BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARKOWITZ STATEMENT ON PROPOSED EDUCATION CUTS

“When schools used to teach ‘Civics,’ we taught our young people that liberal education is one of our most precious American values—to me, that means working to ensure that our education system here in our ‘National City,’ a.k.a. New York, is the best in the world.

I opposed education cuts in February, and I oppose this latest proposal as well. It simply makes no sense when our schools are still struggling, going without science labs, after-school and arts programs, tutoring services and guidance counselors.

These are indeed tough economic times, and my office has been asked to make difficult budget decisions as well—but it is precisely now, when parents are working twice as hard to make ends meet, that families in our neediest communities and in every corner of the city need our schools to be an even stronger positive force in our children’s lives. We should be using the additional state aid to supplement our budget, not replace current funds.

We should be thinking about smaller class sizes, not smaller budgets. If we need to make any cuts in education, they should occur at Tweed—and not in our classrooms.”