR SALE

Over the past months and reaching a fever pitch this past week, a super-majority of New Yorkers have loudly rejected Governor Cuomo’s flawed Education Agenda. 

As details emerge from the post deadline back-room budget negotiations this weekend, it is clear that Cuomo’s aim to eliminate communities’ local control of their schools is baked into his budget plans.   

“In the budget bill, all schools and teachers will be subject to “independent” evaluators and more testing mandates from the heavy hands of the privatized wing of New York State Education Department, which as recently as the past January received a half a million dollars from Cuomo’s wealthy backers. The privately funded Regent Fellows think tank, unaccountable to voters and parents, is the same group responsible for driving the massive student data sharing inBloom project debacle this past year,” said Lisa Rudley, Westchester County public school parent and founding member of NYSAPE.

“New Yorkers have spoken. They are outraged at a Cuomo budget plan that uses their tax dollars to eliminate local control of their classrooms and teachers while creating tax breaks for luxury yacht owners.  Parents have no choice, but to refuse the NYS Common Core Tests,” said Jeanette Deutermann, Nassau County public school parent and founder of Long Island Opt Out.

“And instead of the constitutionally mandated three days to print and review budget bills, Governor Cuomo will declare a message of necessity to rush a vote on his flawed agenda. New Yorkers know this really about convenience,” said Eric Mihelbergel, Eric County public school parent and founding member of NYSAPE. 

“Albany corruption is a major concern of all New Yorkers. Cuomo’s linkage of Ethic Reforms that includes NO oversight of the governor himself and Education Reforms that reflect the agenda of his wealthy campaign contributors is an affront to the people of New York,” Anna Shah, Dutchess County public school parent and founder of Schools of Thought, Hudson Valley.  

New Yorkers said it before and we say it again. The Legislature must vote NO to a budget linked to Andrew Cuomo’s destructive Education Agenda.  Local control of our local schools with OUR tax dollars is NOT FOR SALE.