Thousands Rally Against Cuomo's Billionaire-Backed Education Scheme
Students, parents, and teachers protest New York governor's plan to tie standardized tests to teacher evaluations
Thousands of parents, teachers, and students from across the state flooded the streets of Manhattan on Saturday to call out Governor Andrew Cuomo for selling out the public school system.
"Wall Street got a bailout. Public schools were sold out," was the message as protesters blocked traffic outside Cuomo's 3rd Avenue office building. The group is calling on the state government to fully fund public schools, limit high-stakes testing, support struggling schools, fairly evaluate teachers, and stop the expansion of charter schools.
Organized by a coalition of groups, the demonstration included former progressive gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout, as well as other members of the Hedge Clippers—a recently founded campaign, backed by Teachout, as well as the American Federation of Teachers, and other prominent labor and community groups.
According to the group's site, the Hedge Clippers seek to "expose the mechanisms hedge funds and billionaires use to influence government and politics in order to expand their wealth, influence and power" by calling out the politicians who do their bidding.
During Saturday's protest, the group wielded large paper scissors and held signs accusing Cuomo of being the "number one recipient of hedge fund cash." Throughout the day, images from the demonstration were shared widely on Twitter as well as on Thousands Rally Against Cuomo's Billionaire-Backed Education Scheme | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community:
