Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2016-2017 Executive Budget Proposal: Topic "Elementary & Secondary Education" - Testimonies

12 Senator Catharine M. Young
Chair, Senate Finance Committee
13
Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr.
14 Chair, Assembly Ways & Means Committee

15 PRESENT:

16 Senator Liz Krueger
Senate Finance Committee (RM)
17
Assemblyman Bob Oaks
18 Assembly Ways & Means Committee (RM)

19 Assemblywoman Catherine T. Nolan
Chair, Assembly Education Committee
20
Senator Carl L. Marcellino
21 Chair, Senate Education Committee

22 Assemblyman Michael Cusick

23 Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick

24 Assemblyman David G. McDonough

1 2016-2017 Executive Budget
Elementary & Secondary Education
2 1-27-16

3 PRESENT: (Continued)

4 Assemblyman Clifford W. Crouch

5 Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer

6 Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper

7 Senator Roxanne J. Persaud

8 Assemblyman Edward P. Ra

9 Assemblyman Peter Lopez

10 Senator George S. Latimer

11 Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon

12 Assemblyman Al Graf

13 Assemblyman Felix W. Ortiz

14 Assemblyman Matthew Titone

15 Senator Velmanette Montgomery

16 Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubry

17 Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton

18 Assemblyman Steven Otis

19 Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley

20 Senator Phil Boyle

21 Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte

22 Assemblyman Anthony J. Brindisi

23 Assemblyman Harry B. Bronson

24 Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis

1 2016-2017 Executive Budget
Elementary & Secondary Education
2 1-27-16

3 PRESENT: (Continued)

4 Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy

5 Senator John DeFrancisco

6 Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti

7 Assemblyman Rebecca A. Seawright

8 Senator John Bonacic

9 Assemblyman Carmen E. Arroyo

10 Assemblyman Andrew P. Raia

11 Senator Leroy Comrie

12 Assemblyman William Colton

13 Assemblyman L. Dean Murray

14 Senator Diane Savino

15 Assemblyman David I. Weprin

16 Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell

17 Senator Michael F. Nozzolio

18 Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman

19 Assemblyman Marc W. Butler

20

21

1 2016-2017 Executive Budget
Elementary & Secondary Education
2 1-27-16

3 LIST OF SPEAKERS

4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS

5 MaryEllen Elia
Commissioner
6 NYS Education Department 10 20

7 Carmen FariÒa
Chancellor
8 NYC Department of Education 195 219

9 Andy Pallotta
Executive Vice President
10 Christopher Black
Director of Legislation
11 New York State United Teachers
-and-
12 Michael Mulgrew
President
13 Cassie Prugh
Legislative Director
14 United Federation of Teachers 347 369

15 Georgia M. Asciutto
Executive Director
16 Conference of Big 5
School Districts
17 Sharon Contreras
Superintendent
18 Syracuse Central School District
Dr. Kriner Cash
19 Superintendent
Buffalo School District
20 Dr. Edwin Quezada
Interim Superintendent
21 Yonkers City School District
Linda Cimusz
22 Interim Superintendent
Rochester School District 401 431
23

24

1 2016-2017 Executive Budget
Elementary & Secondary Education
2 1-27-16

3 LIST OF SPEAKERS, Continued

4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS

5 Ernest Logan
President
6 Council of School Supervisors
and Administrators (CSA) 434 440
7
James Viola
8 Director, Government Relations
School Administrators Association
9 of New York State (SAANYS) 441

10 Jasmine Gripper
Legislative Director
11 Alliance for Quality Education 451

12 Bernadette Kappen
Chair
13 4201 Schools Association 457

14 William Wolff
President
15 NYS Coalition of 853 Schools 465 470

16 Julie Marlette
Director, Governmental Relations
17 NYS School Boards Association 472 478

18 Robert Lowry
Deputy Director
19 New York State Council of
School Superintendents 481 485
20
Michael Borges
21 Executive Director
New York State Association of
22 School Business Officials 486

23 Fred Koelbel
Chair, Legislative Committee
24 NYS School Facilities Assn. 492

1 2016-2017 Executive Budget
Elementary & Secondary Education
2 1-27-16

3 LIST OF SPEAKERS, Continued

4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS

5 David A. Little
Executive Director
6 Rural Schools Association
of New York State 497 502
7
Richard Longhurst
8 Executive Administrator
NYS Congress of Parents &
9 Teachers (NYS PTA) 507 511

10 Kyle Rosenkrans
CEO
11 Northeast Charter School
Network 514 519
12
Randi Levine
13 Policy Coordinator
Advocates for Children of NY 523 528
14
Alexis Henry
15 Policy Associate, Early
Childhood Education
16 Citizens' Committee for Children 529

17 Chris Neitzey
Information Communications
18 Manager
AfterSchool Works! New York:
19 The NYS Afterschool Network 532

20 Michael Martucci
President
21 New York School Bus
Contractors Association
22 -and-
James Hedge
23 Vice President &
Political Director
24 ATU Local 1181 538 542

1 2016-2017 Executive Budget
Elementary & Secondary Education
2 1-27-16

3 LIST OF SPEAKERS, Continued

4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS

5 Peter F. Mannella
Executive Director
6 New York Association for
Pupil Transportation 544 551
7
Marian Bott
8 Education Finance
Issue Specialist
9 League of Women Voters of
New York State 552
10
Michael Neppl
11 Director, Govt. Relations
NY Library Association 558 561
12

1 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Good morning.

2 Today we begin the fourth in the

3 series of hearings conducted by the joint

4 fiscal committees of the Legislature

5 regarding the Governor's proposed budget for

6 fiscal year 2016-2017. The hearings are

7 conducted pursuant to Article 7, Section 3 of

8 the Constitution, and Article 2, Section 31

9 and 32A of the Legislative Law.

10 Today the Assembly Ways and Means

11 Committee and the Senate Finance Committee

12 will hear testimony concerning the budget

13 proposal for elementary and secondary

14 education.

15 I will now introduce the members from

16 the Assembly, and Senator Young, chair of the

17 Senate Finance Committee, will introduce

18 members from the Senate.

19 We've been joined by Assemblyman Jeff

20 Aubry, Assemblyman Harry Bronson, Assemblyman

21 Steve Otis, Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi,

22 Assemblyman Michael Cusick, Assemblywoman

23 Diana Richardson, Assemblyman Walter Mosley,

24 Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, Assemblywoman

1 Deborah Glick, Assemblywoman Bichotte, and

2 Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo.

3 And we have Assemblyman Oaks to give

4 us his members.

5 ASSEMBLYMAN OAKS: Thank you. We've

6 joined by Assemblyman Ra, Assemblyman

7 McDonough, Assemblyman Crouch, Assemblyman

8 Graf, and Assemblywoman Malliotakis.

9 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you,

10 Assemblyman.

11 Good morning, everyone. And I'd like

12 to first of all welcome the commissioner and

13 all the legislators to have a healthy

14 discussion today about a topic that is near

15 and dear to the hearts of every legislator in

16 the State of New York, and that's education

17 and our children's future.

18 I'd like to introduce my colleagues

19 who are here today. First, we are joined by

20 Senator Liz Krueger, who's ranking member on

21 the Senate Finance Committee. We're also

22 joined by Senator Marcellino, who is the

23 chair of the Education Committee, and also

24 Senator John Bonacic, and also Senator

1 Roxanne Persaud.

2 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

3 Before I introduce the first witness,

4 I would like to remind all of the witnesses

5 testifying today to keep your statement

6 within your allotted time limit so that

7 everyone can be afforded the opportunity to

8 speak. And I speak these words for the

9 people on this dais and in front of us. I

10 would like not to repeat yesterday.

11 First to testify is MaryEllen Elia,

12 commissioner of the New York State Education

13 Department.

14 Good morning.

15 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good morning.

16 It's a pleasure to be here with all of you.

17 Thank you. Chairwomen Young and Nolan,

18 Chairmen Marcellino and Farrell, and other

19 members of the Senate and Assembly, thank

20 you.

21 I am MaryEllen Elia, and I am the

22 commissioner of education in New York State.

23 I am joined by Senior Deputy Commissioner

24 Jhone Ebert and Executive Deputy Commissioner

1 Beth Berlin.

2 You have my full testimony before you.

3 I will speak to a few slides, and then we'll

4 be happy to address your questions.

5 Because this is my first opportunity

6 to address you during a budget hearing, I

7 want to begin by introducing myself to those

8 of you who don't know me. As some of you

9 know, coming to New York to serve as

10 education commissioner was a homecoming of

11 sorts. I began my career in education as a

12 social studies teacher in the Sweet Home

13 School District outside of Buffalo in 1970,

14 where I was a member of NYSUT. I taught for

15 19 years before moving on to various

16 administrative positions, but I still

17 consider myself a teacher at heart.

18 So if you've done the math, you'll

19 know that I've been in education for over 45

20 years. In that time I've learned a lot about

21 what works and what doesn't. Today I will

22 lay out a roadmap in four key areas for a

23 budget that invests in New York's students

24 and educators.

1 My first priority in this budget is to

2 ensure that our schools are fairly funded

3 through a return of concentrated investments

4 in Foundation Aid and a full restoration of

5 the Gap Elimination Adjustment. By most

6 measures, the economic crisis has lifted and

7 there's no longer a need for the GEA. In

8 December, the Regents gave final approval to

9 a state aid proposal calling for a

10 $2.4 billion increase in state aid designed

11 to address many of the challenges we face and

12 to provide new opportunities for our

13 teachers' and students' success.

14 On Slides 2 through 4, you will see

15 the highlights of the Regents state proposal,

16 which recommends a $2.1 billion increase in

17 Operating Aid, which includes $434 million

18 for a complete GEA restoration, which has

19 unfairly penalized many districts, as well as

20 a $1.3 billion increase in Foundation Aid,

21 with an additional $345 million in strategic

22 investments to ensure that school districts

23 can improve teaching and learning.

24 Among these investments, which are

1 highlighted in further detail on Slides 5

2 through 9, we recommend $125 million this

3 year for expanded access to full-day

4 prekindergarten, $75 million to support

5 struggling schools in the initial stages of

6 the receivership program, $75 million to

7 support the unique needs of English language

8 learners, $45 million to support high quality

9 professional development for our educators,

10 as recommended by the Governor's recent task

11 force report, and $25 million for start-up

12 programs that support family and community

13 engagement.

14 In addition to those current-year

15 investments, the Regents recommend new

16 reimbursements in next year's budget,

17 highlighted on Slides 10 and 11, supporting

18 the creation of Career and Technical

19 Education pathways and digital learning.

20 My second priority is the creation of

21 a truly universal prekindergarten program

22 detailed on Slides 12 and 13. We know that

23 prekindergarten makes a difference in

24 preparing students for school, and studies

1 indicate that children who participate in

2 high-quality preschool programs are

3 25 percent less likely to drop out of school,

4 40 percent less likely to become a teen

5 parent, 50 percent less likely to be placed

6 in special education, 60 percent more likely

7 to attend some college, and 70 percent less

8 likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

9 The Regents recommend that you build

10 off the historic investments in pre-K by

11 committing $125 million in this budget to

12 work towards a truly universal program,

13 particularly for upstate, where investments

14 have been limited, and for high-needs

15 students who have the greatest demonstrated

16 need for these early learning opportunities.

17 While we are encouraged by efforts to

18 expand pre-K to 3-year-olds, we should first

19 ensure that all 4-year-olds have a

20 high-quality, full-day pre-K seat before we

21 continue to expand the scope of the program.

22 I also urge you to reject further

23 fragmentation of pre-K. We currently have

24 six different pre-K programs operating under

1 six different sets of requirements, and this

2 budget process proposes a new seventh pre-K

3 program. It's time to make a robust

4 investment and align the existing

5 state-funded pre-K programs into one

6 streamlined system that is allocational, not

7 competitive. Our districts and our kids

8 should not have to compete against each other

9 for programs we know will help all of them

10 succeed.

11 It's also critical that pre-K remain

12 with the State Education Department, not a

13 new board, to ensure programmatic continuity

14 and to put the children in these settings in

15 a better position to achieve a successful and

16 streamlined transition to their early-grades

17 education.

18 My third priority for this budget, as

19 you can see on Slides 14 and 15, is to fight

20 for high-quality, rigorous professional

21 development opportunities for teachers and

22 principals. Let me be clear. Teachers --

23 teachers -- are the key to improving outcomes

24 for students, and the key to helping teachers

1 make a difference for their students is to

2 provide them with professional development

3 opportunities that support continuous

4 improvement.

5 As you know, I was a member of the

6 Governor's Common Core Task Force with

7 Chairman Nolan and also Chairman Marcellino.

8 In our December report, one of our key

9 recommendations was to provide new

10 professional development opportunities.

11 Unfortunately, this recommendation was not

12 funded in the proposed budget. I urge you to

13 provide $45 million to support professional

14 development for our educators so that the

15 value we place in teachers is reflected in

16 our state's budget.

17 The last priority I'd like to discuss

18 with you is the issue of Pathways to

19 Graduation on Slides 16 through 20. We know

20 that students learn in different ways, and

21 our education system should reflect that

22 diversity rather than a one-size-fits- all

23 approach. The Regents took a historic first

24 step last year by approving the 4+1 Multiple

1 Pathways model which allows all students to

2 substitute one of their social studies

3 Regents exams with approved alternatives.

4 As I have traveled the state, I have

5 consistently heard about the need to expand

6 the Pathway options for all students, but

7 with particular attention to options that

8 would benefit students with disabilities and

9 English language learners. Last month the

10 Regents discussed how we expand Pathway

11 options while retaining rigorous standards.

12 We discussed expansion of the appeals process

13 and the use of project-based assessments.

14 I want to let you and our education

15 stakeholders know that we have heard you and

16 I'll be working with the Regents and the

17 field to develop both short-term and

18 long-term options to better ensure that all

19 students have the opportunity to better

20 demonstrate what they know, particularly

21 students with unique learning needs.

22 Our pathway efforts will require new

23 resources at the state and local level, and

24 we look forward to working with you to make

1 this a reality.

2 Finally, in response to President

3 Obama's "My Brother's Keeper" initiative,

4 Regent Young led a workgroup to study how we

5 can improve outcomes for boys and young men

6 of color who are persistently left behind in

7 our education system. Among the workgroup

8 recommendations were several initiatives,

9 like expansion of the very successful P-TECH

10 model and other exemplary programs to expand

11 opportunities designed to capture and retain

12 these students' interest in their education

13 and keep them in school so that they graduate

14 and can move on to postsecondary education or

15 careers that pay a living wage.

16 Together we can eliminate New York's

17 achievement gaps and make our education

18 system more just and equitable.

19 Before I take your questions, I'd like

20 to close by thanking you for the opportunity

21 to discuss my priorities with you. The

22 testimony I've submitted to you addresses

23 important department budget requests on

24 Slides 21 to 32 that I did not cover but that

1 I would be pleased to discuss with you.

2 I know you have a challenging task

3 ahead of you in the next few weeks to develop

4 a spending plan for the entire state. While

5 there's been a significant focus on economic

6 development and infrastructure in the

7 proposed budget, I'd like to ask you to keep

8 in mind that the investments you make in

9 those areas will mean less for our businesses

10 and our state's future if we fail to make

11 major investments in our workforce pipeline.

12 This is not just me telling you that.

13 Studies indicate -- I was with the business

14 group here in Albany yesterday, talked to

15 them. They are very anxious to be partners

16 with educational institutions around the

17 state. They have a clear understanding and

18 appreciation for the importance of a highly

19 trained workforce in supporting a strong

20 economy.

21 Multiple studies like the ones

22 described on Slide 33 tell us that we have a

23 skills crisis, not a jobs crisis. A 2014

24 study identified 44,000 job openings for

1 middle-skill workers such as computer

2 programmers, yet over 2.6 million New Yorkers

3 age 25 and older did not have the credentials

4 to fill those jobs.

5 Together we can build a workforce

6 pipeline that is the envy of other states.

7 Please invest in our students' success in

8 this budget. Let's together send the message

9 to students, teachers, principals, school

10 leaders, parents and all New Yorkers that our

11 children and our schools are the most

12 important infrastructure of our state.

13 Thank you, and I look forward to our

14 discussion.

15 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

16 much, Commissioner.

17 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: I'd like to note

18 that we've been joined by Senator John

19 DeFrancisco.

20 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: First to testify,

21 Chairwoman Nolan.

22 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Thank you,

23 Mr. Farrell and my colleagues.

24 First, Commissioner, I cannot thank

1 you enough for a concise presentation. And I

2 appreciate your giving us the slides but not

3 taking us through them one by one, and

4 knowing that people will look at the

5 testimony.

6 I just want to say very publicly what

7 a pleasure it's been to work with you in the

8 short time that you've served as our

9 commissioner. And, you know, your direct and

10 forthright approach I know is going to make a

11 difference in the leadership at State Ed and

12 hopefully in the support that we can give you

13 here in the Legislature. And I want to

14 really endorse the priorities that you put

15 forward today, and hopefully that we can

16 deliver on some of the things that you've

17 asked for.

