Budget Cuts Threatening To Cramp P.S. 321's Style
The administration and PTA for P.S. 321 on 7th Avenue and 1st Street—widely considered one of the best and most progressive public elementary schools in Brooklyn, if not the entire city—are up in arms about the $125,000 in budget cuts the school is facing, and they’re calling on parents to march at the Department of…
The administration and PTA for P.S. 321 on 7th Avenue and 1st Street—widely considered one of the best and most progressive public elementary schools in Brooklyn, if not the entire city—are up in arms about the $125,000 in budget cuts the school is facing, and they’re calling on parents to march at the Department of Education offices tomorrow. (Principals all over the city have been slamming the slashed DOE budget.) P.S. 321’s principal sent a note home to parents saying the cuts mean the school won’t be able to buy new classroom furniture and certain school supplies (including new math books), and that there will be less money available for the professional development of teachers. On Monday, the PTA co-presidents sent home another letter (see copy on jump) about how the loss of funding will hurt the school; this communication asks parents to show up for the 4:00 p.m. rally in Lower Manhattan tomorrow to protest the cuts. (The rally is distinct from the meeting about the budget cuts that Councilman de Blasio is holding at Borough Hall tonight.) So how does all this circle back to real estate? This is no doubt overly simplistic, but is it possible for the budget cuts to make some would-be Slope buyers (who often move to the neighborhood because of schools like P.S. 321) reconsider, or think about shelling out for private school instead? Or do the strong voices of parents at P.S. 321 affirm the lure of the school and neighborhood? GMAP
12:25, as long as we’re going to take “any one of your failing schools and replace the children wholesale with PS321. Keep the crummy infrastructure, the much-maligned staff, the limited curriculum,” we might as well reduce the parent’s salaries. And while we’re at it, let’s remove one of the parents from the household. And rather than attend PTA meetings, the remaining parent goes to their 2nd job. I’m sure there should be plenty of time in the day to read and travel the world with the child.
If parents do not have the time of money to spend on their child’s education, it is in everyone’s interest to have the schools fill the void.
12:25. it is far easier to highlight the symptoms (i.e. words spoken) than address the real problems (poverty/racism).
Successful?
Worst president in history is no success to me.
Latest poll: 27% of the population approve of the way he does his job.
You have mighty low standards for success, my friend.
But successful.
George Bush is a perfect example of how someone with good schooling can end up so ignorant.
Look – we’re getting away from the main point which is that failing schools are helicoptered into poor hoods, along with drugs and cheap alcohol, as part of the great conspiracy to keep people down.
12:21, I think al-quaida would love it if the military had to bake cookies to buy tanks.
Why are New Yorkers so completely clueless?
We are supposed to be a sophisticated city and yet so many have the attitude that if we just keep to ourselves and mind our own business nobody will bother us. It is like what people in the hinterland thought in 1941.
There really should be enough money for both schools and the military considering what we pay in taxes. We do not have to chose between one or the other.
12:25 – You mean like PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights – amazing how that school was turned around in like 2 years – how is that possible???
BTW – for all the denouncing about television – I bet if some of these parents simply turned the channel from Jerry Springer to Noggin SAT scores would rise 20%. While certainly real interaction is FAR FAR better – for many parents it is too much trouble to even put on age appropriate TV.
12:21 – only if your prepared for your children to forcibly learn the Koran; (yes it is way overstated – but makes the point)
12.10 – trolling the same tired lines.
Look at actual scientific child development studies re. number of words spoken to young children, the frequency of interaction with adults, diversity of vocabulary, the variety of non-TV experiences, the mimicry of adult behavior et etc zzzzz….instead of the same, worn, sociological theories.
Schools generally reflect the abilities and competencies of their pupils parents. Take any one of your failing schools and replace the children wholesale with PS321. Keep the crummy infrastructure, the much-maligned staff, the limited curriculum. It’ll be a success in no time.
Stop blaming the city and the schools and get off your a## and do some real parenting.