People are starting to realize the impact of changing school funding into a competitive grant kind of system.

In addition to the blog link we posted, here’s a link to New York One’s coverage of Wednesday’s press conference.

Below is video that AQE produced.

Here also is a link to a Capital Tonight interview with the Education Law Center about the legal issues on the way school aid is distributed.

We need to keep up the pressure and one way you can help is by signing NYSUT’s petition. Here’s the link for you to tell lawmakers that competitive grants are no way to fund schools.

Cuts, cuts, everywhere are cuts. If so much state aid has been restored, well then why are there so many cuts? Because once that $250 million comes out of the $805 million aid increase, it’s only a 2.9 percent school aid increase  on average. Some get less. Here’s your handy calculator to find out what your district gets. For example, South Glens Falls schools only gets a 1.23 percent increase while New Paltz schools get a 3.2 percent decrease. Overall though, schools generally have to cut. Here’s just a small sampling of what districts are reporting.

Here’s the link to cuts at Canton, where sports, electives and extracurricular are threatened. Class sizes will balloon with 44 job cuts.

Here’s a link to what the General Brown schools are facing in the Watertown area.

Here’s the link to coverage from Batavia, were they are “significantly reducing opportunities for our kids to be involved.”

Here’s coverage of the East Ramapo schools, where 87 staffers were cut last year and layoffs are predicted again.

Here’s coverage of the dire straits of the Canisteo-Greenwood schools, where closing a middle school is a strong possibility.

Here’s reporting on what the Lockport schools are facing.

Small and rural school districts are really getting slammed, and because so few of those communities have daily newspapers, I have no links to coverage. NYSUT is sponsoring a special lobbying effort to get their stories out on Wednesday Feb. 29.