18 I do want to ask just briefly, though,

19 if you could elaborate a little bit more

20 about community schools. One of the things I

21 struggle with as chair of this committee is

22 education jargon. So we have renewal

23 schools, community schools, struggling

24 schools.

1 We did put $75 million, and the

2 Governor has certainly initiated another

3 $100 million this year -- even I am not quite

4 clear as to what the differences are, or the

5 overlap. So maybe you can just take us

6 through that. And I know a lot of our

7 colleagues have asked me to ask you what's

8 happened with the $75 million from last year.

9 Is it out the door? Is it in the schools?

10 We had a hearing, as you know, on this topic

11 just a few weeks after you started, and we

12 appreciated then your willingness to talk

13 about it. But perhaps you can update

14 everyone as to what's happening in that issue

15 area.

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes. Thank you.

17 So the funding that came from you last

18 year -- and thank you very much. We

19 appreciate that. I know that the schools

20 across the state, those schools that received

21 the funding who were persistently struggling,

22 those schools have received their funding and

23 they've moved forward. And many of them --

24 in areas that you represent -- are making

1 substantial differences and changes in what's

2 occurring in those schools to support kids.

3 And relative to the community school

4 concept, in fact a number of the schools who

5 have received funding in this past round this

6 year were in fact implementing community

7 schools. As you're well aware, the law calls

8 for an involvement of the community in the

9 development of what will be the key factors

10 that bring change. A community school offers

11 wraparound services for parents and for

12 children and for siblings of children in the

13 schools, to support them. It can range from

14 anything from medical services to

15 psychological services to emotional supports

16 to after-school activities, to expansion of

17 the programming from the regular day into the

18 after-school time, and also provide

19 opportunities that the children in these

20 communities might not have -- so some of

21 those things that would be important for

22 children -- the expansion of art programs,

23 the expansion of athletic programs,

24 after-school.

1 So a community school really supports

2 the community that that school is located in

3 and the children and the families that attend

4 it.

5 As I said, many of the schools that we

6 have that were persistently struggling or

7 struggling have already begun those efforts.

8 And we're seeing that the communities are

9 responding to them. And I would say that

10 New York, in my experience, is very committed

11 to have community support -- that is

12 not-for-profits and actual community groups

13 within our cities and our towns supporting

14 those community schools as they develop.

15 So it's a great idea. We have several

16 that have already started. And we need to

17 work through how that legislation, if we move

18 forward with additional funding, how we would

19 identify that that would go to schools.

20 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Thank you. I

21 know there's a lot of other people who want

22 to ask, and I do get the chance to talk to

23 you pretty regularly, so I just want to say

24 again I wish you well, it was terrific

1 testimony, and we're looking forward to a

2 good discussion today. Thank you.

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you very

4 much.

5 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Don't faint,

6 Denny. I'm not taking all my time. I'm

7 happy to let Senator Marcellino and other

8 colleagues ask questions today.

9 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

10 At this point I'd like to introduce

11 Senator Carl Marcellino.

12 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: I'd like to

13 introduce Assemblywoman Fahy, Assemblywoman

14 Lifton, Assemblywoman Simon, and Assemblyman

15 Bill Colton.

16 ASSEMBLYMAN OAKS: Also we've been

17 joined by Assemblyman Raia.

18 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: I must say you

19 have a full house here today, Commissioner,

20 full house.

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, thank you

22 for joining us.

23 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Okay, Senator

24 Marcellino.

1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you very

2 much.

3 Good morning, Commissioner. And --

4 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good morning.

5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: -- again, thank

6 you for coming. And we hope you will not

7 duplicate yesterday's debacle, if you will.

8 COMMISSIONER ELIA: I thought you all

9 wanted to stay for the day and talk about

10 this important topic.

11 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Only if you'll

12 bring a lunch.

13 (Laughter.)

14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: That might work,

15 but otherwise no.

16 I'm pleased to hear that you consider

17 yourself a teacher at heart still to this

18 day. I also consider myself a teacher. I

19 taught for 20 years, as you well know, at

20 Grover Cleveland High School {inaudible}.

21 Cathy Nolan had the misfortune of being one

22 of my students at the time.

23 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: It's hard to

24 believe, isn't it? But true.

1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Very hard to

2 believe. As my colleague over here said, and

3 that's what happened. But we remain friends

4 to this day.

5 A chart was released by the department

6 that talks about the testing program of

7 required tests for the Common Core. The

8 recommendation -- one of the recommendations

9 from the task force, No. 13, was to reduce

10 the number of days and shorten the duration

11 for standards-aligned state standardized

12 tests.

13 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Right.

14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: This chart has

15 been picked up by a number of --

16 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Senator, your mic's

17 not on.

18 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I'm sorry. This

19 chart -- ooh. You really don't want me to

20 start all over again, do you?

21 (Laughter.)

22 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Use your teacher

23 voice, Carl.

24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I thought I was,

1 but that's okay.

2 This chart proposes to look at -- and

3 it appears, when you look at it, to require

4 the same number of testing days as has been

5 held in the past, which doesn't seem to

6 reduce testing. So some of the people in the

7 opt-out movement are saying: See,

8 Marcellino, when you say give them a chance

9 to do right by us, the first thing they do is

10 they go back and do the same old thing all

11 over again. They're really not trustworthy.

12 Can you explain this chart and how

13 it's going to be operated and how it

14 complies, if it does, with the

15 recommendations of the task force?

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, you gave me

17 a great opportunity to say publicly I am a

18 trustworthy person. When I say that we're

19 going to do something, we're going to do it.

20 And let me run down the differences in

21 the testing program for this spring so that

22 you clearly understand it. That was part of

23 the discussion in the task force, as you

24 remember, I'm sure, Senator Marcellino and

1 Chairwoman Nolan.

2 So let me talk about that new testing

3 program. We have hired a new company who is

4 doing our testing with us. Questar has been

5 very receptive to the demands that we've made

6 of including teachers across the board in our

7 testing program.

8 And so as was pointed out in the

9 beginning of my testimony, I am from

10 New York. Like many of you, probably, I have

11 a Regents diploma. I then taught in New York

12 for 17 years, and I participated and reviewed

13 assessments in New York as a teacher here.

14 So one of the things that we have to

15 do that we are doing for this spring's

16 assessment is having teachers be involved in

17 reviewing the questions, the match to the

18 standards, and the particular reading

19 passages that are part of that. Every one of

20 the assessments in Grades 3 through 8,

21 language arts and mathematics, has been

22 shortened. Following that, next year, if

23 possible, we will shorten the days.

24 But I want to make it clear to you

1 that if you are going to have enough

2 questions on the test that require students

3 to be able to read and respond and

4 understand, and that we know from their

5 responses that they understand, you will be

6 required to have a certain number of

7 questions. Some of the time limits,

8 particularly for our younger children in

9 Grades 3, 4, and 5, I think we can shorten

10 down in days. We're working very diligently

11 to do that.

12 But understand that this spring there

13 will be major changes. That does not include

14 and I never said it included going to a

15 two-day test as opposed to a three-day test.

16 And I want to point out something to you. If

17 you are in third grade, is it better to have

18 a longer period of time or to have it chunked

19 out to three days for 60 minutes each day?

20 And those are the kinds of questions you have

21 to ask.

22 So those decisions should be made by

23 practitioners, by experts. And one of the

24 things that I am very pleased to say that

1 we've already adjusted for this spring is

2 that if a student is productively working, we

3 have distributed information and will make it

4 very clear to districts that students who are

5 productively working can continue the

6 assessment.

7 I heard from parents across this state

8 and from teachers that part of the stresses

9 that we had on our kids was that they were

10 timed, and particularly younger children. So

11 if they are working productively, then they

12 will be able to continue the assessment and

13 move as -- in a setting where they can read,

14 comprehend and respond to the questions that

15 correspond.

16 So we are making major changes. I've

17 just reviewed them. I have -- in every

18 setting that I've been in over the last seven

19 months in my tenure, I've talked about the

20 changes that we are making for this spring's

21 assessment. And those are major changes,

22 Senator Marcellino, as I'm sure you're aware.

23 SENATOR MARCELLINO: When you talk

24 about the timed tests, are you dealing with

1 special education or students with special

2 needs only, or is that for everybody?

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: That's for

4 everyone.

5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: So any youngster,

6 no matter what, if they are working

7 productively and the time-limit bell goes

8 off, they will be given time by the proctors

9 to finish their test and do the best they

10 can.

11 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Okay. That

13 should clear up some of that.

14 We're still using -- you talk about

15 hiring another company. Questar?

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Questar is the new

17 company.

18 SENATOR MARCELLINO: But they don't

19 come in till next year. This year you're

20 still working with the prior company,

21 Pearson, by contract. Am I wrong?

22 COMMISSIONER ELIA: It's a transition

23 time. Pearson is not running the tests,

24 Questar is running the tests for us. But we

1 are using the questions that were developed

2 prior to that with input from New York State

3 teachers this year, prior to the development

4 of the test.

5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I'm sure you know

6 that much of the complaining and much of the

7 problem posed by a lot of parents and

8 teachers was that the questions in some cases

9 were just incomprehensible. And the required

10 steps and answers were just ridiculous to

11 perform.

12 So what you're telling me -- I just

13 want to be clear on this. If I'm wrong,

14 correct me, please. But what you're saying

15 to the public is that the questions have been

16 reviewed so that they will meet appropriate

17 standards and that they will be

18 age-appropriate for the youngsters who are

19 taking the tests?

20 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes. And so let

21 me point out one thing. As you're aware as a

22 teacher, you know that when you give an

23 assessment, if every child could answer every

24 question, then you aren't able to really

1 determine how well students are doing at the

2 high level and what students are struggling

3 some.

4 And so every question that you walk

5 in, every child will not feel like this is

6 the easiest question to answer.

7 However, within the test and the

8 structure of the test, there are multiple

9 levels of difficulty. And we are responding

10 to what is an appropriate response for

11 assessing a student's abilities.

12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I appreciate

13 that. I just have one more question, if I

14 might.

15 You talked about universal pre-K as

16 being important. You're expanding that to

17 3-year-olds. There are schools throughout

18 the state that don't have full-day

19 kindergarten. Do we have any idea what the

20 number is, by the way, statewide?

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: There are nine

22 districts across the state that do not have

23 kindergarten. There are approximately -- and

24 I'm saying approximately very purposefully --

1 approximately 20 to 30 that do not have

2 full-day kindergarten.

3 So that is an issue that we are

4 looking at, with the Regents. But the point

5 is, before you in the budget is a proposal to

6 expand pre-K. I read to you the key elements

7 of what occurs when a student has been

8 participating in a quality pre-K program. We

9 should have all children in New York in a

10 quality pre-K program. And we should target

11 4-year-olds first so there is equity and

12 opportunity across the entire state.

13 And certainly it could benefit

14 3-year-olds as well. But I think it's

15 important for us to say that there's

16 consistency across the state and that your

17 zip code does not determine where it is and

18 what age your child can go to pre-K.

19 So my suggestion, my strong

20 recommendation is that we go for a 4-year-old

21 pre-K program statewide for every one of our

22 students. And you're right, we do have to

23 address the issue of those districts that do

24 not have either a kindergarten at all or a

1 full-day kindergarten.

2 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I appreciate

3 that.

4 And I just want to thank you. You

5 testified before the Education Committee of

6 the Senate, and it was a well-received

7 testimony. I personally respect your efforts

8 and have found, working with you and speaking

9 with you, that you are, to my mind, truthful

10 and forthright, and you say what you mean and

11 mean what you say.

12 So thank you very much for your

13 testimony.

14 COMMISSIONER ELIA: And thank you for

15 giving me a chance.

16 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, Senator.

17 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you, Senator.

18 Assemblyman Cusick.

19 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Thank you. Thank

20 you, Mr. Chair.

21 Thank you, Commissioner. It's great

22 to see you again. And I want to thank you

23 once again for coming out to Staten Island a

24 couple of weeks ago with Chancellor Farina to

1 St. Charles School to look at the pre-K

2 program that's going on there. I'm just

3 going to follow up -- I know my colleagues

4 have many questions, so I'm going to be as

5 quick as I can and go off the track a little

6 bit on the Common Core questions.

7 But I wanted to ask about the

8 nonpublic schools. We spoke a little bit

9 about it at St. Charles, and you're aware of

10 the challenges that nonpublic schools have

11 when it comes to meeting the requirements of

12 state and federal regulations and the laws

13 that bind them, federally and state.

14 And I know there's a movement and

15 there have been suggestions in reestablishing

16 the Office of Nonpublic Schools. Is there a

17 request on your part for funding for

18 reestablishing that?

19 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes. In fact, I

20 have that on one of the slides that we

21 presented to you. We'll find it very

22 quickly.

23 I would concur with you that we have

24 intersections with nonpublic schools in many

1 ways -- through funding that comes in that

2 they're able to access, through programs that

3 we have related to attendance procedures, et

4 cetera. And so I believe that it is to the

5 benefit of certainly the nonpublic schools

6 and the State Education Department that we

7 have a designated office.

8 I want to point out to you that we

9 have -- we are down approximately 40 percent

10 in the staffing in the State Ed Department.

11 And --

12 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Say that number

13 again? Forty percent?

14 COMMISSIONER ELIA: About 40 percent

15 down.

16 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: That's a state

17 number?

18 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Right.

19 And if you move to Slide 23, it does a

20 comparison there of the State Ed Department's

21 percentage of funding that comes from the

22 budget, the proposed budget, and our General

23 Fund in the state to State Ed, with a couple

24 other departments compared there.

1 I just want to point out,

2 unfortunately, several years ago that office,

3 because of the constraints that we had in

4 staffing, that office was disbanded.

5 I would agree and support that. And

6 if you see on page 9 of the slides, we are in

7 support that the reestablishment of that

8 office to serve nonpublic schools and to

9 better connect what is occurring with all of

10 education in the State of New York with the

11 nonpublic schools and support them as they

12 receive the funding to really help students

13 across the state.

14 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Well, thank you

15 for that. And I know that there are many

16 members who have been working on that. I

17 know that Chairwoman Nolan has spearheaded

18 that in our house, in working on that issue.

19 I also just want to ask a question --

20 I've asked this question of many people. But

21 the issue of the heroin epidemic and the

22 opioid epidemic reaches many of our young

23 people throughout the state. And I know in

24 New York City there's a movement in a lot of

1 the local schools to start educating some of

2 our students on the epidemic and the

3 downfalls of heroin and prescription drugs.

4 Is there anything in the planning

5 stages or anything happening on the state

6 level that we can start pushing for in our

7 districts?

8 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes. We're very

9 concerned and have had discussions with the

10 staff and with the Regents about this very

11 issue. And we've partnered with other

12 agencies, particularly the Department of

13 Health, to talk about how we might work

14 together to make sure that we get factual

15 information out to our schools.

16 One of the ideas that I have is that

17 we would provide training across our school

18 systems and across our state so that

19 teachers are aware of what resources are

20 available, and that this should be provided

21 as a part of their education in a health

22 program, health setting, or in a science

23 program. That it really is a critical thing

24 for us. It's something that we clearly -- to

1 support students -- that ultimately we want

2 to be successful. It's one of those areas

3 that really we need to help.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Yes, and I fully

5 agree with that. And it's encouraging to

6 hear you say that. I know on the local level

7 I know that our borough president is working

8 with the local schools and with NYPD to

9 implement this in our local schools. And

10 it's good to hear that we can work with you

11 on the state level on that. Thank you so

12 much.

13 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

14 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Thank you,

15 Mr. Chairman.

16 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

17 much.

18 Senator?

19 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: I'd like to note

20 that we've been joined by Senator George

21 Latimer.

22 And next up is Senator John Bonacic.

23 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you.

24 Good morning, Commissioner. Good to

1 see you. I just would like to preface my

2 remarks before my questions.

3 I have four members of my family that

4 are in the public education system; two are

5 now retired. I have a daughter and a

6 sister-in-law that teach in the public

7 schools. So I hear about education all the

8 time.

9 One of our top priorities this year is

10 to try to get rid of the GEA, and we know

11 that that's a goal of yours. I would ask you

12 to keep your eye on the small city school

13 districts. They have a lot of -- the upstate

14 economy has had a lot of stagnation, urban

15 blight. They need help.

16 I have two basic questions. The first

17 one is I share your enthusiasm and your

18 vision for trying to improve education, but

19 I'm very upset when I read articles about the

20 rubber rooms in New York City. When there's

21 200 to 400 teachers and staffers waiting for

22 disciplinary hearings, costing us between $15

23 million and $20 million, I'm going to ask you

24 what you can do to work with whoever you have

1 to to get rid of these rubber rooms. Because

2 it's a disservice to good teachers, it's

3 certainly a black eye to the teachers' union.

4 And it -- it gives like a pall over

5 everything you're talking about to move

6 education forward in empowering students as

7 long as these rubber rooms exist.

