Biggest-ever Albany rally protests education cuts

Last Saturday saw the biggest rally ever in Albany’s history, filling the state plaza from the Capitol to the museum with educators from pre-K to post-grad, administrators, school boards, unions, politicians, parents and students to protest Governor Pataki’s proposed budget cutting $1.4 billion for education. Police estimated over 50,000 demonstrators, who arrived in 900 buses from all over the state, waving signs saying, "Kids not Cuts" and "Every Child Left Behind."
From NYC IMC

Biggest-ever Albany rally protests education cuts
Teachers work Saturday to educate public

Last Saturday saw the biggest rally ever in Albany’s history, filling the state plaza from the Capitol to the museum with educators from pre-K to post-grad, administrators, school boards, unions, politicians, parents and students to protest Governor Pataki’s proposed budget cutting $1.4 billion for education. Police estimated over 50,000 demonstrators, who arrived in 900 buses from all over the state, waving signs saying, "Kids not Cuts" and "Every Child Left Behind."
A unique bipartisan state coalition, led by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and majority leader of the Senate Joseph Bruno, recently passed a budget which would reinstate $1.1 billion to education. It is now awaiting Governor Pataki’s approval, with enough votes to override his expected veto.
Sponsored by the Educational Conference Board, a partnership of school boards, PTA’s, administrators, teachers and unions, this rally was itself a coalition effort. The Police Benevolent Association has waived its own overtime pay to cover this rally. Anna from Belfast in Alleghany County, got up at four to ride a bus for six hours to the rally against their 13% tax hike, cutting 10% of their teachers. New York Teachers Against the War said Bush can get get $80 billion for war, but is cutting billions from domestic programs and asking for a tax cut.
According to Frida Berrigan, "Every second of our war in Iraq costs more ($12,000) than we spend for a whole year of public education in New York State per student."
Since 1990, the City University of New York (CUNY) funding has been cut half a billion dollars, requiring a 30% tuition increase this year alone.
At the rally, speakers spoke for about two hours. Alan Hevesi, state comptroller, warned, "This fight is not over," leading the crowd in the chant, "Sign the bill."
Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings announced "We have set a record today."
Joseph Bruno announced, "We all know that these are challenging times, but in tough times you set your priorities, and our number one priority is to educate our children and invest in the future."
Sheldon Silver said in a videotaped message, "Teachers, you are the architects of our future. The Governor is out of touch with the everyday challenges working class families face. There will be consequences for his wrong choices. Let’s win for our children."
H. Carl McCall, chair, Higher Education Board, intoned, "Every child in this state deserves a first-class education. Pataki has cut scholarship money, although he got a scholarship to Yale and Columbia."
Randi Weingarten, president, UFT, shouted, "Sign the bill! Do the right thing, and if the Governor doesn’t do the right thing, Override! Look at who is here: a sea of people, the largest rally Albany has ever seen. Today’s gathering is a lesson in power, a people’s movement to reverse inadequate funding."
A couple of signs I saw were:
We’ve upped our standards, Pataki, now up yours!
Smart kids, not smart bombs.
You can buy a vowel: fund education.
Pataki’s budget is class war.
"Is our children learning?" G.W. Bush
$$$ for Iraqis, zip from Pataki.
I talked to a number of people on my bus about why they were spending their Saturdays demonstrating. Burt Weber, President of NYSUT, the local teacher’s union, said he would not call our president "the education president" and criticizesd Pataki for not pulling in enough federal money for education. Teaching assistant Sandy Carner-Shafran said at one school district they will have to cut so many custodians that the teachers would have to clean their own rooms. Lynne Boecher, English teacher and South Glens Falls chief union negotiator, said, "All stakeholders in education support the Senate and Assembly effort to correct a budget that is clearly punishing education. School districts have been asked to assume a burden disproportionate to their abilities. The state’s financial crisis, federal mandates, healthcare and energy cost increases require superintendents to be wizards. It’s impossible."