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Bailout eases Yonkers funding crisis Laid-off staffers wait for recall 
November 4, 2004 Community members and school staffers make their point at a Yonkers back-to-school rally in September. About 80 laid-off teachers and other staff in Yonkers will be called back to work, after the state has come through with $6.1 million in aid. The reprieve comes after union leaders, parents and students complained of overcrowded classes, scheduling chaos and kids not getting the services they need after the district made more than $25 million in widespread cuts.
Yonkers Federation of Teachers President Steve Frey praised local state legislators for coming through with $1.1 million in legislative grants and $5 million in advance aid, but warned it will certainly not cover the magnitude of cuts. Before laid-off staffers are officially back on the payroll, the state Legislature must approve the $5 million state aid advance and the Yonkers City Council must amend its budget to boost its allocation for education. The state Senate is expected to convene Nov. 18 and the Assembly has yet to set a date for its post-election session. Facing a Nov. 1 deadline when the teachers contract requires class size to come within certain limits, Yonkers Superintendent Angelo Petrone was developing the recall plan as New York Teacher went to press. YFT reported class sizes of up to 45 students — making it nearly impossible for teachers to teach effectively. Petrone said he wants to rehire art and music teachers, librarians, social workers, guidance counselors, psychologists, physical education teachers and foreign language teachers. He planned to ask the board to commit about one-quarter of the new money to restore interscholastic sports and extracurricular activities. "With enough money for only 80 to 85 jobs, there are still a lot of tough decisions to be made," Frey said. "We'll continue to press for additional funding to restore every position that was cut." New York State United Teachers Executive Vice President Alan Lubin said the statewide union will keep seeking a more permanent solution to Yonkers ' funding woes. He thanked Sen. Nick Spano, R-Yonkers, and Assembly members Gary Pretlow and Richard Brodsky, both Westchester County Democrats, for their help. With music and song, arts enthusiasts urged that funding be used to bring back art and music for Yonkers students. Art and music classes were cut completely for elementary students, with severe reductions at the secondary level. At an Oct. 20 school board meeting, a musicians' vigil gave voice to a chorus of about 50 teachers, students and parents. Marc Pekowsky, a music teacher laid off from the Emerson Middle School , rewrote folk songs to dramatize Yonkers ' plight. During the public comment section, one speaker used her time for a rendition of "Daisy," with Pekowsky on guitar. "The superintendent called in a Yonkers police officer who told me I'd be arrested if I didn't stop singing. We finished the song and figured we made our point." Coalition ads In addition, the "Coalition to Save the Arts in Yonkers " ran an ad in the Journal News expressing outrage at art and music cuts. "A world without art or music is a world without joy," stated the letter spearheaded by Deb Crosby, an art teacher and president of the Chappaqua Congress of Teachers. "Denying Yonkers children full access to art and music programs stifles their expression and silences their voices. It is nothing less than discrimination steeped in geography, poverty, race and, yes, politics." The coalition's letter, signed by 31 union leaders from Westchester and Putnam counties, said Yonkers students deserve the same opportunity as students in other districts to study music and art and learn from highly qualified certified teachers. Petrone noted another priority will be restoring social workers and psychologists after the YFT asked state Ed Commissioner Richard Mills to investigate whether special ed students were getting services mandated by law under their Individualized Education Programs. School social workers and counselors report being stretched so thin, they worry they cannot provide even the most necessary services — such as counseling a student who is threatening suicide, Frey said. There is only one counselor assigned to provide services in 28 elementary schools. At the secondary level, a lack of counselors is increasing discipline problems, and students do not have access to college and career counseling. At Lincoln High, one guidance counselor is responsible for 869 students. Frey said the YFT is hopeful the recall process will be hastened so students do not lose an entire school year of education. Meanwhile, hundreds of laid-off staffers are literally waiting by the phone. Some will no doubt be called back to a different job in a different school. "I miss my students and the job I loved so much," said Pekowsky. "But I also understand I'll be returning to a shell of a program, a shadow of what it used to be. For someone who loves their job, that's the hardest part." — Sylvia Saunders |
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