8 So I guess my first question is, would

9 you do everything in your power to get rid of

10 these rubber rooms once and for all? That

11 would be Question No. 1. And let me give

12 question No. 2, because I won't talk anymore

13 after I ask you the second question.

14 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Okay.

15 SENATOR BONACIC: The education lobby

16 is coming after us for more money, another

17 over $2 billion. And as a State Senator, I

18 think I have voted always for the education

19 budget, always given more than what a

20 governor is proposing, regardless of the

21 governor's party. Okay, so we're a believer

22 in education.

23 But when we're spending about $23,000

24 per student and the national average is about

1 11.5, and we're about in the middle in

2 achievement, do you think there are other

3 things we can do to empower students besides

4 just throwing more money at the education

5 system? I know that's a difficult question.

6 But if you could share some of your thinking

7 about it, I'd appreciate it. And thank you.

8 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

9 So let me address the issue of the

10 term "rubber room."

11 SENATOR BONACIC: Yes.

12 COMMISSIONER ELIA: There obviously

13 are processes that are in place if something

14 occurs and a teacher does something that is

15 inappropriate. And I certainly will work

16 with any district and the City of New York so

17 that we can facilitate whatever is possible

18 to make sure that appropriate action is taken

19 as soon as possible and that professionals

20 are treated appropriately, but we move

21 through the process, because ultimately we

22 need to make sure that the people that are in

23 front of our students every day are trained

24 and are appropriate in what they're doing.

1 So that's my statement about that.

2 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you.

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: And I am very,

4 very supportive of constant improvement for

5 teachers. And you saw in my proposal and my

6 discussion that I believe it's extremely

7 important that we have professional

8 development for teachers across the state,

9 that it should be equitable across the state,

10 that we shouldn't have competition for who's

11 going to get the funding to be able to do the

12 kind of training that our teachers need. And

13 I believe that the training of teachers

14 ultimately puts them in a position to be

15 better in the classroom, and I would

16 anticipate that some of the situations that

17 we face across the state in teachers doing

18 things inappropriately hopefully would end.

19 At least decrease.

20 So I am very concerned about it, but I

21 think one of the ways to address it is that

22 we make sure that we provide every bit of

23 training that is possible for our teachers so

24 they can be competent in the classroom doing

1 the things they need to do.

2 The second issue on -- and you're

3 right, it's not an easy thing, is it?

4 SENATOR BONACIC: No.

5 COMMISSIONER ELIA: You have funded

6 schools -- and you're correct, New York has

7 funded schools in a way that has been

8 supportive of the kinds of things that need

9 to occur to bring students success.

10 We are in a shift across this country

11 in raising standards and in moving, actually,

12 from one system of education to a very

13 different approach to how we connect with

14 kids, how we teach kids, and how teachers use

15 the resources that they have to interact with

16 kids.

17 So let me give you a good example. In

18 New York we have the P-TECH system. We have

19 schools, approximately 25, and we've added

20 seven or eight this year, so even more P-TECH

21 centers. P-TECH centers are taking students

22 that you would anticipate would not be

23 successful and graduate, and they're moving

24 them through a system -- high interest, very,

1 very relevant because they in fact are

2 connecting with jobs and with companies who

3 will give them jobs and then give them

4 experiences in that setting so that they can

5 get better every day.

6 So the students moving through a

7 P-TECH program are students that are at-risk

8 kids in our schools. A number of them are

9 students with special needs. They are

10 students who in our traditional sense

11 probably wouldn't make it if we let them in a

12 more traditional setting. But when we take

13 them and put them in a setting that is

14 designed around a different approach, it

15 works.

16 So I would suggest to you that we have

17 to move New York State and the teachers of

18 New York State -- which I again get back to,

19 the critical piece of having staff

20 development for teachers -- we have to move

21 the state so that we are reflective of the

22 kinds of jobs that are necessary -- all of

23 them require -- for the most part, they

24 require postsecondary work.

1 You talk about infrastructure, you

2 talk about building roads, you talk about

3 bridges, you talk about expansion of

4 buildings. People now going into the trades

5 are required to have additional training.

6 And we want people to be able -- our students

7 to be successful when they get in that

8 setting and they have an opportunity for a

9 great job. And the way to do that is to

10 provide the training that is reflective of

11 the jobs that are out there in this

12 21st-century technology world we live in,

13 where it isn't what you know, it's if you

14 know how to find out what you don't know.

15 And I think that's a critical piece

16 and it responds to your point. But to do

17 that, that transition, is expensive. It does

18 take resources, and it takes people that can

19 think differently about how we're going to

20 respond to kids.

21 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you very much,

22 Commissioner.

23 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

24 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

1 Assemblyman Ra.

2 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: Thank you, Chairman.

3 Good morning, Commissioner.

4 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good morning.

5 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: I just wanted to ask

6 you a couple of quick questions about some of

7 the policy issues that, you know, were put

8 forth. Let me tell you it's very refreshing

9 to be talking this year about funding various

10 things instead of about policy issues, which

11 dominated a lot of the conversation last

12 year.

13 But I am curious with, you know, the

14 Governor putting forth his proposal, he

15 seemed to really put the onus completely on

16 the State Education Department to enact those

17 recommendations from the Common Core Task

18 Force. I was just wondering what your

19 thoughts are in terms of whether you think

20 there is anything we need to do legislatively

21 to empower the department to enact some of

22 those recommendations.

23 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, so if we

24 walk through the recommendations, and there's

1 probably -- I would say you can distill it

2 down to three or four key areas. First of

3 all, we have done the initial work on

4 determining where we need to go with

5 standards, and that is we know that in a

6 survey that was done by the State Ed

7 Department, where we collected over a

8 quarter-million pieces of data and opinions

9 related to all of the standards, we know that

10 for the most part 71 percent of the people

11 that responded to that survey believe in

12 higher standards.

13 But they also gave us information that

14 we need to review because they suggested

15 moving standards, changing the difficulty in

16 specific grade levels -- for instance, early

17 grades being more difficult than perhaps is

18 appropriate for that age and grade level.

19 So we have much work to do to review

20 the standards for New York State. It needs

21 to be an open and transparent process. It

22 needs to have practitioners -- that is,

23 teachers and administrators from across the

24 state -- involved in committees. And it

1 needs to be done in a way that we can get

2 input from the public in multiple ways and

3 use that input to make recommendations back

4 to the Regents for what the standards for New

5 York State students should be.

6 We agree they need to be high

7 standards. It is a normal thing to review

8 standards every few years. You have put in

9 legislation that they'll be reviewed after

10 every five years; I think that's appropriate.

11 And it takes time, it takes effort, and it

12 takes people to work to make sure that a

13 process like that can be done appropriately.

14 There is no funding in here for any of

15 that. So that's one area that I think is --

16 that needs to be addressed.

17 Secondly, I would suggest to you, and

18 it was brought up a number of times in the

19 testimony that we heard from across the

20 state, from parents and stakeholders -- and

21 Senator Marcellino and Assemblywoman Nolan,

22 as chairs of their committee, were part of

23 our group. And as we talked about it, it was

24 clear: We have to support our teachers. In

1 fact, on one of the slides in your deck we

2 point out that one of the specific examples

3 of work to be done is helping teachers,

4 giving them staff development, helping them

5 understand the standards, how to teach the

6 standards, and then supporting them in

7 developing lesson plans that are related to

8 the delivery of those standards.

9 We have a resource that's been used in

10 New York over the last several years called

11 Engage New York. It's an online opportunity

12 for teachers to get information. It needs to

13 be worked on.

14 But key to this is the staff

15 development piece that was suggested as one

16 of the key recommendations from the

17 Governor's task force. It was recommendation

18 No. 9 and specifically speaks to across the

19 board. It can't be a program where a

20 district that has a great grant writer can

21 get. Because the districts that don't have

22 the great grant writers have teachers and

23 kids that need to have the support.

24 So we need to have funding for staff

1 development that is consistent for every

2 teacher across the state, and we need to

3 develop a career ladder so that every school

4 has a master teacher that can support and

5 help continuous, ongoing improvement in our

6 schools.

7 We had a model that was used that

8 previously had been funded through our Race

9 to the Top grant. That funding is gone. But

10 it was consistently -- and all the people

11 that I've talked to have indicated that the

12 STLE, the Strengthening Teacher Leader

13 Effectiveness model, was very effective. But

14 everybody didn't get it. And so you have

15 pockets in some of the most needy school

16 districts and urban districts where we didn't

17 have that support for teachers. And that

18 will make a huge change when we see things

19 changing every day in every classroom across

20 this state.

21 So there are other things that were

22 also brought up. The issue of the testing.

23 We need to think of different ways to test

24 our children. We need to put in

1 project-based assessments. Project-based

2 assessments cost money. You have to develop

3 them with the teachers of New York. You have

4 to then put the teachers in place so that

5 they can be supportive of the students who

6 opt to do a project-based assessment. And

7 then after you've done that, you have to have

8 trained reviewers who will look at each of

9 those with the appropriate rubric and

10 consistently assess them across the state.

11 So all of that is taking resources.

12 And that was called for in the report, and it

13 was not funded.

14 So I think it's important for us to

15 understand we all want what's right for our

16 kids. We all want a state that can be proud

17 of what they do for their children but also

18 can be a strong state in terms of developing

19 its workforce and all of the things that are

20 necessary for success. And if you follow --

21 and I was so pleased to be part of a very

22 productive workforce group that put together

23 these recommendations. If you follow the

24 recommendations and support us to make these

1 things happen, we will do them.

2 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: Just getting slightly

3 more specific. So teacher evaluations, we

4 know the action was taken to delay the use of

5 the scores in the evaluations. But at least

6 in my view, as that provision in statute

7 currently stands, I find it very limiting.

8 And I'm hearing from some of my

9 superintendents, you know, concerns on -- I

10 think that was the major piece in terms of

11 general public concern on the testing side.

12 But then it kind of I think leaves the rest

13 of it for the districts to work through and

14 figure out how the assessment piece is going

15 to work on top of, you know, things like the

16 outside evaluators and things of that nature.

17 So do you view, from the department,

18 that the Legislature needs to make any

19 further changes to the teacher evaluation as

20 in current statute?

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So there's no

22 question that we have to look at what the

23 evaluation process -- the process is and then

24 how it's constructed and how it's connected

1 to performance of students and how we do

2 that. There's no question that has to occur.

3 Right now what we've done is we have

4 stepped back, and by putting in place this

5 transition period until the 2019-2020 school

6 year, we have much to do. We have work to do

7 on the standards, we have work to do on staff

8 development and curriculum. All of those

9 things were part of the commission. We have

10 work to do relative to the assessments. And

11 again, teachers need to be very involved in

12 that.

13 And we need -- as we're moving

14 forward, we need to put together a team of

15 people from all of our practitioner groups

16 and our parent groups to talk about what is

17 an appropriate way to have an accountability

18 system in the State of New York.

19 So in New York we invest over

20 $60 billion a year in education. You support

21 that. If you want to have a great system and

22 you want to get better and you want to

23 provide what students need, we need to figure

24 out a way that we can all know that we are

1 accountable for that investment and that

2 we're doing what needs to be done for all

3 kids across the state.

4 So we need to do an evaluation system,

5 not just for teachers, for principals and,

6 across the state, for our districts. But it

7 doesn't happen overnight, and it does require

8 input, and it needs to look at how we're

9 progressing in those areas that are related

10 to it -- like the standards development, like

11 the assessments, like the work with

12 teachers -- so that when we have that

13 evaluation in place, it is fair and

14 appropriate and it talks about the importance

15 of helping teachers get better with

16 continuous improvement every day.

17 No evaluation should be trying to

18 skewer people. It shouldn't be. And

19 unfortunately, I think the rhetoric has gone

20 in that direction and I think we have to

21 shift that immediately.

22 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: Thank you,

23 Commissioner.

24 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

1 much.

2 We've been joined by Assemblyman

3 Weprin. Senator?

4 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

5 much, Chairman.

6 Next would be Senator John

7 DeFrancisco.

8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you,

9 Commissioner. And thank you for meeting with

10 me earlier this year on what I'm going to

11 talk about now, my pet project. And we keep

12 bringing it up every year, and hopefully

13 we're getting closer at this point in time.

14 And that basically is we pay for

15 remediation of students, they get high school

16 degrees that the amount of remediation is

17 absolutely unbelievable. And when we have

18 this discussion, it's always, well, the urban

19 schools, people have different problems,

20 different issues, poverty, et cetera, et

21 cetera.

22 I was so pleased when I saw an

23 editorial from Newsday -- which doesn't

24 normally happen -- but what I was pleased

1 about was that the high school graduation

2 rate on Long Island -- Long Island, $22,000 a

3 year average for each student, the Long

4 Island everyone complains about that gets too

5 much state aid except the Long Islanders --

6 the graduation rate was 89 percent, but only

7 54 percent of students got scores on their

8 Regents algebra and English exams that

9 indicate college readiness. Long Island.

10 I know there's some better schools on

11 Long Island, some schools that aren't so

12 good. In Roosevelt the graduation rate in

13 2015 was 72 percent. College preparedness,

14 3.3 percent. And the most noted high schools

15 that are outstanding high schools, at least

16 90 percent did head off to college. About 70

17 percent of the community college students and

18 50 percent of the four-year college students

19 in the state paid for remedial college

20 classes, to retake classes graduates didn't

21 master in high school.

22 And what I've been trying to do, and

23 we've talked about it, is try to get some

24 consensus between SUNY and CUNY and the

1 commissioner of education and members of the

2 Regents Board, a way to identify these

3 students earlier. And rather than in the

4 senior year -- and everybody knows it

5 happens -- if you've got your required

6 courses you're either in some type of study

7 hall or you are allowed to go off to some

8 phony baloney job that's supposed to prepare

9 you for life.

10 So I guess what I'm saying is I wanted

11 to let everybody know that we've already had

12 a meeting with the commissioner and the

13 chancellors of CUNY and SUNY and we're hoping

14 to come up with some type of solution.

15 But is there any brief comment you

16 would like to make? And then I will go on to

17 my next actual question.

18 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, I appreciate

19 your involvement in this and your support for

20 it, because I do believe that we have a

21 responsibility, when a student has a diploma

22 from one of the high schools in New York

23 State, that they shouldn't automatically have

24 to go and take -- over 40 percent of them go

1 and have to have remediation before they can

2 take regular courses that matriculate to a

3 degree, whether it's an associate's degree or

4 whether it's a four-year baccalaureate

5 degree.

6 So we have to stop that. And I've

7 started having conversations early in my

8 tenure with Dr. Zimpher and also working with

9 CUNY. We believe that we can put in place an

10 assessment that can be done in 10th grade

11 that would allow us to know what areas

12 particularly a student needed to have and

13 then provide that intervention in high school

14 prior to a student graduating.

15 And as you're aware, our conversation

16 was that this would be something that should

17 be done for every student that wants it, but

18 that it could be an optional thing. But I

19 will tell you, parents need to understand

20 that we have a responsibility, as do they, in

21 helping us to get their student where they

22 need to be. And I would agree with you that

23 if you look at the schedules I believe across

24 the state, we could make sure that our

1 students, many, many more of them were ready

2 to go into college level coursework when they

3 walked out of high school. If we all agree,

4 from CUNY, SUNY and the independent colleges

5 and the State Ed Department, we can make that

6 happen.

7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And if the

8 parents learn about this and learn that

9 they're going to save money and their TAP

10 grants aren't just going to get prepared for

11 college while they're in college, I think

12 parents would buy into it. And we as a state

13 should make an investment to make sure it

14 happens.

15 The other thing that a lot of -- I

16 started -- my first elected office was the

17 school board of the City of Syracuse. That

18 was 112 years ago.

19 (Laughter.)

20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Actually, 38.

21 And what seems to be happening more and more

22 is that there is an atmosphere in the

23 classroom that is, to put it mildly, not

24 conducive to learning. And that applies

1 across the board in varying degrees to all

2 type of school districts. And I really

3 believe much of this stuff could be worked

4 out by teachers teaching as long as they've

5 got an atmosphere in which to teach.

6 We have violence in the city schools

7 that -- you know, teachers come to me all the

8 time: I got struck, I got hit, the kid

9 doesn't get suspended and he's back in my

10 classroom or somebody else's next week, and

11 there's no consequences.

12 Now, I don't know if there's any

13 statewide policy on that, but recently the

14 Syracuse City School District was taken to

15 task by our Attorney General, who indicated

16 that there was some type of racial bias as to

17 the number of suspensions. And they came up

18 together, Schneiderman with his education

19 expertise, and the city school district, what

20 the suspension procedure should be. Which

21 resulted in there's -- nobody gets suspended

22 any more. Okay? Very rarely. And you talk

23 to any teacher in the school, and the

24 atmosphere is getting worse.

1 So my question is, is there any

2 statewide policy -- rather than the Attorney

3 General moving into the realm of education --

4 where certain standards have to be met and

5 certain things can happen if someone is

6 breaking those rules with respect to how they

7 should act in a classroom so there's a good

8 atmosphere?

9 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So I think your

10 question actually has a number of different

11 areas I'd like to address.

