BY Katy Gagnon
Parents with children attending District 25 schools vented their frustrations Monday over Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed budget cuts to elected officials during a lively discussion at the district's PTA Presidents Council meeting.
About 35 parents, representing PTA boards throughout the district, attended the monthly meeting at District 25's office on Linden Place in Flushing.
During the discussion, City Councilmen James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) and John Liu (D-Flushing) attempted to quell the concerns of the irate parents by explaining their own disappointment with the city Department of Education.
“Your experience with the DOE is not unlike the City Council's experience with the DOE,” Gennaro said. “They close out anyone they really don't want to interact with.”
The most heated topic discussed at the meeting was Bloomberg's planned budget cuts for the city's public schools.
In his executive budget, Bloomberg proposed a reduction of $450 million in school funding, according to estimates by the United Federation of Teachers. The budget is to be finalized by the City Council June 5.
If the cut goes through, enrichment programs at area schools could be reduced or eliminated, said Lorraine Kosnar, the PS 21 PTA president in Flushing.
At the meeting, Kosnar pointed to a child's art project hanging on the wall. “Those are the things children do in enrichment classes,” she said. “It's a privilege for kids to express themselves. They flourish from that.”
Other PTA members at the meeting questioned why the city would open new schools in the district when it needed to cut funding a year later. The district covers schools in Flushing, Whitestone, College Point as well as parts of Bayside and Fresh Meadows.
The councilmen called on the parents to actively protest the proposed budget cuts by calling 311 and participating in a march scheduled for Wednesday.
The parents of District 25 were planning a march to protest the cuts that was to take place May 21.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included standardized testing and the investigation into PCBs in caulking around school windows and door frames.
Both the parents and elected officials took issue with the current governing policy for city schools, a policy that gives the mayor control of the school system.
Kosnar said she was pleased with the meeting's turnout from both concerned parents and elected officials.
Representatives from the offices of state Assembly members Ann Margaret Carrozza (D-Bayside) and Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) attended the event.
All in attendance seemed united in fighting against the proposed budget cuts.
“Jim and I are on stand to help in any way,” Liu said.
Reach reporter Katy Gagnon by e-mail at kgagnon@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext 174.
