March 10, 2015
By Neal Tepel
New York, NY – NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner are calling on the Empire State to finally meet its school funding obligations under the Campaign for Fiscal Equity [CFE] court decision, and to provide the necessary resources needed to implement critical reforms that could turn around struggling schools.
Local municipalities across New York State continue to be chronically underfunded, despite the landmark CFE court decision. Under the CFE ruling, New York City is owed $2.6 billion this year alone, while Syracuse has been shortchanged another $87.1 million.
“Having the dollars needed to implement the reforms that will fix a broken status quo is critical,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Providing the proper dollars to invest in game-changing reforms like community schools that decrease absenteeism and provide social and emotional supports can help make sure kids come to school prepared to learn. For far too long, the state has failed to meet its court-mandated responsibility to provide enough resources to local school districts. We must ensure our schools have the dollars needed to make the groundbreaking reforms that will reverse the unacceptable status quo, and serve our kids.”