12 First of all, our Safe Schools Task

13 Force was made up of people from a number of

14 different agencies, and we looked

15 specifically at what we could do to support

16 the whole concept of the climate of a school

17 being better and conducive to an educational

18 learning environment.

19 You know, it's easy to say that, but

20 to really get there you really have to do,

21 and I'm going to go back to again, you have

22 to do training across the board for teachers

23 and administrators. And I want to connect

24 that to another proposal that we have, which

1 is to establish an Office of Community and

2 Parent Involvement. We do not have a focused

3 office on that, and much of what you've said

4 connects to what happens with parents and

5 students in the classroom in that school.

6 So I think it's very important that we

7 help and support schools across the state to

8 have a respectful environment for students.

9 One of the things that I do know, if

10 students aren't in school, they cannot learn.

11 If students aren't in school, they can't

12 learn. It makes sense, but we have to often

13 say that to ourselves. And there are a

14 number of models that have been used to

15 address the issue that you're talking about,

16 which is what is it you can do when a student

17 is misbehaving that doesn't automatically

18 have them exiting the school building, but

19 rather doing other things. And there are

20 many models that have been very successful.

21 And part of the work that needs to be

22 done I believe in New York is finding those

23 excellent pockets of great work and sharing

24 that with others. And the strategies that

1 are used in school sites that have particular

2 engagement of their students with their

3 teachers, who have a relevant kind of

4 curriculum where teachers are using the kinds

5 of strategies in the classroom that get kids

6 involved in it in a way that they have

7 positive interactions with each other in a

8 respectful way, that creates that kind of

9 environment.

10 And we are expanding to a school

11 climate index. We believe that that's a

12 really critical way of knowing how well

13 students are interacting in that school. If

14 the climate is a hot climate and it's not one

15 that -- and I don't mean, you know, a hot

16 place, I'm talking about a hot climate where

17 people are just ready to go after each

18 other -- then that is not conducive to a good

19 educational environment.

20 So we are instituting as part of our

21 Safe Schools work a climate survey for

22 schools so that we know and they know what

23 they need to address to create that kind of

24 learning environment that is conductive to an

1 education.

2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you.

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: You're welcome.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

5 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

6 I'd like to note that we've been

7 joined by Senator Leroy Comrie.

8 ASSEMBLYMAN OAKS: We've also been

9 joined by Assemblyman Murray and Assemblyman

10 Lopez.

11 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

12 Assemblyman Mosley.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN MOSLEY: Thank you,

14 Mr. Chair.

15 First and foremost, I'd like to thank

16 the commissioner for all the work you've done

17 in such a short period of time. It was a

18 pleasure to have been working with you.

19 I'd also like to thank the Board of

20 Regents as it relates to the My Brother's

21 Keeper initiative.

22 The question that I have, first and

23 foremost -- one, not a question -- as a

24 parent of a third grader, my son, who always

1 tells me, Dad, I've got Sunday school, I have

2 regular school, I have Saturday school, when

3 do I ever get a chance to get out of school?

4 To him, I think it will be refreshing to let

5 him know that the testing, the rigors of the

6 testing that he anticipates taking this year

7 and in subsequent years ahead of him, will be

8 a little bit less. So I have some good news

9 to bring back home to Brooklyn.

10 But as relates to the My Brother's

11 Keeper initiative -- and I guess it falls in

12 line with what was said earlier in regards to

13 the 40 percent reduced SED staffing. When it

14 comes to the recommendations that were made

15 by Regent Young and the panel, who I'm

16 thankful for all their work in allowing me to

17 be a part of that, along with some of my

18 colleagues here, the $52 million that was

19 attached to those recommendations, if we

20 don't get the full 52 million, how would you

21 prioritize what would be the most significant

22 recommendations that need to be funded in

23 order for us to carry on and making sure that

24 all that work that was done was not in vain?

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, as you

2 pointed out, there were a number of

3 initiatives in there. I think one of the key

4 things, and I've had this conversation with

5 Regent Young, one of the key things is to

6 establish that Office of Community and Parent

7 Involvement. That will help us to then work

8 individually in those particular districts

9 that we know could use a lot of support in

10 this area, and develop those kind of

11 connections that ultimately gets back to the

12 concept of community schools that we earlier

13 talked of in response to Chair Nolan's

14 question.

15 Because the parenting community

16 involvement is occurring in some places

17 really, really well. And we've got to use

18 those as models, get that word out and help

19 districts who are struggling with that to be

20 able to connect better with their families.

21 So I would say that was one of the first ones

22 that was particularly important.

23 There was also a concept in here to

24 look at what are those strategies that we can

1 influence districts to put in place to

2 support an opportunity for college -- from

3 cradle to college and really work in

4 connecting what happens in pre-K through

5 kindergarten, through the first five years,

6 into middle school and into high school, and

7 connecting students. The way that you make

8 sure that every kid is successful is you know

9 who they are, you know the issues that

10 they're facing, and you work to support them.

11 Regent Young put together some great

12 panels. A number of you were there, and you

13 saw and heard students talking about what

14 made a difference in their life. And the

15 biggest thing that I came away from there

16 with was the students themselves needed to

17 feel connected to people in their environment

18 who cared about them.

19 And one of the things that was in the

20 proposal was to incentivize school districts

21 to move forward on this My Brother's Keeper

22 challenge and implement this cradle-to-career

23 strategy aimed at improving those outcomes

24 for boys and men of color. And we would do

1 an RFP, put funding out there, and then have

2 the Community and Parent Engagement Office

3 work closely with those districts to support

4 those programs.

5 ASSEMBLYMAN MOSLEY: Okay. My

6 follow-up question, then, is given the lack

7 of staffing at SED, would that have an

8 influence in terms of what would be a

9 priority if we were to be fully funded? So

10 how much of the resources that would be

11 allocated -- if we were to be fully funded to

12 $52 million -- would be allocated towards

13 making up for the lack of personnel at SED,

14 and how much would not be required to deal

15 with that 40 percent lag in SED staffing?

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, so if you're

17 talking about establishing that office, that

18 would come obviously through this agenda,

19 right? We talked about the development of

20 exemplary school models and practices that

21 are supportive of cultural diversity, and

22 that would be one.

23 The other one that I talked about was

24 to incentivize school districts in their

1 work. And one that was particularly

2 supportive is the Teacher Opportunity

3 Corridor to fund programs for the expansion

4 of our -- of working to get minority teachers

5 into our classrooms. This is a national

6 crisis. We certainly are affected by it in

7 New York State. And it is really a critical

8 thing as a way to support our students who

9 are in our schools, but then support the

10 future of our schools to make sure that we

11 have teachers that are there that are from

12 the communities and working with our

13 students.

14 So to get to your question, I think

15 that what we would do is we would prioritize

16 this as an agenda, clearly the Regents have

17 identified that as an important agenda, and

18 included it in their recommendations for this

19 group.

20 ASSEMBLYMAN MOSLEY: Well, thank you,

21 Commissioner. As a former teacher and

22 someone who taught under Dr. Lester Young as

23 my district manager, I want to thank you

24 again for what you're doing for young boys

1 and young men of color throughout New York

2 State.

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

5 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

6 I'd like to note that we've been

7 joined by Senator Velmanette Montgomery.

8 And our next speaker is Senator George

9 Latimer.

10 SENATOR LATIMER: Thank you very much,

11 Madam Chair.

12 Commissioner, good to see you this

13 morning. Hopefully not into the afternoon,

14 but that's been known to happen here.

15 I have a couple of questions on the

16 universal pre-K proposals that the executive

17 branch has put out, and to get your sense and

18 the sense of the department of the Board of

19 Regents.

20 The Governor's proposal sets a

21 precedent by staffing the prekindergarten

22 board with staff from the Office of Children

23 and Family Services, which is a departure

24 from what we would have expected, which is

1 that the State Education Department would

2 provide that type of backup staffing. And

3 tied into that, the $28 million with the

4 competitive grant program is to be decided by

5 a board that's made up of the Governor and

6 the majority legislative leaders.

7 What is the sense that you have as to

8 whether this departure is wise? How does

9 that position the State Education Department

10 in both of these two areas, both how the

11 board is supported and how the grants are to

12 be allocated?

13 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, I appreciate

14 that question.

15 I'm very concerned about anything that

16 would pull apart or complicate and make more

17 siloed decisions about anything related to

18 education, but particularly pre-K. And let

19 me expound on that a bit.

20 So you are putting in a pre-K program,

21 you currently have six. This is a projection

22 and a possibility of the seventh going and

23 being funded. All six have different

24 requirements. So if you're thinking that you

1 have a consistent pre-K program across the

2 State of New York, you don't.

3 Pre-K, the whole purpose of a pre-K

4 program is to connect students to what they

5 will face in kindergarten. And if in fact a

6 board that is not associated with the State

7 Ed Department would be making decisions about

8 grant money, about what's going to be done in

9 those programs, how it would be connected, it

10 just doesn't make sense.

11 If you put a program in place and it's

12 connected, the purpose of the pre-K, which

13 we're trying to make sure that it is

14 connected in every school district and in

15 every school, whether it's done in a

16 community-based setting or a school district

17 setting, that it's connected to kindergarten.

18 That teachers from pre-K talk to the teachers

19 in kindergarten, that there is a smooth

20 transition for children. And if you have a

21 separate board, you are working against that

22 goal.

23 SENATOR LATIMER: If I may, just one

24 other question, Madam Chair. A different

1 direction, overall picture.

2 The Board of Regents advocated for

3 $2.1 billion in education spending this year.

4 The Executive Budget has $991 million. The

5 Board of Regents called for, of that $2.1

6 billion, full restoration of the GEA, which

7 is a position that's taken by the tripartisan

8 members of the Senate and many members of the

9 Assembly as well, and also adds significantly

10 to the Foundation Aid, significantly over

11 what's in the Executive Budget.

12 We are living under a tax cap world.

13 If we do not add significantly in those

14 areas, what do you think the realistic

15 expectation will be of how districts will be

16 able to meet the various goals that we've set

17 before them?

18 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, obviously

19 I'm very concerned about it, and I've had

20 conversations with a number of the groups

21 that represent the parent groups, the PTAs,

22 the superintendents, the teacher groups, and

23 the school board groups. And when you talk

24 individually to superintendents, they are

1 very aware of exactly what that means. And

2 also I'm sure you've seen a number of the

3 articles that when you have a 0.12 increase

4 and that's going to bring you approximately a

5 $60,000 increase and you know that your

6 benefit increase is even more than that,

7 you're already starting behind. And then

8 we're saying that we need to do much more to

9 bring success to our kids.

10 So I'm very concerned about the

11 Foundation Aid and think that it is

12 absolutely a critical expenditure, and

13 understand that we need to make sure that the

14 best and the most important asset that we

15 have in developing a strong state is our

16 children and the education system in

17 preparing our kids for what they're going to

18 do when they walk out of high school. And

19 we're not doing that as well as we need to,

20 and I believe that those investments are

21 critical.

22 SENATOR LATIMER: Thank you,

23 Commissioner. Thank you, Madam chair.

24 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, Senator.

1 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

2 much.

3 Assemblyman Graf.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: Hi, Commissioner.

5 How are you?

6 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Hi, there.

7 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: I have so many

8 questions. And the good news is I'm limited

9 to 10 minutes. The good news for me is

10 you're not limited. So I'm going to go

11 through a whole bunch of concerns that I

12 have, and hopefully you can address them.

13 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, let me write

14 them down as you go.

15 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: So we've already

16 established that we're going to be using the

17 Pearson tests again, but you're going to

18 modify them.

19 COMMISSIONER ELIA: This is muffled.

20 I'm not quite sure --

21 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: The Pearson tests,

22 we're going to be using them, but you're

23 going to modify them.

24 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

1 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: Okay. One of the

2 big problems with the Pearson tests were they

3 disregarded IEPs. So when you have students

4 with learning disabilities, we may do guided

5 learning, and they weren't able to do that.

6 So that was a big concern throughout the

7 state.

8 The other thing is the developmental

9 appropriateness and also the age

10 appropriateness of a lot of the tests. And I

11 was hearing that if a kid was chronologically

12 in fifth grade, okay, but developmentally in

13 first grade, they were trying to test them at

14 a higher level. And the answer the state

15 gave was we'll give them more time to take

16 the test. So that's a concern that I have

17 with the testing.

18 The other thing with the testing is

19 we're not counting it against the teachers,

20 we're not counting it against the students,

21 okay. Why give the test? And are the tests'

22 sole purpose to examine whether or not you're

23 going to put the schools into receivership?

24 Okay, is that what we're using the tests for?

1 Because they're not counting it to children,

2 not counting it to students.

3 The other thing is I want to make sure

4 there's not going to be any punishment,

5 because I predict we're going to have a big

6 opt-out movement this year, okay, and I don't

7 want to see schools punished because parents

8 decide to opt out their children.

9 Another area of concern is the cap.

10 I'm being told it's not a true 2 percent cap.

11 And some schools are telling me they may have

12 a zero percent cap this year, and they're not

13 going to be able to do that. What do we need

14 to look at there? Right?

15 Pre-K, kindergarten. I mean, it's

16 known that you can have pre-K but if you

17 don't continue with kindergarten, all right,

18 there's no benefit. And many of our schools

19 in the suburban areas -- I know of schools,

20 one of my school districts actually has a

21 lottery for kindergarten. So what happens is

22 some kids will go into kindergarten, and

23 other schools the parents have to pay out of

24 their pockets to the school district in order

1 for their child to go to kindergarten. What

2 are we doing about that?

3 One other thing is some schools wrote

4 their own curriculum to comply with the

5 standards and are very happy with the

6 curriculum. Why aren't we looking at

7 reimbursing those school districts for the

8 money they laid out, have them submit it to

9 the state, and if the state adopts their

10 curriculum, they reimburse the school

11 districts for the expense of creating the

12 curriculum? That would give us home-grown

13 curriculum written by our teachers, which are

14 the some of the best teachers in the country.

15 Why keep buying it off companies when we're

16 seeing curricula that's horrific?

17 Diplomas. We keep giving fancy names

18 to diplomas. And these kids can't even get

19 in the service with the diplomas that we're

20 trying to give them. When I went to school,

21 we had a Regents diploma and a general

22 diploma, we had an education track and a

23 career track. There's nothing wrong with

24 being an electrician or a plumber. They make

1 more money than a lot of lawyers that I know

2 that came out of school. Okay?

3 So I just think that once the

4 government intruded, every level of

5 government intruded into education, they

6 screwed it all up. We've got to get

7 government out of our classrooms and let

8 teachers teach.

9 Now, the curriculum that we've had has

10 been so structured that teachers basically

11 are teaching to the middle of the class, and

12 that's it. And they're passing these kids

13 by. When I was taught to teach, you talked

14 to the middle of the class, you gave seat

15 work to reinforce what you taught, you gave

16 the kids that were a little advanced a little

17 harder work to do -- not to punish them, but

18 to keep them engaged. But that gave us an

19 opportunity to get to the children that

20 didn't get the concept and explain it in a

21 different way.

22 The way our curriculum is now, they

23 don't have the opportunity to do that.

24 They're leaving these kids by the wayside.

1 So it's not going to be better, it's going to

2 be worse. What are you doing to address

3 that?

4 Plus with the structure the way it is

5 with heroin, what I've heard out there is in

6 the lower grades you have resource officers,

7 but once you get to the middle school and you

8 get to the high school, you want to do

9 peer-to-peer stuff. But the structure of the

10 curriculum doesn't allow for that, and that's

11 been cut out of our schools. And that's a

12 big concern out there throughout the state.

13 I think I've pretty much hit

14 everything. I know if I think about it, I'll

15 hit a few more things.

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Maybe we ought to

17 set up an appointment.

18 (Laughter.)

19 COMMISSIONER ELIA: But we can

20 specifically -- I'm going to try to get

21 through several of these --

22 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: Yeah, but if you

23 can go through this -- well, you have no time

24 limit. It's me that has the time limit. So

1 I'll try to check them off as you go. And if

2 you miss one, I'll let you know.

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Okay, let's see if

4 I wrote fast enough. And so you mentioned

5 the Pearson test. You're absolutely

6 accurate, we have the Pearson tests, we're

7 transitioning. There is much more

8 involvement of teachers in the development of

9 the test for this spring. They're reviewing

10 -- as I said earlier, they're reviewing the

11 passages and they're reviewing the questions

12 and we are shortening up each of the tests

13 from Grades 3 through 8 in both language arts

14 and mathematics.

15 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: The IEPs? Are we

16 ignoring them? Because we were ignoring

17 them.

18 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So as you're

19 aware, the federal government requires that

20 students who have an IEP and are

21 students with special needs, they must take

22 the same test. That is something that we

23 have requested waivers on that. We have not

24 received them in New York. However, now with

1 the new ESSA law, we anticipate that we will

2 have some flexibility and opportunity. And

3 as we move towards computer-based testing, it

4 will allow us to have the students start the

5 test and then drop to the level that's

6 appropriate for them to function better.

