Fact Finding Tour Claims New York State is Failing Public Education

Advocates and lawmakers say a tour of school districts across the state shows New York is failing to adequately fund public education.

The Alliance for Quality Education and Campaign for Fiscal Equity toured 14 school districts. They say the state is failing to provide the "sound, basic education" required by a 2006 court ruling in a lawsuit over funding New York City's schools.

Representatives of the organizations say Monday the fact-finding tour showed class sizes are climbing to more than 25 students — in some cases 30 students — and some schools have cut staff by as much as 20 percent despite increased enrollment.

Billy Easton, executive director of the alliance, says the districts visited were picked because they represented the diversity of average and high-need districts and their superintendents were willing to participate.

During the fact-finding tour, the organizations visited school districts in the Capital region, Yonkers, the Mohawk, Hudson and Genesee valleys, Long Island, the New York City area, and the Southern Tier, which included a visit to Binghamton City School District and the local Unatego School District.

Unatego, described in the report as "a rural, high-need district," was recently listed by the state as being under moderate fiscal distress. Walton Central School was another local school district so listed. Walton Superintendent, Roger Clough, commented on the school district's fiscal difficulties in a recent CNY News report.

You can read the full Alliance for Quality Education report here.