Peekskill and Ossining School Districts Join Forces in Local Ed Walk as Schools Across NYS Demand Fiscal Equity

On Tuesday, October 4 members and supporters of the Peekskill City School District gathered at Ossining High School to join others in the EdWalk for CFE (Campaign for Fiscal Equity). The walk, which was spearheaded by the Alliance for Quality Education of New York, marks the 10-year anniversary of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court decision which ruled that the state is systemically underfunding Black, Latino, and low-income students in many districts across New York.

From October 2 until October 11, walk participants will march 150 miles from New York City to Albany in demand of fair funding for all school districts in the state.

Tuesday’s walk consisted of an 11 mile stretch that led walkers from Ossining High School to Peekskill Middle School. Upon arrival, participants were greeted by a crowd of supporters that included, but was not limited to: Peekskill staff, administration, students, Board of Education members, elected officials, community members and local media.

Upon their arrival to the middle school walkers chanted, “Fight, fight, fight, fight; education is a right.”

Before the group of marchers broke for lunch, a few key participants spoke to the crowd.

Peekskill Superintendent Dr. David Fine, who made the 11 mile journey on Tuesday, thanked those who came out to support the Ed Walk initiative and spoke about the foundation aid owed to the Peekskill and Ossining school districts.

“The purpose of this walk is to demand fiscal equity, for communities like Ossining, and for communities like Peekskill,” Fine said. “We have a variety of challenges, and we have a variety of rights with regard to public education and what we deserve….Peekskill is owed close to $11 million dollars, and in Ossining it’s approximately $14 million. Now can you imagine what our districts could be doing with that sort of aid? That’s what this walk is all about.”

Ossining Superintendent Ray Sanchez, who also participated in Tuesday’s walk, took a moment to address the crowd as well.

“This walk is all about our children, not only the children we have in our districts now, but the students that will follow them into our schools,” Sanchez said. “There are students in our schools that deserve the best and this is about getting them the resources they need so they can have a bright future.”

Peekskill parent Martin McDonald also spoke at the event. McDonald who works in the Ossining School District, noted that he has experienced the lack of funding from NYS as both a parent of a child in Peekskill schools and as an Ossining School District employee.

“I have a dual position in this walk,” McDonald said. “I work in the Ossining School District and it’s a fantastic school district. They are doing some amazing things. And over the years I’ve seen how we’ve been affected by the lack of aid that we should be receiving from the state. I see how it has affected the teachers, I see how it has affected the administration, and the classrooms, and I’ve also seen how it has impacted the kids, and they are the ones who are being hurt the most. I’m also a parent here in Peekskill and I see how the money that [New York State] is holding hostage, is almost criminal. Our kids are not able to receive what they deserve. But I am encouraged by what I am seeing taking place now- this walk was amazing.”

Though she did not address the crowd publically at Tuesday’s rally, Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, who waited with other supporters to greet marchers at Peekskill Middle School, added to the day’s sentiments when asked for her feelings on the subject of foundation aid.

“The walk was a great expression of the need for more foundation aid in our educational system,” Galef said. “I’m glad it was such a spectacular day. I hope that at the end of the day the governor will see a real groundswell of support for more foundation aid, and when the budget is introduced, that the increase in this aid will be significant for next year. It probably won’t cover the whole thing, but we have goals. Sometimes it’s hard to reach these goals when we’re talking about millions of dollars, but hopefully we can have a scheduled plan of action to increase aid significantly over the next few years to help the kids in our schools.”