7 So we anticipate that that's going to

8 help us, but it will be a while. And we

9 still are requesting, as we move into this

10 new era with the new federal law, that we

11 would be able to, as a state -- there's a

12 plan to have seven states receive a grant to

13 try some more creative approaches to

14 assessment, and we're hoping that we can be

15 one of those states in New York and that we

16 can then use that opportunity to develop

17 different assessments for our students with

18 IEPs.

19 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: Okay. Cap?

20 COMMISSIONER ELIA: The issue of the

21 age appropriateness of students, it has been

22 an issue. As I traveled around the state, I

23 heard that a lot, that there are students

24 that in kindergarten, in first grade, second

1 grade, they feel like the standards are too

2 stretching for them. And we are going to be

3 reviewing all the standards.

4 The most feedback we got for both

5 English language arts and mathematics was in

6 the early grades from kindergarten to Grade 4

7 and then kindergarten to Grade 3. So it will

8 be an area that's going to get much

9 attention.

10 On the career track, we do have in the

11 State of New York the opportunity for a local

12 diploma. We presented that two weeks ago to

13 our Regents. They were -- some of them

14 weren't as familiar with it. However, it is

15 in place and we do have that as an

16 availability for students.

17 However, we also have a CDOS

18 credential that comes -- and we're expanding

19 that to be part of our options, our Pathway

20 options, so that students can learn the ways

21 of work, et cetera -- those soft skills,

22 what's necessary to be a good employee -- and

23 also have opportunities to go out in the

24 field with a particular career in mind.

1 So those are all options that we're

2 expanding. And the whole concept of Pathways

3 for Graduation opens up lots of

4 opportunities. You still need to keep it

5 rigorous so that it means something to have a

6 diploma from New York State schools, but it

7 also -- it can, within that context, it can

8 also be something that's very relevant for

9 students and prepares them for either taking

10 a certification test, which is -- when you

11 said that you had been in a program earlier

12 or you knew about programs at the time that

13 you were in school, we used to have that as a

14 technology or another opportunity for kids to

15 go out immediately into a career.

16 Now we have -- we are expanding those,

17 and right now we have 14 certification tests

18 that can be part of the 4+1 Graduation

19 Pathways, and we're expanding it up. As we

20 see the tests, we're expanding it to include

21 those tests.

22 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: We need a general

23 diploma so the kids can even get into the

24 service, though.

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: That would

2 probably be the equivalent of the local

3 diploma now.

4 And you talked about the curriculum

5 should -- right now the plan and the

6 recommendation that came from the task force

7 was very clearly to put the curriculum

8 development in the hands of the local

9 districts. Once we've identified these are

10 the standards and the assessments are

11 revolved around the standards, the curriculum

12 and what's done in the classroom should be a

13 local decision.

14 And as a matter of fact, the work

15 that's been done by many teachers is being

16 shared with other teachers in the state so

17 that in fact it can be great work that's done

18 and somebody else doesn't have to do it

19 again.

20 And we've had the opportunity --

21 Chancellor FariÒa, from New York, has made it

22 available, the curriculum that was developed

23 in New York City, so that it can be

24 available. We're putting it online for our

1 teachers so that they can see and use and

2 work off of some great work done in the city.

3 And we have other models that we are

4 expanding as well. New Visions is a

5 not-for-profit that's done some great

6 curriculum work, and we're using that as an

7 opportunity for our teachers to have a model

8 to use.

9 We clearly still have the modules that

10 are on Engage New York. Those -- many

11 teachers really like those. They should

12 never have been a restrictive kind of thing,

13 they should have been a model that could be

14 used not to be scripted but rather as an

15 option for teachers. That's what we want to

16 do so. And it's important, I believe, for

17 local control of the curriculum, working with

18 teachers to develop what they feel is most

19 relevant for the kids that they have in their

20 classroom.

21 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

22 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Thank you very

23 much for a tremendous response, Commissioner.

24 Really a great response.

1 ASSEMBLYMAN GRAF: I got an extra five

2 minutes out of it. Thank you.

3 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you. Next is

4 Senator Comrie.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Before that, I'd

6 just like to introduce Assemblywoman Hooper.

7 And Assemblyman Titone has joined us.

8 ASSEMBLYMAN OAKS: And Assemblyman

9 Butler.

10 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

11 Good morning, Commissioner.

12 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good morning.

13 SENATOR COMRIE: The Governor spoke in

14 his State of the State speech about community

15 schools and the community schools

16 environment. Can you give us some details,

17 if you have any, about what his vision is for

18 the community schools environment that he's

19 talking about putting in, and if there are

20 any definitive plans on what it looks like or

21 if it's going to include nonprofit groups

22 that are going to be in the school? Any

23 detail on that?

24 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes. Well, the

1 whole concept of a community school is that

2 the school be a center point to provide

3 opportunities to access supports for children

4 and families that attend that school and are

5 in that community.

6 And depending on the needs of the

7 community, it can look very different. I've

8 visited schools in New York City that have

9 not-for-profits that actually have offices

10 and work all day in the school with students

11 and teachers and staff. And I've also

12 visited schools in other places where the

13 concept of community school is that after

14 school there's lots of opportunities for

15 students to have access to programming that

16 might not be included in the regular academic

17 day, and those kinds of connections to social

18 services and resources that are available in

19 the community. So you might have a United

20 Way program, you might have a Boys and Girls

21 Club program or a YMCA program.

22 So the question that you had about

23 not-for-profits, that is a very common model

24 that is used, where not-for-profits become

1 part of providing services for the children

2 and families at that school.

3 SENATOR COMRIE: So I noticed that you

4 didn't have it in your presentation. Is

5 there a dollar amount that has been attached

6 to it? And if there's a committee that's

7 working to put it together, since you're

8 saying it's going to be shaped according to

9 the needs of the district?

10 Just to remind you, I represent Queens

11 School Districts 29, 28 and 27, primarily.

12 One of our issues is that we have some of the

13 longest commute times for any parent in New

14 York City. Coming from the edge of Queens in

15 a transportation desert, most parents have to

16 leave for work at 7 o'clock in the morning

17 and they don't get home until 7 o'clock at

18 night.

19 We don't have any type of community

20 school program in any of those districts

21 right now. And I'd really like to see how

22 that's going to be shaped, who is going to be

23 part of shaping it, so that there's a

24 universal model that can be -- I know there

1 needs to be interchangeable parts for

2 different districts and different areas, but

3 needs to be at least one consistent model

4 that we can work from so that it's not a

5 hodgepodge of different things that don't

6 work.

7 You know, I benefited from attending a

8 school that was open until 7 o'clock at

9 night. It made a big difference in my

10 growing up. And I think that we need to have

11 that model for all schools, frankly, across

12 the state where we can have children staying

13 in school and off the streets. So I hope

14 that we can start to work to that model to

15 make sure that that's a statewide model as

16 well.

17 Is there a plan or a process that is

18 going to help set up that community school

19 program? And who's going to be involved in

20 it?

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, the proposal

22 that is part of the Executive Budget provides

23 $100 million in new community school aids,

24 with $75 million available for struggling and

1 persistently struggling schools that are in

2 receivership. Twenty-five million would be

3 available for other high-needs districts

4 identified under the Needs/Resource Capacity

5 Index.

6 So that's kind of the overarching

7 discussion that's already been made and is

8 part of that Executive Budget.

9 I would agree with you that it's

10 important for us to provide a model. Now, as

11 you pointed out, some schools and districts

12 find specific things that they need for their

13 families. Providing the opportunity for open

14 schools early in the morning for parents,

15 that can accommodate parents that go to work

16 early, and after school, I think is a very

17 important model. And particularly in middle

18 school. I mean, that is a time when having

19 consistent kind of activities after school

20 keeps kids doing the right things.

21 And so we don't have any more

22 information on that. And we are very

23 supportive of community schools. I am

24 concerned that if a school that was in

1 receivership -- so it fits the criteria

2 that's discussed there -- has already done

3 the community school and started it, would

4 they have access to the funding under the

5 proposal. And I think those are all things

6 that need to be worked out.

7 SENATOR COMRIE: I hope we can be part

8 of those discussions and that those

9 discussions are -- that we have an

10 opportunity to weigh in on those things to

11 make sure that we have the right providers

12 and the right models so that it's done --

13 even in schools where they're trying do it

14 already, I think there's some confusion about

15 what the proper way is to shape it and where

16 those continued resources are going to come

17 from.

18 A second question, the Governor had a

19 program to upgrade technology and

20 infrastructure and wifi access in schools.

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

22 SENATOR COMRIE: Can you give us an

23 update on where that is and how that's moving

24 forward?

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes. So that's

2 the Smart Schools Bond. And we have

3 approximately -- the districts are providing

4 the proposals. We are helping them through

5 our RICs centers that are dispersed around

6 the state to come up with what is a positive

7 approach to how they expend those funds.

8 The breakdown of proposed

9 expenditures, there are six categories that

10 are allowed under the Smart Schools Bond Act.

11 Those include classroom connectivity,

12 community connectivity, classroom technology,

13 the pre-K classrooms, high-tech security, and

14 the replacement of transportable classroom

15 units. So those are the things that are

16 allowed under the Smart Schools Bond Act.

17 Proposals for this have been submitted

18 and are put through our facilities review

19 group. And we're processing those to get

20 them out.

21 SENATOR COMRIE: So those are being

22 processed by your information and technology

23 staff, or is it something that each school

24 district has to apply for, or each community

1 or municipality has to apply for? How does

2 that get broken down?

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So it was approved

4 in 2014 so that they could acquire the

5 technology equipment, install the broadband,

6 and construct and enhance their education

7 facilities and install high-tech security.

8 Those are the things that are allowed under

9 it. They have to send proposals to us for

10 the expenditures, and then they are able to

11 expend those funds after that approval.

12 SENATOR COMRIE: Okay. I'm just

13 concerned about how it's breaking down to the

14 local level. Because I still have many

15 principals that are speaking to me about the

16 need for technology upgrades and actually

17 wiring upgrades, because they can't even get

18 the building up to spec because the buildings

19 are so old.

20 So I'm curious, and if you could send

21 me some details on how that's being broken

22 down so we can inform our principals of what

23 they need to do to get into consideration for

24 that available money.

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Senator, we'll

2 sent that to you.

3 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you.

4 COMMISSIONER ELIA: You're welcome.

5 SENATOR COMRIE: And my last question

6 is just kind of a follow-up to that, that you

7 talked about your lack of ability to provide

8 technical support and that you're

9 understaffed in the ability to do technical

10 support and information.

11 Are you working with the various

12 municipalities to empower them to pick up

13 what you're not able to do as far as making

14 sure that the technical support and

15 information is getting out to all of the

16 school districts?

17 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, relative to

18 the Smart Bond, yes, our staffs -- there are

19 17 centers that are technology-based centers

20 that work with our BOCES programs, and they

21 are working on what are smart expenditures of

22 the Smart Bond money. And they've worked

23 with individual school districts and have

24 given them ideas on what should be the best

1 investments for them that would be long term.

2 And so that is occurring on a regular

3 basis. And I was with them this week, on

4 Monday they had a meeting here in Albany, and

5 we had a long conversation about providing

6 those resources and the expertise that they

7 have in technology planning with the

8 districts across the state.

9 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you,

10 Commissioner. I appreciate your answers. I

11 hope that we can do more to ensure that those

12 school districts and those principals that

13 don't have good grant writers at least get

14 the information in a simple enough form that

15 they can get caught up too. Because if not,

16 there will always be a disparity that can't

17 be bridged.

18 Do I need to repeat that since the

19 phone was ringing?

20 (Laughter.)

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: No, I'm good.

22 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you. Thank

23 you, Commissioner.

24 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Phones have

100

1 incredible music on them now.

2 SENATOR COMRIE: Yeah, they do.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

4 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, Senator.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Assemblyman

6 Brindisi.

7 ASSEMBLYMAN BRINDISI: Thank you,

8 Chairman.

9 Thank you, Commissioner. I want to

10 ask you briefly about my two favorite

11 acronyms, CTEs and ELLs.

12 First, regarding CTEs, I want to thank

13 you for your work on expanding Pathways to

14 Graduation. The concern I have is you've

15 made a request now for a few years to

16 increase the BOCES aid as well as the special

17 services aid, which has not been met by the

18 Legislature. And I'm concerned about how the

19 4+1 Pathways is going to move forward if we

20 don't follow through on that request. How do

21 you see that moving forward?

22 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, I think that

23 there's no question we can expand the

24 Pathways, which is one of the actions that

101

1 must be taken. But then we have to make sure

2 that students have equitable access across

3 the state to those Pathways or to technical

4 career programs that are relevant for their

5 particular community.

6 The BOCES programs have been the

7 center point of much of that. Many of our

8 districts outside of BOCES also present and

9 provide CTE programming in their high

10 schools.

11 And the proposal that we have

12 specifically relates to the instructional

13 salaries. It's a big issue for us to be able

14 to get the quality of the individuals to come

15 in and work in our programs as the teacher if

16 in fact, out in the real world, they can make

17 more money. And so I think that there is a

18 tradeoff. But we have not had increases in

19 that funding, and it's absolutely critical to

20 do it.

21 CTE programming is very, very strongly

22 connected to the lifeblood of an expansion of

23 an economy in a state. And if you talk to

24 any business that's considering going into a

102

1 state or if you talk to businesses that are

2 here that are considering expanding, their

3 one question is do I have the workforce to

4 hire that is ready to be able to move to

5 this.

6 And I think it's critical for us to

7 keep in mind that investments in CTE are

8 those investments that will, long term,

9 benefit us across the board.

10 ASSEMBLYMAN BRINDISI: That's music to

11 my ears.

12 Regarding ELLs, can you expand a

13 little bit on your proposal for $75 million

14 for ELLs? I don't think there's anything in

15 the Executive proposal related to ELLs, but

16 can you tell me a little bit more how that

17 money would be targeted, which districts

18 would be receiving that money, and what it's

19 for?

20 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Right. Well, we

21 have increased by 20 percent the population

22 of our ELL students in the State of New York.

23 Right now that is about 8 percent of our

24 population. And so those students have

103

1 special needs and need to have focused

2 instruction to support them. And there's a

3 couple of things that we've talked about, and

4 it's in our proposal, is expanding the

5 availability of assessments in the native

6 language, which is an important expenditure.

7 And we've also talked about

8 professional development for teachers and

9 support for districts as we implement the

10 154. And I think that what we're talking

11 about really is making sure that those

12 students who are in our country who want to

13 take advantage of educational programming

14 that we have the availability of that and are

15 not hindered by the fact that they're in the

16 process of learning another language.

17 I think it's also important for us to

18 recognize in this global world how important

19 multiple languages are. And to make sure --

20 and we're moving towards a specialized

21 diploma specifically related to languages

22 other than English. And we think that that

23 will help to support and focus on those

24 students that have been able to learn more

104

1 than one language or bring their native

2 language, learn English, and in many cases

3 learn another language.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN BRINDISI: Is that money

5 targeted towards certain districts that have

6 higher percentages of --

7 COMMISSIONER ELIA: No, it's where the

8 students are.

9 ASSEMBLYMAN BRINDISI: Okay. And then

10 finally, just one final question. Regarding

11 the facilities planning office, we're hearing

12 a lot from districts about a backlog from SED

13 getting plans approved. And I think we did

14 appropriate some money last year in the

15 budget to hire some more engineers and

16 architects, and I just want to see what the

17 status of that is. Are you moving forward

18 with hiring more employees there?

19 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Okay, so thank you

20 very much for the expenditure that you gave

21 to us of $800,000. We're in the process --

22 we've hired firms that can take some of that

23 backlog and help us to move through it

24 quickly, and I can give you an update of

105

1 that.

2 Regarding private engineering firms to

3 review and approve backlogged school

4 projects, three contracts are approved, a

5 total of 25 projects are currently being

6 reviewed by those firms, and the remaining

7 contracts are expected to be approved in the

8 near future, and the projects will be shipped

9 to them immediately.

10 Then in contracting with multiple

11 engineering firms that specialize in energy

12 review -- because as we do this, the energy

13 review projects come to us and we have to

14 approve those as well -- three contracts are

15 approved, a total of 10 projects are

16 currently being reviewed by those two firms,

17 five additional projects.

18 We have a backlog, there's no

19 question. And we're requesting, in

20 support -- we've reduced the backlog by eight

21 weeks so far. And we still have a lot of

22 work to do, but we're using that funding and

23 appreciate the fact that it continues into

24 next year's budget.

106

1 ASSEMBLYMAN BRINDISI: Thank you,

2 Commissioner.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

4 We've been joined by Assemblyman

5 O'Donnell.

6 Senator?

7 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

8 much.

9 Next would be Senator Velmanette

10 Montgomery.

11 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you.

12 Good morning, Commissioner.

13 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good morning.

14 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I want to start

15 by thanking you and the Regents for adopting

16 the program that you have requested funding

17 for which seeks to improve the outcomes for

18 boys and young men of color. I know that

19 there was a lot of work that was done on

20 that, and you also listened particularly to

21 young people, which was very different, and I

22 appreciate the work that you and Dr. Young

23 have done on that.

