If you haven’t contacted your lawmakers in the Assembly or the Senate yet on the state budget, there’s no longer any time to delay. Here’s a link to a Times Union post Thursday about how pieces were starting to fall into place. School boards and administrators are putting next year’s budgets together and the news [...]

“We’re doing fundraisers to keep arts,” said Rachel Busher, one of many teachers hoisting signs outside the Capitol on Tuesday. She came to tell  lawmakers how number crunching in Albany is stealing opportunities from students in New Paltz. Drama club, art club, chorus and band are “all clubs that were cut since the 2 percent [...]

NYSUT members are gearing up to visit lawmakers in their offices next week. This is after they do their jobs all day. You can support your sisters and brothers as they advocate for what our schools, campuses and communities need. Write or call your lawmaker on any, or all, of the issues outlined below. Remember, [...]

Above is a slideshow of the nearly 200 parents, teachers, students and community members who rallied on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Here’s a link to the YNN coverage. Please note you may need to be a Time Warner cable subscriber to view the video. Here’s a link to the Olean Times Herald report. Here’s [...]

So we have a proposed state budget. If it were approved unchanged, exactly 517 districts would get an increase in state aid and 159 school districts would get a decrease. For most, the increase would not be the 4.4 touted in a lot of press reports. If left unchanged, the average increase would be a [...]

Living in Schenectady, I get to hear Schenectady High School senior Maya Williams speak at a number of events. (As well as Iris Williams, who see comments below, is not related!) Maya impressed again at a Wednesday press conference about what the governor’s proposed competitive grant program for state aid to schools really means. “Making [...]

It’s not baseball season, but Michael Mulgrew threw his pitch to lawmakers today. Here’s some video so you can hear it for yourself, and pictures of the variety of UFT members and NYSUT officers who met with lawmakers to talk about what schools in New York City need. (Sorry about the lighting in a lot [...]

View all photos The sound of thousands of plastic clappers on the south lawn of the Capitol earlier today was like rainfall. It heralded the coming storm from state workers who are angry at the governor’s threats of another 9,800 layoffs. The rally was led by Public Employees Federation. PEF president Ken Brynien said 15,000 [...]

Ditto, ditto, ditto to Frank Maurizio’s post “Documenting the pain.” Here’s a link to the Watertown Daily Times article that outlines cuts to 17 school districts in St. Lawrence county. The Press-Republican has this report about what’s going on in Beekmantown schools. Folks, help us out. Send us the links to articles in your hometown [...]

some of the more responsible journalists and news outlets are now starting to report what NYSUT members have long known: Budget cuts mean fewer programs and services for students; larger classes; jobs losses; deserted school buildings; and an overall diminished quality of life in many communities.