Candidate for School Board Calls for RCSD to Join Fairport

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Candidate for School Board Calls for RCSD to Join Fairport Effort
 

 
On March 27, 2003 local educator and candidate for the Rochester City School Board, David Atias, applauded in the following press release the Fairport School District for delaying its budget vote until the State approves its budget. "This is exactly the type of action I have been calling for from the City School District. With the financial shape the district is in, and the way Albany does its business, we need to be activists. This can be done by all districts, not just suburban ones."
 

 
Atias also points out; "it is obvious that those at the state level, do not have our interests at heart. That includes state's Department of Education, Senate, Assembly and Governor's office. Therefore as the governing body of the school district we must do what we need to in order to protect our kids."
 

 
Atias was also thrilled to see Fairport's decision to send completed, state-mandated fourth and eighth grade tests back to Albany ungraded. "If the City School District did the same it would not only save money, but also show those at the State Department of Education that educators, parents and students to do not hold tests that only require lower-ordered thinking in the high esteem bureaucrats do."
 

 
As for the assertion that grading tests and the state budget are two separate issues, Atias claims that this is ludicrous. "We're fighting a system here, one that is only concerned with self-survival. Eighteen years of late budgets and forcing idiotic tests on children is not in the best interests of the people. The people in Albany know this. They just don't care. If they did it wouldn't be happening."
 

 
Since Atias has declared his candidacy for one of four open school board seats, he has called for the school board to take a more pro-active role in determining the fate of the district's students. He has advocated for the district to work for the end of high-stakes testing, more equitable funding and an empowering curriculum for students.
 

 
Atias is running as a member of the Green Party. The entire Atias for School Board platform can be read at www.schoolboardforkids.org
 

 

 
For more information about Fairport's stance on Budget cuts and other work to save public education:
 
http://geocities.com/teachersforum/