24 I just want to raise a couple of

107

1 issues with you. I'm looking at page 22 of

2 your report. And I'm very pleased that you

3 have included a component of the funding for

4 that program -- My Brother's Keeper program,

5 I like to call it, the New York State

6 version -- of developing exemplary school

7 models, because that seems to be where we

8 never get around to replicating what actually

9 works. And so I just want to raise something

10 with you with regard to what works.

11 There are several high schools in my

12 district that are either CTE or they are

13 high-end academic performing schools, high

14 graduation rates, technology. And I'll name

15 a few of them. Brooklyn Tech is one of them.

16 That's sort of one of the best schools in the

17 state, I would imagine, possibly in the

18 nation. The Harbor School I want to mention

19 is another school that really works. P-TECH,

20 obviously, is one that works. The Bard High

21 School is one that works.

22 And so my question to you is -- and

23 several of the principals at those schools

24 and others that I've spoken to have talked

108

1 about the need for preparing students before

2 they get to the high school in order to

3 assist. So it sort of works into your notion

4 of creating a pipeline, cradle to grave --

5 not cradle to grave, cradle to college,

6 excuse me. I'm thinking grave; I don't know

7 why.

8 So I want to ask you, where are you

9 and the Regents with looking at the

10 possibility of increasing the middle school

11 aspect of our system that would allow those

12 high schools to be more directly connected to

13 a middle school as a feeder school? I know

14 the Harbor School in particular has requested

15 that; they are in the process of trying to

16 plan for one right now. Brooklyn Tech has

17 talked about it, P-TECH.

18 So I'm really very, very interested in

19 seeing to what extent you can help to foster

20 that movement. And in relationship to that,

21 those high-end schools have a very, very

22 specific need for teachers to be able to work

23 with young people, teachers who are

24 certified, perhaps, in areas that we don't

109

1 currently have certification for.

2 So I'm really very interested in where

3 you are with that process and how soon we can

4 expect that there will be some way to address

5 that.

6 And the last part of my questioning is

7 around the Early College programs. I would

8 really like to have an update on where the

9 programs that you already have, where you are

10 with that. And I didn't see where that fits

11 in with your budget request, so -- and that

12 is another program that I'm aware of that

13 absolutely works to the great benefit of a

14 large number of students. Especially in

15 those places where students don't have a

16 large selection of advanced college placement

17 and so forth, they can begin to be integrated

18 as college students earlier and perhaps save

19 a lot in terms of having a college experience

20 even before they graduate from high school.

21 And that has really made a tremendous

22 difference to a large number of young people

23 in my district in particular.

24 So those are two parts of my question.

110

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Okay, the first

2 question related to middle schools and the

3 support for the development earlier in either

4 an interest or a skill level to move into the

5 high schools. I think it's an absolutely

6 critical thing. I was with a group of

7 superintendents this week, and they brought

8 up the issue and have asked us to look

9 specifically at what we currently have in

10 regulations related to middle school

11 curriculum, and that we allow for shifts in

12 that so that we can have districts who want

13 to develop specific curriculums for middle

14 school and put career and technical and/or

15 other supports for higher academics into the

16 middle school grades.

17 So that is something we will be

18 working on. Right now it's not something

19 that -- we do have some districts that have

20 done it successfully. And, again, using

21 those models that are positive, that have

22 been supportive, I think it's really smart of

23 us to use those as a way of kind of sharing

24 the ideas and not to have to do that again.

111

1 Regarding the certification,

2 Chancellor FariÒa and I have talked about the

3 specific issues of getting teachers who are

4 certified in areas where we don't have

5 teachers that have that certification and

6 what we can do to be more open, particularly

7 in areas of career and technical where an

8 individual may have developed the skills and

9 be excellent at the work that they're doing,

10 and we want to have them to work with our

11 students, but they don't have some of the

12 other prerequisites that are normally part of

13 certification.

14 So we're looking at that closely. And

15 we're going to be looking at certification

16 across the board.

17 As you know, we have a number of

18 places across the state where there are

19 openings for teachers, and we need to make

20 sure that we have quality teachers in our

21 classrooms. We also need to make sure that

22 if we have people from the community who can

23 come in and share their expertise, we give

24 them the opportunity to do that in more

112

1 creative ways and with more flexibility. So

2 that is also one thing that we're looking at.

3 And the Early College High Schools,

4 the department has -- we currently are

5 providing $7 million, or $3.5 million over

6 the current funding levels. We'd like to

7 have an increase in our Early College High

8 Schools.

9 And I can tell you from experience

10 that Early College High Schools are a way of

11 leveling the playing field for all students.

12 It's the availability of coursework in both

13 middle school and in high school that allows

14 students to matriculate some kind of credit.

15 And whether the student is terribly

16 successful in the program or not, the fact

17 that they have taken a course that puts them

18 in -- their perception that they can do

19 higher-level coursework is extremely

20 important. And I once read a study,

21 26 percent of the students in high school who

22 take and/or complete a college-level

23 course -- they have a 26 percent higher rate

24 of graduating in four years.

113

1 Four years now is not the norm. And

2 to have students graduating in four years

3 because we've given them a step up I think is

4 extremely important.

5 So we can get you more information on

6 the Early College High School, but we have

7 requested, both for Early College High

8 Schools and for P-TECH, an expansion. I

9 think that P-TECH is a model that has

10 received much acclaim, and we are seeing

11 students that would not be a traditional,

12 what we would call a traditional

13 go-to-college kind of student, be very

14 successful and move into jobs at IBM and

15 other great partners who are supporting those

16 programs with us. So we're very excited

17 about those.

18 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you. And

19 just lastly, I'm very happy that you're

20 focusing on CTE. And I just want to tell you

21 that at the Harbor School, to see students

22 engaged -- and these are students who

23 otherwise would not have access to this kind

24 of education -- is extremely exciting. And I

114

1 think that's what we hope to have more of.

2 And just so that you know, that many

3 of those students have been able to graduate

4 from the Harbor School. And for the first

5 time, students from my district in Brooklyn

6 were eligible to go into the Maritime

7 College. So it's now become a feeder into

8 that college, first time in history. So I'm

9 very excited about it and look forward to

10 working with you and the Regents to do

11 whatever we can to make sure that this kind

12 of education is available to more students.

13 COMMISSIONER ELIA: That kind of

14 education should be available across the

15 State of New York everywhere.

16 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. Abso --

17 well, yes. Thank you.

18 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, Senator.

19 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you,

20 Senator.

21 Assemblywoman Malliotakis.

22 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Good

23 morning, Commissioner. Thank you so much for

24 being here with us.

115

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good morning.

2 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Actually,

3 a lot of my questions were already answered,

4 so I --

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Good. Thank you

6 very much.

7 (Laughter.)

8 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: A few

9 remaining.

10 (Laughter.)

11 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: I'm very

12 pleased that the administration has put

13 together this commission to evaluate the

14 Common Core. It seems for a while there,

15 there was a reluctancy to admit there was

16 significant flaws in it.

17 And with regards to -- the teacher

18 evaluation is an important component, the

19 reduction of testing is a very important

20 component. One of the components is the

21 developmentally disabled and making sure that

22 testing and curriculum is appropriate for

23 their learning abilities. And so that is, I

24 think, one of the biggest concerns that I

116

1 have as we're proceeding.

2 And I wanted to know, with regards to

3 that, what are you looking specifically to --

4 how are you going to evaluate that and move

5 forward?

6 And secondly, what efforts are needed

7 to engage, you know, parents in school

8 communities as we continue in this process?

9 I know you've had nine public hearings, but

10 from now on as you're continuing to work on

11 the changes.

12 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, the last

13 seven months I've spent a lot of time, 20,000

14 miles in my car, traveling around the state

15 and meeting with various groups.

16 I think that much of what we need to

17 do is make sure that people understand and

18 are part of this process.

19 And so in terms of the work that needs

20 to be done, if you look at the surveys, it's

21 very clear that parents learn about what's

22 happening in the schools and what's happening

23 in education from their child's teacher.

24 They trust the teacher. Otherwise, they

117

1 probably wouldn't have their child with them

2 in the classroom. And so when the teacher

3 speaks, then that's what they believe.

4 And principals are equally important

5 in communications, as are superintendents.

6 They are part of the local community. And I

7 think it's very important that the State Ed

8 Department get the information out on the

9 changes that have been made that are

10 responsive to the comments and the concerns

11 that people have had. Everyone will not be

12 pleased. Everyone would like it done

13 yesterday. And we're moving in a very

14 appropriate way, I believe, to make the

15 changes necessary.

16 I just want to remind you that some of

17 the concerns that people had was that we

18 moved too fast. And we don't want to repeat

19 those concerns in how we react now to make

20 the changes that need to be made.

21 So the work that we're doing now is

22 specifically getting information out through

23 the district superintendents at the BOCES and

24 the Big 5 school districts, and spreading

118

1 that out to principals and superintendents

2 across the state. We have approximately 700

3 districts in the State of New York, and the

4 communication has to occur at that local

5 level.

6 We're really supporting them to do

7 that. I think that's going to be a key for

8 us in getting this word and the information

9 out on the changes that are occurring and the

10 timeline that's occurring and why it should

11 be done in a way that allows us to do it

12 together and get input as we go.

13 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: And

14 whether it be through the local school

15 districts or the principals, we have to make

16 sure also that the PTAs and the community

17 education councils are included. If my

18 office can be helpful in my district, please

19 let me know.

20 With regards to the heroin curriculum,

21 in 2014 the Legislature passed legislation

22 requiring that opioid and heroin education

23 was included in the drug abuse and updated

24 every three years. Can you give us just an

119

1 update on where you're at with that and what

2 progress has been made?

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, we've worked

4 with other state agencies on developing that

5 curriculum and moving that out, but I'll

6 provide that update for you when I have more

7 specifics.

8 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Okay.

9 I think vocational training is

10 extremely important. And I think when we

11 have this debate oftentimes in Albany about

12 the minimum wage, I think one of the things

13 that we don't often talk about is trying get

14 people off minimum wage. And I think that

15 vocational training offers that career path.

16 And I think it's so important that we invest

17 in vocational training, and I like the work

18 that's being done with the Pathway. Is there

19 adequate access, in your opinion, to

20 vocational training throughout the state?

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, I would

22 agree with you that it's extremely important.

23 It is not equal across the state. And so you

24 have some areas that have access to multiple

120

1 programs for their students, and you have

2 other areas that don't.

3 And I think we just heard from

4 Brooklyn about some great programs that are

5 very successful there. Every place doesn't

6 have those programs. And so I think what we

7 have to do is be very purposeful in making

8 sure that when we expand and provide

9 resources, that it is done across the state.

10 Now, the BOCES proposal for CTE, in

11 our BOCES that's one of the core functions

12 that they provide for districts in their

13 area. But I believe that districts also can

14 provide some programming that would be very

15 relevant and connect kids to a career in

16 their community.

17 You're seeing that now. There's been

18 a proposal -- and you may be hearing from the

19 superintendent from Buffalo, Dr. Kriner Cash,

20 that he has a proposal in to turn some of his

21 high schools that have been persistently

22 struggling into schools that are connected to

23 an employer in that very area where the

24 school is located, and really working those

121

1 programs so that a student can leave high

2 school and be ready to move immediately into

3 a job with that company. And I think that

4 kind of connection is extremely important.

5 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Would you

6 be able to provide my office with some of the

7 best programs you think are currently

8 underway in the state, just so I can get an

9 idea of what options there are?

10 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

11 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you.

12 And last question -- this is something

13 that's sort of just, you know, personal to

14 me. I was doing a voter registration drive

15 and I had someone who was 18 years old who

16 handed me the registration, and he had

17 printed where it said "Signature." And so I

18 said, "Oh, no, this is not what you're

19 supposed to print, you have to do your

20 signature." He says, "I don't have a

21 signature." He's like, "I've never learned

22 penmanship in school. We never learned

23 cursive writing in school."

24 I find that to be unbelievable and

122

1 very disappointing, that our young people are

2 graduating not having a signature. I mean,

3 how are they going to -- you know, they're

4 going to open a bank account, they're going

5 to sign checks, they're going to do legal

6 documents throughout their career and life.

7 And to not have a signature is not only

8 something I think is -- it's not only sad,

9 just in general, as a perspective, but it's

10 something that is a security concern, that

11 anyone can just, write, print their name,

12 there's no identity.

13 What are your thoughts on this? And

14 can we change this to make sure that it's

15 part of the curriculum in the State of

16 New York?

17 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, first of

18 all, I think we have to keep in perspective

19 that that may in fact not have been the focus

20 of what the curriculum was in that -- in

21 wherever that student went to school, and

22 maybe they didn't talk about it. But I have

23 been in schools across the state, and

24 everywhere I go there is writing work up on

123

1 the walls from the students. And they're

2 writing the work in cursive.

3 Now, that is part of a curriculum that

4 is much more expansive. And if we talk about

5 the pedagogy of higher standards, we are

6 including writing as a key component to that,

7 So I would suggest to you that writing

8 is important. And I don't -- I can't explain

9 how that student would respond the way they

10 did. There are some -- there are some

11 programs in the past that I have seen across

12 the country that have not -- that have left

13 writing as you know it out and put more

14 emphasis on using technology for writing and

15 rewriting, et cetera. And if that's the

16 case, then I think we have to make sure that

17 there's a balance across all curriculum

18 areas.

19 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Yeah, I

20 would appreciate it if you looked further

21 into this, because I had a conversation with

22 my teachers in my district following that,

23 and they just said it's just not required

24 anymore. And so I'm not sure if that's a

124

1 local decision -- I assume it would be a

2 State Ed decision because it's part of the

3 curriculum. But if you could look into that

4 and get back to me, I'd appreciate it.

5 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Sure, we'll do

6 that.

7 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you.

8 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

9 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

10 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

11 Next is Senator Liz Krueger.

12 SENATOR KRUEGER: Good morning,

13 Commissioner.

14 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good morning.

15 SENATOR KRUEGER: Delighted you have

16 joined us in New York State. And as I had

17 mentioned to you when we met, I am very

18 pleased to see that you are moving forward

19 with your waiver to the federal government

20 allowing for portfolio high school

21 completion. Am I correct that's still part

22 of the plan?

23 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, we've

24 requested it. Under the new law, we think we

125

1 may have some flexibility, and we're hoping

2 that we can do that and develop some

3 different types of assessments. So yes, we

4 are. I can't tell you what the timeline will

5 be, but we're looking at it.

6 SENATOR KRUEGER: And on timelines, I

7 know at least one other person asked about

8 the technology bond money.

9 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

10 SENATOR KRUEGER: Can you say how many

11 school districts have already applied for

12 that money?

13 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Sure, we have

14 that.

15 SENATOR KRUEGER: And while you're

16 looking, also what you think the approximate

17 timeline is for approval once a district does

18 apply for the money.

19 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So right now we

20 have $48 million that has been proposed so

21 far. I don't have the actual number of

22 schools that have submitted and been approved

23 and included in that 48 million, but we'll

24 get those specifics to you.

126

1 But it's -- under the six categories I

2 have the amounts under each category: $20

3 million for classroom connectivity; 10,000,

4 which is a project for a local library, for

5 community connectivity; classroom technology

6 is $19.6 million; pre-K classrooms is $2.1

7 million; high-tech security is 5.7 million.

8 And the replacement of transportable

9 classroom units is zero so far, so that has

10 not been a focus of the funding.

11 SENATOR KRUEGER: And based on your

12 answers, I now think you're saying that a

13 district doesn't apply for the lump sum; as

14 one proposal, the individual schools or

15 individual projects must make an application?

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: I believe that the

17 districts -- and we'll get the specifics to

18 you -- the districts apply, and they apply by

19 school, and the particular category of

20 funding that they're accessing is part of

21 their request.

22 SENATOR KRUEGER: So if I was a large

23 school district, say New York City, where I'm

24 from, the assumption is they would be filing

127

1 for their entire amount, but it would be

2 broken down item by item for different

3 schools, different projects?

4 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

5 SENATOR KRUEGER: And then you would

6 approve or disapprove line items, not yes to

7 New York City School District or Yonkers

8 School District or no?

9 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yeah. So they

10 would submit. If it was in the categories

11 that I just pointed out, then it would move

12 forward. There's a governance council that

13 has to approve, which includes SUNY, the

14 State Ed Department, and the Department of

15 Budget. And so those three have to approve,

16 as it moves forward, to get the funding

17 allocated.

18 SENATOR KRUEGER: How frequently do

19 they meet?

20 COMMISSIONER ELIA: We haven't had a

21 meeting yet. So these are -- this is -- the

22 funding that we have here are these requests

23 with those various dollar amounts.

24 SENATOR KRUEGER: And are there three

128

1 votes taken, then, or is it a consensus? Can

2 any one of these three veto a project, like a

3 PACB model?

4 COMMISSIONER ELIA: I think that by

5 the time the project gets to them, it's gone

6 through the steps for approval. But we will

7 get the full process in place and we'll --

8 it's in place. Let me send it to you so you

9 are aware of exactly how it's occurring.

