They're walking 150 miles to save their public schools. Here's how you can help
 Education advocates are walking from NYC to Albany and need your help! Schott will match your donation up to $10,000:  |
Why are advocates walking from New York City to Albany?
In 2006, New York State’s highest court ruled on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) school funding lawsuit. The CFE lawsuit was brought by parents against the State of New York claiming that children were not being provided an opportunity to receive an adequate education.
The Schott Foundation was among the first to fund the Campaign for Fiscal Equity in the mid-1990s which sparked a movement — and a victory. In 2006 the Court of Appeals ruled in CFE’s favor and found that New York State had violated students' constitutional right to a “sound and basic education” by depriving schools of needed funding. The Court ordered the NY Legislature to distribute $5.5 billion in basic operating aid (also known as Foundation Aid) to schools statewide over a four-year period, from 2007 to 2011.
Yet — ten years later — New York still owes its children $3.9 billion in Foundation Aid, most of which is owed to districts with high percentages of students of color. The state has only allocated $2.3 billion in Foundation Aid to schools thus far due to funding freezes during the fiscal crisis and further cuts to school aid.
It’s past time for the state of New York to deliver on providing the funding for the high-quality education our students have earned and deserve.
Starting this Sunday, October 2nd, parents, students, educators, and community members will walk 150 miles from New York City to Albany — to show Governor Cuomo and the Senate Republicans that we are not backing down.
If you can, join all or a portion of the walk. If you can’t, please join the Schott Foundation by helping to sponsor the walk. Schott will match donations up to $10,000.
We won’t stop until our students’ public schools receive the funding they were promised a decade ago. Any donation, no matter how small, will help make this happen. Your contribution will help cover the cost of: food, snacks, and water for all of They're walking 150 miles to save their public schools. Here's how you can help | Schott Foundation for Public Education: