44 JANUARY 20 - JANUARY 26, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP Local schools could get socked under Trump BY ANNA SPIVAK [email protected] According to a new analysis completed by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) earlier this month, upwards of 1,200 New York City schools could potentially be stripped of significant funding under President-elect Donald Trump’s voucher plan for city schools – a plan that puts Brooklyn’s own Fort Hamilton High school at risk of losing the most funding of any school in the city. The UFT’s analysis, which details Title I funding for New York City schools for 2016-17, breaks down just how much schools throughout the city stand to lose if Trump’s plan–which would use federal money to finance vouchers for low-income students to attend parochial or private schools – goes into effect. While Fort Hamilton High school stands to lose the most, with $2,564,163 in its Title I entitlement, eight other schools within southwest Brooklyn would also be heavily impacted. Collectively, those eight other schools (New Utrecht High School, Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, John Dewey High School, P.S. 94, P.S. 169, P.S. 105, Abraham Lincoln High School and J.H.S 220 John K. Pershing) will lose a total of almost $15 million. According to the UFT, more than 700,000 students — including large high schools in all five boroughs — would face higher class sizes, have fewer teachers and lose after-school academic and enrichment programs if President-elect Trump “makes good on his campaign promise to pull billions of federal dollars away from public schools to pay for private vouchers.” Solutions and answers will hang in balance, however, until Education Secretary-nominee Besty DeVos – President-elect Trump’s choice for the post – secures the position. “We need to hear in detail from Ms. DeVos — a fervent advocate of vouchers and charter schools — what the administration’s plan is for Title 1, which is specifically designed to aid poor pupils and which New York City relies on to help serve our neediest students,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “The damage would spread through the system, raising class sizes even in non-Title 1 schools, threatening academic enrichment programs, guidance, art and music and other services our children depend on.” According to the UFT, the Trump administration is “on record supporting choice and voucher programs, but has yet to specify where the administration would find the money to start a national school voucher program.” “If the school system had to make up a $500 million loss of Title 1 funds — money that helps defray the costs of teachers, guidance counselors, aides and administrators — more than these schools would suffer,” added Mulgrew. While UFT chapter chairs at potentially affected schools such as P.S. 105 note that the loss of Title I funding would impact important initiatives, such as after-school and Saturday programs aimed at the arts and the school's large population of English Language Learners, as well as make many technology teaching aids "unaffordable," President of Brooklyn’s District 20 Community Education Council Laurie Windsor isn’t panicking just yet. “As far as I understand, nothing has been put in place yet and details Fort Hamilton High School stands to lose the most in federal funding in the city should Title I money be redirected toward vouchers. have not been ironed out,” Windsor said. “I think everybody is nervous and making a lot assumptions which is dangerous because we don’t know BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/file photo what it’s really going to be. Like the saying goes, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. We’ll have to wait and see when he’s in office.” Last-ditch effort to can the bag fee BY URWAH AHMAD [email protected] With just about a month to go before the city’s controversial bag fee is scheduled to go into effect, a group of elected officials, including a bevy of Brooklyn pols, is hoping to pass legislation on the state level that would permanently derail the fee, which proponents contend would reduce the waste stream but which opponents claim is just a hidden tax. Brooklyn State Senators Simcha Felder and Marty Golden and Assemblymembers Peter Abbate and Nicole Malliotakis were among a bipartisan group of legislators who gathered on Sunday, January 15 on the steps of City Hall to announce the legislation, of which Felder is a prime sponsor, that would stop the city from implementing the fee, due to be charged beginning February 15. “New Yorkers are tired of being nickel and dimed,” asserted Felder, who demanded, “Why are we picking on the most vulnerable New Yorkers to drive them out of their minds, and tax them over and over again? “Please, Mayor de Blasio, please do not irritate New Yorkers further,” Felder added, contending that city elected officials, “still have time to come up with something that works for all New Yorkers.” The fee was initially slated to go into effect in October, 2016; however, the City Council delayed the implementation. On Tuesday, January 17, the State Senate passed the new legislation – which forbids “any tax, fee, or local charge on carry-out merchandise bags in cities having a population of one million or more” — though a vote has not yet been scheduled in the Assembly, which also must pass the legislation before it is sent to the governor for his signature. However, Abbate said on Wednesday evening that the city's delegation in the Assembly had met on the issue and would be "asking for a one-year moratorium so we can work on a bill" that would be less controversial. A key sticking point in the City Council's legislation, said Abbate, is the fact that store owners would get to keep the bag fee, rather than it going to helping to reduce the proliferation of plastic bags. Opponents of the bag fee didn’t have the plaza in front of City Hall to themselves. Also present was Brooklyn Councilmember Brad Lander, with a group of protesters who were on hand to support the implementation of the bag fee. “They don’t want to do anything about reducing plastic bag waste,” Lander said. "With Trump and the GOP Congress rolling back environmental protections and bullying cities, it would be shameful for Albany to join them,” he added. “Don't they have more important work to do on behalf of the people of New York?" The purpose of the fee is to encourage the use of reusable bags, and decrease the amount of disposable shopping bags that end up in the waste stream or as litter. According to World Watch Institute, Americans throw away approximately 100 billion plastic grocery bags annually. New Yorkers dispose of more than 9.37 billion plastic bags every year. The New York City Department of Sanitation has begun notifying businesses that they are required to charge a nickel for every bag starting February 15 or face fines. Helen Klein contributed reporting to this article.
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