10 And if any of you hear that there's

11 districts that are not aware of that --

12 because we've been very, very purposeful in

13 getting the information out -- please let us

14 know so we make sure that we support them and

15 help them to make those decisions.

16 SENATOR KRUEGER: So let me raise the

17 two concerns I have based on not knowing the

18 full answers.

19 One, you might have any given school

20 district put a proposal in that lists many

21 items, and in fact the council or the staff,

22 prior to going to council, might have

23 problems only with a couple of the items, the

24 projects?

129

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Right. Mm-hmm.

2 SENATOR KRUEGER: And I'd hate to see

3 an entire district's proposal being rejected

4 or delayed because perhaps out of 35

5 different projects you had a problem with one

6 or two. So I'd want to at least be reassured

7 that a school district could then get

8 approval for everything but whatever the

9 items were within their proposal.

10 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Right.

11 SENATOR KRUEGER: And two, as many of

12 us who spend time up here have seen,

13 sometimes when you have a board or a

14 commission that then takes a vote on

15 something, even once you've made your

16 recommendations, any one of those three

17 entities you describe might decide, perhaps

18 for political reasons, that they wanted to

19 take a no vote --

20 COMMISSIONER ELIA: I'm shocked.

21 SENATOR KRUEGER: -- instead of a yes

22 vote.

23 I know you're shocked, because you're

24 new to New York, but I am not new to New

130

1 York.

2 And so a real concern that, you

3 know -- I'll pick on the Department of

4 Budget. They don't really like to release

5 money. They like to have the money as

6 opposed to spend the money. So I'd hate to

7 imagine a scene where bond money that the

8 people of New York voted to support spending

9 for important educational technology efforts

10 were then somehow not able to go out the door

11 because districts, in good faith, put

12 reasonable proposals in, your professional

13 staff approved those proposals as meeting the

14 standards of the bond act and attached

15 statutory language, and then somebody else

16 decided it just wasn't the time to spend the

17 money. I would hate to see that happen.

18 So I'd be very interested in the

19 breakdown of the details of how this works.

20 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, as you're

21 aware, I'm sure, that this board -- this

22 group of SUNY, SED and the Department of

23 Budget was set up under the legislation.

24 And so we can give you an overview of

131

1 where we are in terms of releasing and what

2 the process and where anything might be in

3 that pipeline.

4 SENATOR KRUEGER: And again, I

5 appreciate your looking to help me understand

6 whether the way the legislation is actually

7 drafted, any one of those three actually has

8 a veto power.

9 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

10 SENATOR KRUEGER: Because I think that

11 would have been an oversight of the

12 legislation. Thank you.

13 There was a question earlier that you

14 did answer about -- actually, you raised it

15 in your testimony, how we have many models of

16 pre-K and that you would like to see

17 something done about that.

18 In my understanding, there's both

19 regulatory change that would be required but

20 there also may be an issue of different

21 amounts of money for different categories of

22 pre-K. Does your department have a specific

23 proposal about how this can be fixed? And

24 does it require the Legislature, or can it be

132

1 done through SED?

2 COMMISSIONER ELIA: No, it does

3 require the Legislature. We do have a

4 specific proposal. And what we are proposing

5 is that we incorporate all of the different

6 programs under one program for pre-K with one

7 set of rules, and that then that be

8 administered and determined and be connected

9 to SED.

10 SENATOR KRUEGER: And usually when you

11 make changes in multiple programs, you've got

12 winners and losers. So how would you move

13 forward so that you weren't penalizing some

14 category of existing programs?

15 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, the programs

16 are all for pre-K, and they're targeting

17 different students. Right? And they came in

18 at different times. And the rules were put

19 in place specific -- at that point in time.

20 And there may in fact have been a focus on

21 one part of the state or another. But what

22 we're saying is, as we would -- and we would

23 have to work through those things, Senator.

24 But I think it's really important

133

1 that, rather than adding another program,

2 that we take the time to make this correction

3 now and expand our pre-K each year to

4 ultimately get to particularly all of our

5 4-year-olds and the 3-year-olds as we're

6 adding.

7 SENATOR KRUEGER: I don't disagree

8 with you, for the record. And speaking for

9 my district on the East Side of Manhattan, we

10 don't have the room to expand for 3-year-olds

11 at this point. We're still struggling to

12 make sure we have adequate seats for the

13 4-year-olds in an overcrowded subdistrict of

14 New York City. So I'm not a big believer in

15 rushing to 3-year-olds at this time.

16 But I do want to I guess emphasize

17 that philosophically I think merging all into

18 one model makes sense and actually is simpler

19 all round for everybody providing pre-K

20 throughout the state. But there's a

21 difference between raising all ships by

22 making sure that you're providing adequate

23 funding for everybody as opposed to turning

24 around and saying, Okay, you four over there,

134

1 you have to take a cut because we're evening

2 out. And I think there's real ramifications

3 for that in the real world. So I'm hoping

4 you can view it in that perspective.

5 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, we certainly

6 will. And if we're able to move that

7 forward, we really are interested in working

8 through those difficulties. There's no

9 question they were developed at specific

10 times with specific things in mind. And I

11 think it would be an important factor as we

12 try to incorporate them into one program.

13 SENATOR KRUEGER: Have the Regents

14 taken a position on the East Ramapo issue

15 vis-a-vis the recommendations of that task

16 force and the call for actual legislation to

17 address the problems?

18 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, the Regents

19 heard the report from the monitors that were

20 there, Dennis Walcott and the other two

21 monitors. And in terms of action taken

22 beyond that, they accepted the report, and

23 we're continuing to work with East Ramapo.

24 SENATOR KRUEGER: Are you getting

135

1 anywhere?

2 COMMISSIONER ELIA: I think we're

3 moving forward. It's, as you're well aware,

4 a difficult situation. And it's really a

5 critical thing for us -- East Ramapo has some

6 very, very specific needs in terms of

7 funding. And I think that we've got to be

8 able to know that when the funds that you as

9 a group decide would be appropriate, if you

10 do, that we're able to then move them into

11 the district and make sure that there's a

12 very targeted focus on the use of those funds

13 to support what we know are really a severe

14 lack of both resources in terms of facilities

15 and resources in terms of instructional

16 materials and support for teachers.

17 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. My time

18 is up. Thank you.

19 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, Senator.

20 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

21 much.

22 Assemblyman Glick.

23 ASSEMBLYWOMAN GLICK: We're on the

24 cusp of "good morning" or "good afternoon."

136

1 So let me just ask you two quick questions.

2 One relates to an issue that was

3 raised earlier but in a different context.

4 The state is obligated, through the Dignity

5 for All Students law, to ensure that students

6 throughout the state, each school building

7 has a plan and someone who is aware of the

8 need to ensure a safe, respectful environment

9 for all students. This is targeted primarily

10 at ensuring that bullying does not take

11 place, that all teachers are ultimately

12 trained to address instances either in their

13 school, their classrooms or within the

14 school.

15 It's especially important as you move

16 into junior high, when kids are getting a

17 little bit more rambunctious. So I'm

18 wondering if you could tell us a little bit

19 more about what is happening with that.

20 And I also wants to raise to your

21 awareness an effort to -- there is a group in

22 New York City that is developing a positive

23 collaborative learning modality, and it is an

24 attempt to change the culture of schools so

137

1 that it is a positive environment and

2 students are less likely to be disciplined

3 and less likely to be suspended and more

4 likely to have a variety of schoolteachers,

5 staff, to whom they can go if they are in

6 fact feeling stressed or have certain

7 problems, so that they do not act out.

8 And I'm just wondering if you could

9 talk a little bit more about what the

10 department views as their ability to reach

11 out into school districts to ensure that

12 these efforts and training is actually taking

13 place.

14 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Right. Well, as

15 you pointed out, we did pass legislation here

16 in New York, the Safe Schools Against

17 Violence in Education act in 2000, and then

18 the Dignity for All Students in 2012, and we

19 further addressed school climate by outlawing

20 bullying and harassment and discrimination.

21 And in 2013, the law was amended to include

22 cyberbullying. So we've addressed some of

23 those issues.

24 We've been working with -- the

138

1 districts have put out guidance,

2 particularly, on specific circumstances that

3 they should be aware of and ways that we

4 believe it's appropriate for them to support

5 all students and have a respectful

6 environment.

7 The whole issue that has come to the

8 fore, then, is how do we know that that's

9 happening. And we have -- the Regents have

10 requested additional funds to make sure that

11 those statutory obligations are being upheld

12 in our schools. So to enhance oversight

13 through regular monitoring and audits --

14 which at this point in time we are not doing,

15 but I think that's an important thing -- and

16 provide support and ensure the accountability

17 of that, one of the things that we've done is

18 we're moving towards a climate survey. I

19 mentioned that earlier.

20 And I think that that will give us

21 more indications of where we are with

22 students, because the students take that

23 survey. And then we get the -- we would get

24 the data on it and it would provide for us

139

1 kind of an overview of what students are

2 thinking about their environment, whether

3 they've been bullied and do they have someone

4 in their environment they can go to.

5 We also recently were looking at the

6 job descriptions for our guidance counselors

7 and psychologists, and that has come up

8 multiple times, that we have to make sure

9 that we have training for them on strategies

10 that can support a respectful environment for

11 all students, and to help students.

12 Your comment about students feeling

13 that they had support in their school came

14 out very strongly in the student panels that

15 we had in our workgroup for boys and men of

16 color. And the students repeatedly talked

17 about the fact that in environments in school

18 -- and you had a group of different students,

19 two or three different panels -- in

20 environments in their school, if they had the

21 opportunity to interact with their friends in

22 a way that was positive -- and when it

23 wasn't, that there was someone that could

24 help to intervene and almost do peer

140

1 counseling with them -- it made enormous

2 differences in how they interacted with the

3 work they were doing for academics and the

4 work that they were doing in their -- many of

5 them had jobs after school and were doing

6 other things.

7 So I think that the role that SED

8 plays is one to both support but also to

9 monitor. And I will tell you we have not

10 done the kind of monitoring that I think

11 would be a necessary thing.

12 ASSEMBLYWOMAN GLICK: Do you believe

13 that to some extent part of the professional

14 development, that there is an element that

15 could be added to professional development

16 that would include a component that would

17 address the issues of recognizing students

18 who are being isolated?

19 And a lot of this has to do with --

20 we've seen a level of violence that comes out

21 of kids who are consistently isolated from

22 their classmates, and their frustration

23 unfortunately comes out in a violent attack.

24 Now, New York State has been very

141

1 fortunate that we have not had some of the

2 situations, although maybe it happens outside

3 of the school, on the street. So I'm

4 wondering if the department is looking at

5 adding to its recommendations for

6 professional development some component that

7 relates to enhancing the ability of teachers

8 to recognize and identify and report to their

9 principals, and is there a pathway for people

10 to -- either principals or a guidance

11 counselor -- identify students they feel are

12 displaying either isolation or aggression

13 that could be eliminated early on?

14 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, I will tell

15 you I think that it's extremely important for

16 teachers to be aware. And that's one of the

17 things that when you're talking about what

18 makes an effective teacher, someone that

19 really connects with kids, they have

20 relationships with them. And they can tell

21 when there are actions that are occurring in

22 a classroom that are not productive for any

23 child nor for the classroom itself.

24 So I would underscore the

142

1 importance -- I've said it multiple times,

2 it's not only about academics that teachers

3 need to have supports, it's for the things

4 that they face every day in their classrooms

5 where we can provide strategies and models

6 that we know work for teachers to intervene

7 and then what do they do to take it to

8 resources that are in that school to help

9 them.

10 And I think the guidance counselors

11 and principals that work every day should be

12 thinking about that. But I want to

13 underscore the importance of having the data

14 about how students are feeling about their

15 environment, because that is extremely

16 eye-opening for whoever looks at it. And in

17 my experience, using that kind of a survey

18 for climate can be a great staff development

19 activity that's used at the school to target

20 not only what a student is saying about the

21 classrooms that they're in and they're either

22 -- that they're being verbally attacked or

23 that they feel insecure at the school or that

24 they're not being supported, but where does

143

1 it mainly happen in the school, and what then

2 schools can look at and analyze what they

3 need to do every day to address these issues.

4 It happens to be that a cafeteria is a

5 place where that happens a lot. It does

6 happen in some classrooms, but in a survey

7 you know which ones of the classrooms it

8 happens in, and you also know that there's

9 others where it doesn't.

10 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

11 Senator?

12 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

13 much.

14 So now it's my turn. And it is great

15 to hear that you share so many of the

16 priorities of the Legislature. And we've

17 heard from our colleagues today things like

18 investing more in our children's education

19 and future.

20 As you know, our Senate majority

21 conference is determined to finally get rid

22 of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which as

23 you know is a destructive fiscal gimmick that

24 has really taken money away from our

144

1 children's education for far too long. We

2 need to get rid of it for good.

3 I'm glad to hear that you're focused

4 on improving struggling schools and turning

5 things around. It's great that you're taking

6 action on overhauling the tests -- and I know

7 students, teachers and parents across the

8 state also are very grateful for that. And

9 I'm so happy to hear that you're focused on

10 professional development for teachers,

11 because that is so critical to give them the

12 supports that they need to be the most

13 effective they can be in the classroom.

14 And that ties into something Senator

15 Krueger brought up about the Smart Schools

16 Bond Act, bringing more infrastructure, more

17 technology to our districts. And as you

18 know, the Legislature voted to establish an

19 Online Learning Advisory Council. I

20 authorized the bill. And we're very excited

21 about that fact because it brings more

22 opportunities.

23 As you know -- you know the Southern

24 Tier of Western New York, you know Livingston

145

1 County, which I represent. You also know

2 that I represent 46 school districts. A

3 couple of them are small city school

4 districts that are struggling; we need to

5 help them. But across the board, my

6 districts are rural. And all the districts

7 across the state need to have more access to

8 more online learning, because it's very

9 difficult to bring these opportunities

10 otherwise, especially in poor rural areas.

11 But every child can have their world opened

12 up and new opportunities through this. We're

13 excited.

14 Dr. David O'Rourke, as you know, is

15 one of the chairs of the advisory council, as

16 is Scott Bischoping, and they've been putting

17 this together.

18 We're very excited about it, but I

19 have some concerns. I wanted to get your

20 take. First of all, where are we at so that

21 we can get this underway?

22 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, on page 11

23 in the slide presentation, the Regents

24 request is for $50 million reimbursed in

146

1 '17-'18, so it would be a reimbursement from

2 funds spent.

3 But let me say I believe that this is

4 where we can open up the opportunities across

5 the state for all students.

6 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Exactly.

7 COMMISSIONER ELIA: To give you an

8 example, and the committee that you

9 authored -- and thank you very much for that.

10 I think it's really exciting that we have,

11 from a group of people, many of them in

12 education and others not, saying these are

13 the things that we need to be doing to move

14 our students forward, but providing the

15 opportunities across the board for all of our

16 students, so in those rural communities that

17 you represent where we don't have enough

18 students, perhaps, to have a teacher that's

19 teaching AP physics or AP calculus, AB or AP

20 computer science, that we can do those things

21 in another format and still allow our

22 students to have access to that high-level

23 programing is an incredible opportunity that

24 we need to take advantage of.

147

1 There were some additional funds that

2 were spent under Race to the Top for

3 curriculum that can be put online, and we're

4 ready to move forward on that. But we really

5 believe that not only do we have to have --

6 and this gets back to the training, again,

7 for teachers. We have to have teachers that

8 can be online teachers. And just like

9 anything else, it's a different approach, and

10 so it requires that kind of support and

11 training for teachers so that they can then

12 help our students to be supported and

13 successful with it.

14 The reality is in any employment that

15 you go into, you are going to have to use

16 technology in some way. You're going to

17 either get your training on technology --

18 people don't do the classroom stand and

19 deliver anymore, they really all kind of

20 individualize it. And I can appreciate that.

21 I mean, we are -- people that are going into

22 jobs, our lives are very different. If we

23 have children at home, we do the thing at

24 night, at 11 o'clock at night. If we don't,

148

1 we might want to do it any time when we can

2 demand that it's there in front of us and we

3 can learn. Our kids are already like that.

4 So the opportunity of putting that in

5 front of them and having that be across the

6 cities -- who have not provided some of the

7 high opportunities for kids that they need

8 to -- or the rural areas, it's a really

9 incredible opportunity. We want to move

10 forward on it as quickly as possible.

11 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: That's fantastic to

12 hear.

13 Now, how many staff members at the

14 department are working on this right now?

15 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, the staff

16 members that are working on it have three

17 other jobs.

18 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: And that actually

19 goes into what my concern is. We studied

20 other states that have successfully done

21 major online learning programs, and one of

22 the things that they've done is that they

23 have dedicated staff, and also

24 leadership-level staff, in order for the

149

1 program to be successful. And that's just

2 one of the things that I want to raise to

3 you, Commissioner, is right now we don't seem

4 to have that structure in place over at the

5 department. And if there's something that we

6 need to do as a Legislature in the State

7 Budget, we need to know that so that we can

8 get this really off the ground.

