Suffer the children … again!

Once again our elected politicians, our government, and our bureaucracy have made pawns of our children in a battle over who gets to spend our hard-earned tax dollars.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein beaming at his shoulder, enthusiastically announced a school building plan to construct 21 new schools with 15,000 new seats, providing existing schools with 40 new science labs, more than 40 new art facilities, nearly 60 new athletic fields, 15 new libraries, nearly 20 technology upgrades and the same number of new heating systems.
Then due the stubbornness, and ego, of Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno, who refuses to send court-mandated additional funding for education and for school construction to the city, Mayor Bloomberg had to announce the cancellation of the 21 new schools and the labs, art facilities, athletic fields, libraries, etc. only a week after trumpeting their plans.
Out of these 21 projects, nine schools in Queens, with seating for 4,872 students, are delayed and an additional 11 schools where preliminary work has been done are on hold.
It is our money. We, the city taxpayers, send $11 billion more in taxes to Albany than we get back in state services. The state education budget shortchanges the city to such a transparent degree that the Court of Appeals declared it unconstitutional.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Leland DeGrasse ordered the governor and Legislature to increase funding for the city schools by $5.6 billion over four years and send back to the city an additional $9.2 billion over five years for school construction.
Bruno has estimated that the state’s budget surplus to be nearly $4 billion, but he states defiantly that the state will not send any more money down to the city for its students. He actually called it “lunacy,” and pointed to an alleged “me-too” demand of up to $1.50 for every extra dollar sent to the city from every other school district in the state.
Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein both feel this is unacceptable and they have requested your help — all New Yorkers’ help. Get vocal on this issue, be heard!
Call your Assemblyperson. Call your State Senator. Call the Governor’s office. The mayor has even offered the services of 311 if you don’t know who your elected officials are or their phone numbers. Go on line (https://assembly.state.ny.us/ or https://senate.state.ny.us/ ) and look them up. Send them e-mails. Organize petition campaigns in schools. Parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, businessmen, grandmothers, grandfathers, the clergy and the students themselves must be heard — GET VOCAL, BE HEARD.
Tell the state to stop taking our students hostage in their political ego matches and struggles for power. Send us the money we deserve Albany — and send it NOW!