Peekskill Schools Advocacy Group Demands Equitable NYS Funding

On Friday, March 23, just days before New York State’s Budget is expected to be signed, a group of education advocates met at Senator Terrance Murphy’s Shrub Oak office to deliver an important message:

“Do not balance your budgets on our children’s backs,” said Peekskill Board of Education President and member of the Peekskill NAACP, Mrs. Lisa Aspinall-Kellawon.

The advocacy group was comprised of members of the Peekskill City School District administration, the Peekskill Board of Education, the Peekskill NAACP, the Peekskill Parent Teacher Organization and a representative from the Alliance for Quality Education.

Spokespersons advocating for equity in education met with the Senator’s Chief of Staff Matthew Slater, who spoke on Murphy's behalf. While at the Senator’s office, the group presented Slater with signed letters and postcards from community members who shared the same belief that Peekskill schools are being significantly underfunded by New York State.

Martin MacDonald, a Peekskill parent and President of the Peekskill Chapter of the NAACP, noted that before the discussion turns to funding allocation, first state representatives need to understand Peekskill’s demographics and the unique position of the city’s schools.

“While we’re talking about these things, and we do appreciate Senator Murphy’s help, it seems that no one really wants to talk about the issue of race and how that plays in here, and the people who are being impacted and the people who are not being impacted by these decisions,” MacDonald said. “And this has to be discussed. If you are going to understand the situation, we need to start there. The children who are black and brown are being left behind, and the formulas are not working…we want to make sure [Senator Murphy] is seeing that part of the equation.”

At the meeting, Slater acknowledged that the Foundation Aid formula that New York State uses to calculate school aid is “archaic” and “needs to be upgraded.”

“The Senator believes in giving every child the opportunity to succeed, whether that’s in the schools or in our communities, he’s fighting every day,” Slater said. “We’ve delivered a record amount of aid last year to our schools and Peekskill is always in the forefront of our minds when it comes to education, and we will continue to fight every day for them.”

Those addressing the concern with Slater said that despite New York State’s increase in aid last year, the money is still not being allocated appropriately, and the neediest districts are the ones suffering from the inequitable distribution of funds. They also noted that fixing this problem is taking too long.

Peekskill’s Interim Superintendent, Dr. Mary Keenan Foster, who accompanied the group on the visit to the Senator’s office, relayed the urgency for the District’s need and asked Salter how much longer Peekskill schools will have to wait to see an equitable increase in New York State support.

“We have kids in our buildings that need this help now, today,” said Dr. Foster.

Members of the Peekskill schools advocacy group are encouraging community members to contact their local officials and join in the fight to demand equitable funding from NYS. The District has set up an advocacy page on their website which includes information, representative contacts and pre-composed letters addressing the issues Peekskill is facing.

PHOTO: Peekskill’s advocacy group meets with Senator Murphy’s Chief of Staff Matthew Slater at the Senator’s Shrub Oak office on March 23.