Q: Where does State Senator Eric Schneiderman stand on public education?

A:

Public Education:

As the parent of a daughter in the New York City public schools I know that there is nothing more important to our families, our communities, and the economic life of our city than our public education system. Providing New Yorkers with a quality education is critical to creating high-paying jobs and expanding our state's economy. That means keeping college affordable for working families, investing in our schools to raise academic standards and reduce class sizes, and funding universal pre-kindergarten for our earliest learners.

School Overcrowding

As the representative of one of the City’s most overcrowded school districts, I am well aware of the need to construct new school buildings. We cannot possibly instill in city students an appreciation of the importance of learning if we fail to provide them with the facilities that make learning possible. Unfortunately, lack of space has forced many principals to offer classes in inappropriate spaces, including transportable classroom units, bookrooms, science labs and converted bathrooms.

Because I am acutely aware that space for new schools is hard to come by, I have worked to create relationships between the School Construction Authority and local real estate developers who own land where new schools could be built.

In the meantime, I am working with the community to make sure that already-existing school buildings are not inundated by more students than they can realistically hold. In 2003, for example, I worked with the Washington Heights community and other elected officials to keep Gregorio Luperon High School from being placed in a building that was overcapacity according to the Department of Education’s own Enrollment, Capacity and Utilization report.

Additionally, I have continually urged the Department of Education to produce an Enrollment, Capacity and Utilization report that adequately reflects the actual conditions in New York City’s schools. The absence of such a report makes it difficult to reasonably assess the capital needs of New York City’s school system. Last year I worked with other local elected officials to pressure the School Construction Authority to revisit their capacity and utilization numbers.

As a result of our efforts, this year’s capacity numbers reflect some of the changes for which we lobbied last year. Nonetheless, the report is far from perfect and I will continue to exert pressure upon the Department to ensure that their numbers properly reveal the reality on the ground.

Source: State Senator Eric Schneiderman's Official Website