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
Mr B,
Not looking to spar. I love ya…honest.
My issue is that a systemic budget cut acrooss the hole PS system has become an angle on 321. Thats all. Many realtors tout many schools. PS 58 and 29 are two others that get lots of RE play.
Can’t they just buy used math textbooks? Has elementary school math changed that much in the last 20 years? They could add in an extra credit historical perspective to the math course by doing this too.
Make Bloomberg pay this. He’s got more money than all of us put together. I heard he farts benjis.
But ohhhhh noooooo, that wouldn’t be American for a disgustingly rich politician to put his money back into the society that MADE HIM DISGUSTINGLY RICH IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!
The fact that 321 is routinely touted as an amenity in real estate listing absolutely means there’s a real estate angle to the story. Granted, it may not be the most important angle to the story, but this is still primarly a real estate blog, after all.
Park Slope, welcome to the real world!
9:57’s job as a bartender is probably not what most well educated people would choose. Prost!!
Park Slope parents cannot organize themselves as a group to raise $125,000. Come on! Maybe they could auction off a few disused strollers.
The Park Slope realtors alone should kick in this money. They’re always using the place as a marketing ploy. It’s time to give back.
they spend $15-20,000 every YEAR on furniture? wow.
Brownstoner- The commentors so far have mostly ignored your actual question, and instead focused on how much they hate the park slope rich mommies that are the bloggy bugbears of their minds.
The real estate twist you’re trying to give this is a red herring. The values all over the slope have increased regardless of the fact that lots of people who live in the slope are part of the 321 district. The price gap between 321 zoned houses and non 321 houses has been pretty narrow for a while. There are a number of other good public schools in the neighborhood, as well as a bunch of fantastic private schools.