Media Releases
October 30, 2007. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
AD, WEB CAMPAIGN TARGETS "UNFAIR PLAN" TO DIVERT SCHOOL FUNDS
October 30, 2007 - A multi-media campaign built on the theme of "fair play" was launched today by the Monroe County Education Coalition. The campaign tackles the tactics and rationale behind the so-called "FAIR Plan" promoted by County Executive Maggie Brooks that would divert to county Medicaid spending more than $29 million already earmarked for schools.
The campaign includes a web site, www.UnfairTokids.org, and 30-second video spots, which are running on Rochester-area television stations and on the Web.
"This coalition was established to promote excellence in public education. This mid-year removal of sales tax revenues has reinforced our collective commitment to working together. Board members, teachers, parents, superintendents--all want the community to know just what this means for the future," said Frank Muscato, Gates Chili Board of Education and Past-President of the Monroe County School Boards Association.
"We teach our students to play fair," said Barbara Shapiro, Pittsford District Teachers Association president and a member of the MCEC Steering Committee. "What kind of lesson does it teach our kids if the county legislature can make a last minute deal to divert funds already promised to schools?"
The superintendents' representative on the MCEC Steering Committee, Jeff Crane of West Irondequoit, said, "No amount of state aid will result in schools being 'held harmless,' with a $290 million reduction over the next ten years. To suggest that there will be no cuts in school programs as a result defies imagination."
The video ads, which are appearing on news shows and other television programs and on the Web, question how a plan can be called "fair" when it cuts resources promised to children's education; leaves school districts in the lurch after taxpayers have approved their budgets; and plays a "shell game" with $29 million in taxpayer funds.
The $50,000 campaign, sponsored by the Monroe County Education Coalition, was subsidized by a grant to the Monroe County Federation of Teachers from its parent union, New York State United Teachers.
"This campaign speaks for educators and parents who know first-hand the losses our students will face if the county's unfair plan is allowed to stand," said Shapiro.
The campaign seeks to counter "a relentless barrage of advertising and automated telephone calls" pushing the Brooks' plan on Monroe County residents, Shapiro said.
Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association, said, "The county executive has been all over the airwaves advertising a plan she claims is fair. Does she think we're only half listening? If she played fair, she would honor the promises the county has made to our students."
The campaign links to a website, www.UnfairToKids.org, where residents can fax county legislators and ask them to restore school funds. Residents may also fax state legislators who represent Monroe, asking them to stand up against the county legislature's "shell game."
Shapiro noted that parents and educators are deeply dismayed by the barrage of ads underwritten by Brooks' political campaign, which include automated phone calls suggesting voters could "vote no" on their school budgets in May.
"This negative and unnecessary attack on schools treats our children's education like a political football," said MCFT President Beverly Engel.. "That's the opposite of fair play."
"Monroe County school boards worked hard to prepare lean budgets," added Engel, "and those budgets were passed by taxpayers. It's not fair for the county legislature to throw those budgets into chaos. The loss of $29 million translates into real cuts for programs our students need."
For example, the Greece Central School District will lose almost $6 million annually under the "FAIR" Plan. "Greece is a Contract for Excellence district," said Greece Teachers Association president Don Palozzi. "Much of the additional state aid we receive must be directed at certain programs aimed at improving student test scores. This plan will mean cuts in programs and services for our students."
To view the video ad, and read the letters to state and county legislators, go to www.UnfairToKids.org.
October 29, 2007. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
MONROE COUNTY TAXPAYERS CITE OPEN MEETINGS LAW VIOLATION IN LAWSUIT AGAINST COUNTY
ROCHESTER, N.Y. October 29, 2007 - A group of Monroe County taxpayers, with support from New York State United Teachers, today filed a lawsuit in Monroe County Supreme Court seeking to halt an attempt by county legislators to divert funds intended for local schools.
The plaintiffs, who are taxpayers and educators active in the Monroe County Education Coalition campaign to prevent school cuts, say that by diverting sales-tax revenues that had been intended for schools, Monroe County would violate state tax laws, the county's statutory responsibilities for the cost of social services, and several county revenue-sharing agreements.
The suit also charges that the County Legislature intentionally failed to provide the media with adequate notice of the September 26th meeting at which the plan was passed, in clear violation of the Open Meetings Law.
Plaintiff Karen Arthmann, president of the paraprofessionals chapter of the Rush Henrietta Education Association, said that if the county's plan goes forward, "It will reverberate in the classroom and in its impact on local property taxes."
Plaintiff Neil Czerniak, president of the Brockport Teachers Association and father of two elementary school students, questioned the rushed timing of the action, noting the county executive's evident hurry to call a last-minute meeting without time for public input.
"The county executive hatched this plan, which is essentially a shell game with taxpayer dollars, and called a meeting without allowing for discussion or debate by the community or by the press," Czerniak said.
Plaintiff Beverly Fisher, president of the Association of Greece Central Education Professionals (AGCEP) and a Greece district resident, pointed out that her district would be very heavily hit by the plan. "Greece had an increase in state aid that could only be spent for specific program changes. This plan will mean a loss of almost $6 million every year. Greece will have to cut programs and services."
Attorneys from NYSUT, the parent union of the Monroe County Federation of Teachers, are providing legal representation to the plaintiffs. This is the second lawsuit filed in a matter of days challenging the county's "Medicaid Swap" that would divert $29 million in tax dollars earmarked for the schools. The Monroe County Schools Boards Association filed suit Wednesday, charging the county plan violates tax law. The taxpayers' lawsuit filed today breaks new ground in challenging the county legislature's action as a breach of the Open Meetings Law.
NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said the statewide union strongly supports the campaign by educators, parents, and school board members seeking to reverse this policy.
NYSUT Regional Staff Director Tom Gillett will be available from 3-4 PM this afternoon in the NYSUT Conference Center, 30 N. Union Street, 14607, to respond to questions about today's filing.