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With Mayor Mike Spano and top officials from nearly every city department on hand, several residents sounded off inside the Lincoln High School auditorium over the Yonkers school district's looming multi-million dollar budget deficit, stressing the need to reinstate school programs and staff positions.
“We cannot continue to chip away at what is our biggest asset, our future society,” said School 9 parent and PTA member Daisy Pimentel.
Wednesday’s town hall forum was the first of two that Spano will host in preparation for his State of the City address later this month. While some residents raised concerns about potholes, the city council's redistricting plan or garbage pick-up, education and the district’s looming budget deficit dominated the discussion.
According to school administrators, the district faces a very real possibility of coming up at least $28 million short when they submit their 2013-2014 preliminary budget later this month. A grassroots campaign, spearheaded by the Yonkers Council of PTAs and Yonkers Parents United, has already begun circulating the web, urging families to contact their elected officials to lobby for district aide.
On Monday, Superintendent of Schools Bernard Pierorazio began a three-day trip to Albany, meeting with lawmakers and state education officials to discuss the affect the district’s projected shortfall would have on its already crippled resources.
Parents said Wednesday a lack of guidance counselors and school psychologists, along with cuts to extra-curricular activities like sports and arts programs, was unacceptable.
“Please restore what you have taken away from them,” Pimentel said. “Restore what has been taken away from our most precious commodity, our children.”
Marla Hurban, Yonkers Middle/High School PTSA President, said the district has taken the brunt of the impact in recent years, losing hundreds of employees while city departments like police and fire have made out relatively well in comparison, she said.
“I think that’s where the frustration lies,” Hurban told the mayor. “We don’t want to lose any of these wonderful people that make our quality of life good. But it hasn’t been fair in where the losses are coming from.”
Still, Yonkers has increased its contributions to the district in recent years and dedicates more local aide to schools than does any of the “Big Five” cities (Yonkers, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo and New York City), Spano said.
And last year, after three consecutive years of cuts, the city was able to stop the bleeding by not eliminating any additional positions in the district, the mayor said. Spano told parents this year’s city budget would reflect additional help but warned the school’s fiscal woes would not change overnight.
“There isn’t one person in public office today in Yonkers that doesn’t share your feelings,” Spano said.
“We all want our kids to get a great education," he added. "I want to put those programs back. But it’s not going to be easy.”
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