Teacher and blogger Ralph Ratto says that New Yorkers must rally to support public education:

 

 

“All across the Empire State thousands upon thousands of parents, students, business leaders, and teachers are standing up and speaking out for public education. The message is clear. We will not let Governor Cuomo destroy public education in New York.9/11 Memorial Run/Wall in Manhattan

 

“Andrew Cuomo, our ‘self-proclaimed student advocate’, is holding school funding hostage in his maniacal quest to sell off public education to the highest bidder. An integral part of his plan is to falsely proclaim our schools and teachers as failures.

 

“We have all witnessed Cuomo do the following;

 

“shift needed funding towards the private sector.

 

hand over public schools buildings room by room to privately own charter schools.

 

wrenched local control away from communities.

 

demanded unfunded mandates that are driving public school districts into fiscal distress.

 

destroyed teacher preparation programs.

 

whittled away at teacher education centers.

 

demanded standards that are not age appropriate for students.

 

forced children to undergo hours and hours of abusive high stakes tests.

 

labeled public sector unions as an evil force.

 

Let’s not forget, Cuomo was not endorsed by the New York state AFL-CIO and NYSUT. There is a reason this Democrat was shunned by labor. His agenda is anti-labor and is driven by his hedge fund millionaire campaign donors. That’s why he lost just about every county and every region in the state except for where his hedge fund millionaires poured in tons of cash.

 

His agenda is quite clear, he has a vendetta against those who turned their backs on him and squashed his presidential aspirations. He is willing to sacrifice the futures of the children, of the Empire State, all the while handing parts of a multi-billion dollar public asset to privateers.

 

As evident in his decisions to end any oversight on ethics he has ordered all of his administrations e-mail and correspondence to be purged on a regular basis. Cuomo is counting on a world of darkness and despair as he slams the door on open government. We are on to him, and he won’t get away with this.

 

Cuomo wants us to believe the sun in New York State Seal is setting on the era of public education and open government. It is time to stand up and speak out and tell the governor that the citizens of the Empire State will not allow that sun to set on our most important assets, our children and our public schools.Seal_of_New_York.svg

 

Stand Up, Speak out for public education. Let the sun shine as we share the successes of public education in New York. Nassau County’s forum- “Stand Up and Speak Out for Public Education” is on March 12 at Westbury High School.

 

 

More information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/StandUp4PublicEducation. #allkids need you to be there.