9 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, we have

10 proposed in our budget that there be

11 additional funds that would come to State Ed

12 specifically tied to allocations.

13 Let me give you an example. When the

14 allocation came through for struggling

15 schools and persistently struggling schools,

16 and we're moving towards a receivership

17 model, the funding came with $75 million for

18 those persistently struggling schools, and

19 there was no funding at all to administer

20 that program.

21 Now, all of you I'm sure have heard

22 and are aware of or may have in your

23 districts schools that are struggling and

24 persistently struggling, and they need help.

150

1 And often for us from the State Ed

2 Department, we need to be there with them in

3 multiple opportunities to provide guidance in

4 how they can connect the community to the

5 school, what they can do, what these great

6 models are that we have in other places in

7 New York and we can use those as the models.

8 And we didn't receive any funding to do that.

9 So that is just one simple example.

10 For the Smart Schools money in the bond, we

11 are processing and doing that work. We

12 didn't receive any funding for that.

13 So you will see that there is a

14 request so that we can become the agency that

15 really supports all of the students in New

16 York State and all of the teachers and

17 administrators in New York State.

18 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you. Thank

19 you.

20 I'd like to switch now to final cost

21 reports for capital projects. And as you

22 know so well as commissioner, when capital

23 projects are completed by school districts,

24 the districts are required to file these

151

1 final cost reports with the department so

2 that the project can be closed out.

3 And there have been times when, due to

4 school district staff turnover or the

5 department has said that the final cost

6 reports have been lost or final cost reports

7 have not been submitted or they've been

8 submitted late, basically what happens is, as

9 a result, school districts have faced

10 considerable state aid recoveries by the

11 department that wreak havoc on the school

12 district.

13 And I've had a few that I've had to

14 deal with from my Senate district. And one

15 stands out, for example; there was a recovery

16 by the department that was 30 percent of that

17 school district's entire annual budget.

18 So it's been a problem. And current

19 law requires the department to withhold state

20 aid if a final cost report is not received

21 within 18 months after SED approval. So can

22 you tell us the current status and the number

23 of school districts that the department is

24 aware of that face similar recoveries, and

152

1 the amount of those recoveries?

2 COMMISSIONER ELIA: We'll have to get

3 that data to you. I don't have --

4 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: It would be

5 helpful. And I didn't think that you may

6 that at your ready today.

7 COMMISSIONER ELIA: We have lots of

8 numbers here, but I just don't have that one.

9 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: But I wanted to

10 publicly raise it.

11 And also I was hoping that maybe the

12 department could consider some kind of early

13 warning system through state aid management

14 systems so that the information on critical

15 deadlines for filing these cost reports is

16 readily available to the districts, because

17 that's been an issue and it's contributed to

18 the problem.

19 I also just wanted to ask one more

20 thing. Something came to my attention that's

21 in the Executive proposal. And currently

22 State Ed is responsible for developing RFPs

23 and executing grants for pre-K programs. And

24 the Executive proposal creates the Empire

153

1 State Pre-Kindergarten Grant Board to develop

2 and award grants for all pre-K programs going

3 forward. And the board will be compromised

4 of three members, one recommended by the

5 Executive, will be appointed by the

6 Executive.

7 No office or employee, member of the

8 school district or Education Department will

9 be eligible to serve on the board. And the

10 staff of the Office of Children and Family

11 Services will serve as staff for the board.

12 So this proposal would effectively

13 move the RFP development and grant process

14 from State Ed to the Office of Children and

15 Family Services. Am I not correct in that

16 assessment?

17 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

18 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Could you explain

19 that?

20 COMMISSIONER ELIA: It's difficult to

21 explain. I believe that we should have all

22 the work that's done on pre-K programs -- and

23 remember, pre-K is pre-kindergarten, so you

24 know just by the title that it should be

154

1 connected to the kindergarten programs. And

2 so here we go from a pre-K program into a

3 kindergarten program, and they are

4 disconnected.

5 And I think one of the critical things

6 that we have learned and should have learned

7 is that we need to connect what's happening

8 with our students and that we know that when

9 we are preparing a child to be successful in

10 kindergarten, we know what's happening in

11 pre-K.

12 To move the Education Department out

13 of that realm I do not think is productive,

14 and I think in fact it is a destructive thing

15 for students and for their programming. And

16 it's very important that we not silo. Just

17 like we wouldn't want it to be in businesses,

18 we want everyone to be cooperative, to work

19 together, to make sure that we can get the

20 end result that we want -- which is student

21 outcomes in this case. Connecting things to

22 each other is very critical.

23 And if you have a program that is

24 administered in another area, has no

155

1 connection to the education system you have

2 in New York, then I would say that that

3 program is not as productive nor will it ever

4 be as productive and you are making a

5 decision that would hurt students.

6 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

7 I was wondering about the genesis of

8 this proposal. Has the department had any

9 issues with developing RFPs or awarding the

10 grants in the past?

11 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Not that I know

12 of.

13 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Okay. So your

14 strong recommendation is that the Legislature

15 should reject this proposal and keep all of

16 the education together, is that what you're

17 saying?

18 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes. A very

19 strong recommendation.

20 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Very strong.

21 Thank you very much, Commissioner. I

22 really appreciate it.

23 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

24 much, Senator.

156

1 We're going to take a 10-minute break.

2 And there are about seven people more, and

3 I'm going to cut you all back to five

4 minutes. And no one else can get on line.

5 And the reason I'm doing it is because there

6 are people who have been waiting for too

7 long. We'll be in the middle of the night

8 again.

9 (Brief recess taken from 12:15 to

10 12:30 p.m.)

11 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: We've been joined

12 by Assemblywoman Hyndman.

13 Assemblywoman Arroyo.

14 ASSEMBLYWOMAN ARROYO: Thank you very

15 much.

16 I'm going to stand up because I want

17 to see clearly all my colleagues here.

18 Commissioner, I'm so proud of you.

19 Listening to you is a learning process that

20 doesn't stop. Congratulations, and thank you

21 for the great work that you are doing.

22 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

23 ASSEMBLYWOMAN ARROYO: As chair of the

24 Subcommittee on Bilingual Education, we have

157

1 met several times in terms of the crisis that

2 exists in the State of New York teaching

3 those students that doesn't speak English.

4 The problem is going up every year, and every

5 year more and more students that doesn't

6 speak English arrive to the State of New

7 York. And we have to provide for them.

8 The Assembly and the Senate of the

9 state provide the Department of Education a

10 grant that is called "bilingual categorical

11 funds" to help to enhance those areas in

12 bilingual education that are in need.

13 This year, as the crisis has expanded

14 to so many areas in the state, we are

15 requesting to put in the budget $20 million

16 to enhance the program. But there is a

17 categorical -- the categorical funds have

18 rules and regulations that you cannot hire

19 teachers from that money. I would like to

20 work with you, with my colleagues in the

21 Senate and in the Assembly, not only to

22 enlarge the project to $20 million, but to

23 change those rules so that your department

24 can be able to help those communities that

158

1 are in need.

2 Because when I speak to my colleagues

3 about the problems that they are having all

4 over this state -- in the City of New York,

5 where the chancellor had killed the bilingual

6 education program -- we have to work together

7 to help those areas and those schools that

8 are in need of services for those students

9 that are coming here.

10 And I would like to respectfully ask

11 you for some assistance. We can sit down, we

12 can create a committee between the -- enhance

13 my subcommittee from the Senate and the

14 Assembly to work together, because I think

15 that is teamwork that is going to be

16 necessary. At the same time, between us, my

17 colleagues and the Senate, we will be

18 requesting $20 million this year. Your

19 budget had been 14.7. We want to enlarge

20 that money to $20 million, because there's a

21 need for it.

22 I have made an assessment, and

23 sometimes, you know, you have to see how many

24 children we are leaving behind because they

159

1 don't speak English. Some of the problems

2 that we have in the City of New York is that

3 they are placing children that doesn't speak

4 English in a special education program. And

5 we have to work together to work to the roots

6 of the problem. We know that those that

7 doesn't enhance bilingual education are

8 adding violation to the federal law that have

9 a mandate to provide bilingual education to

10 those students that are sitting in our

11 classrooms that cannot speak the language.

12 And when we speak about bilingual

13 education, there's so many languages that we

14 have to cover. And I know that you have a

15 problem. I'm willing to work with you, with

16 the Senate, the Assembly, the Speaker and the

17 Governor, to make sure that we put the money

18 where the money belongs, and in the hands of

19 the people that can really address the

20 problem.

21 Thank you for your work. Thank you to

22 my colleagues. And we are here to assist

23 you.

24 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you very

160

1 much.

2 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Senator?

3 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you. I'd

4 like to note that we have been joined by

5 Senator Michael Nozzolio. And also Senator

6 Diane Savino has been here for quite a

7 lengthy time but just had nowhere to sit. So

8 thank you for being here.

9 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Assemblyman Murray.

10 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: Thank you,

11 Mr. Chairman.

12 And, Commissioner, thank you for being

13 here and for all of your very informative

14 answers.

15 I just have one issue that I want to

16 broach right now, and that is the Title I

17 funding from the federal government. And the

18 recent letters that came out from the federal

19 government threatening to withhold this

20 funding from schools who don't meet the 95

21 percent criteria regarding testing.

22 I've received quite a few phone calls

23 -- superintendents, teachers, but mostly

24 parents. First let me say I think it's

161

1 absolutely unconscionable that any government

2 agency would threaten to withhold tax dollars

3 from schools, from parents, as a form of

4 punishment for parents doing what they think

5 is best for their children. So they're

6 actually putting parents in a position where

7 they say if we're doing what we think is best

8 for our children, we could be hurting our

9 children. I think that's absolutely

10 terrible.

11 But the calls that I'm getting -- and

12 I'd like to get your opinion on this. The

13 phone calls I'm getting is from parents who

14 are saying "Why are we doing these tests this

15 year?" And I lay this out because the tests

16 that are currently going to be administered

17 are still the Pearson tests, but they're

18 going to be tweaked, I believe; right?

19 COMMISSIONER ELIA: They are questions

20 that would have been developed with the prior

21 firm. They are being reviewed by teachers in

22 New York State for the form of the question,

23 and the passages are being reviewed, and the

24 questions and the tests are all being

162

1 shortened so that there are fewer questions

2 in English language arts and mathematics

3 Grades 3 through 8.

4 So it's not the same length, it's not

5 the same -- it may be the same, similar

6 questions coming from a pool of questions,

7 but it is not the same test. And it's all

8 being reviewed by New York State teachers.

9 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: Okay. Well, the

10 point I'm getting at is the tests -- the

11 tests currently will not be used for teacher

12 evaluations, which I agree with; they won't

13 be used for the promotion of students, as far

14 as their grades and their scores. So the

15 parents are saying, Why are our kids being

16 used as guinea pigs right now, with the

17 threat of us losing funding if they don't

18 take these tests?

19 Because we're going to move on from

20 Pearson to Questar, I believe is going to be

21 the new vendor.

22 COMMISSIONER ELIA: We've already

23 moved to Questar.

24 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: Okay. Now, are

163

1 they a private company?

2 COMMISSIONER ELIA: They're a testing

3 firm, yes.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: Right. So my

5 point is that if they're a for-profit company

6 that does this for a living, wouldn't they

7 already do their quality control, if you

8 will, or work with us over the next four

9 years as we're trying to make these tests

10 better -- wouldn't they do that without using

11 these kids as unpaid guinea pigs? And that's

12 what the parents are asking. That's what

13 they're feeling like right now: Why are my

14 kids sitting through this this year and doing

15 this when it has no effect on the teachers,

16 no effect on the students' grades? And yet,

17 again, we're going to be punished if we do

18 what we think is best in pulling these kids

19 out of these tests and opting out; we'll be

20 punished with not getting federal funds.

21 Which, by the way, the Title I funding

22 goes to, for the most part, the neediest of

23 schools.

24 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Absolutely.

164

1 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: So we're going to

2 punish those that need it the most for

3 parents doing what they think is right. I'd

4 like to get your feelings on that.

5 And by the way, that threat was made

6 last year and was not carried out, so many

7 are wondering: Is this an idle threat, or

8 where are we going with this?

9 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So let me put it

10 in perspective.

11 We have been having tests in New York

12 State that would give us information about

13 where a student is in general knowledge for

14 years. Across the country we've had tests.

15 And we in New York have a long history of

16 Regents exams developed by teachers.

17 So there is an assessment that is

18 required by the federal government. That is

19 the 3 through 8 assessment. I think it's

20 important for you to realize that the

21 assessments are used. And we have to make

22 sure that they're used appropriately. And

23 we, in regards to having the pressure taken

24 off of the assessments as tools in the

165

1 evaluation of teachers, we've taken that

2 pressure off.

3 But let me give you an example. I'm a

4 principal at an elementary school, and I have

5 five fifth grades. And I give the assessment

6 in mathematics. And I realize, when those

7 assessments come back, we have a problem in

8 mathematics across the board. One teacher,

9 however, seems to be doing a really good job

10 in getting their kids through that

11 assessment, and the kids, as they take the

12 assessments, are showing that they are able

13 to do mathematics better than the other four

14 fifth-grade classrooms.

15 So I'm a principal and I look at that

16 data and I say, okay, let's find out what

17 that teacher is doing. Because she obviously

18 or he obviously has the system down, he's

19 working with these kids, and pretty much the

20 classes are even across the board. So I'm

21 doing something right in this one classroom.

22 How can I take that information, that data

23 that would only come if I had had an

24 assessment, how can I take that data and use

166

1 it to improve the other classrooms and what

2 the other teachers are doing?

3 By having them work together, by

4 having the teacher that had the scores with

5 the students that were doing well share what

6 they're doing, share their lessons. It could

7 be like that with one class. It could be

8 that specific parts of the mathematics

9 curriculum are done better with certain

10 teachers. And all of that can be analyzed

11 off the assessments that you're given.

12 So assessments themselves are tools to

13 improve. And if we think of that, then it

14 isn't that we are forcing a student to be a

15 guinea pig, we're getting information about

16 how well things are going.

17 And to be perfectly honest, we

18 certainly could get information about a

19 student that might need some particular help,

20 and that principal and teacher have that

21 data, and they know when that kid goes to the

22 next grade level, they're going to make sure

23 that they get some support for that student.

24 In fact, the teachers would be able to

167

1 use the assessment information to develop the

2 kind of curriculum that needs to be done. If

3 I'm a principal in a school, I look across

4 the board and say, Okay, how did all my

5 students do in English language arts and

6 mathematics? I make decisions about the

7 staff development that I provide in the

8 summer, after school, and opportunities that

9 I put teachers together in teams -- I make

10 those decisions based on the data I have off

11 that assessment.

12 So assessment across the board can be

13 very relevant. And since we have unplugged

14 the teacher evaluation, which was identified

15 by people in my travels everywhere as being a

16 big issue, we've taken that off the page. We

17 are working with teachers, really following

18 the guidelines of what's necessary from the

19 federal government, but also something that

20 is in fact a very productive thing for

21 teachers and for principals and

22 administrators to use.

23 So I would suggest that as you're

24 talking to people who say that their child is

168

1 a guinea pig, that's not the case. We do get

2 information about children and what we need

3 to do to support teachers to get better every

4 day from the assessment.

5 We have a job -- and this was

6 something that we were criticized for -- and

7 that is getting the data back to schools in a

8 timely way. Well, if people are going to use

9 the data, they want it in a timely way, and

10 we know that. We've already instituted some

11 things to move that up. In this past year,

12 right after I came, we moved it up by almost

13 a month. So if nobody was using the data,

14 why would anybody say "I don't get it in a

15 timely way"? They are using the data, they

16 need to use the data, and it can inform them

17 on what they need to do to improve their

18 school or their classroom.

19 So it's very important for us to have

20 that information, and it helps us on an

21 individual student level to know who's doing

22 really well and who needs some help, and it

23 helps us with teachers and with schools.

24 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: I think we could

169

1 go on, but my time is up. I would just say

2 that the parents have said that we would hope

3 that assessments are being done on much more

4 of a broad level than just this testing. And

5 I think it is.

6 But I thank you for your answer. And

7 if you could give some guidance to the

8 parents as far as this threat of funding,

9 that would be great. Thank you very much.

10 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

11 Assemblyman Lopez.

12 ASSEMBLYMAN LOPEZ: Thank you,

13 Chairman.

14 And thank you, Commissioner. You've

15 been very poised and very thoughtful with

16 your engagement with us today.

17 I want to hit one item quickly; I know

18 we have a short time frame. Certainly we all

19 acknowledge we've been in free fall with

20 education -- from the recession, Gap

21 Elimination, Race to the Top, APPR, Common

22 Core, it's been an endless list. And our

23 schools have been under siege.

24 But the basic premise that I want to

170

1 get back to is the underlying premise and

2 really the clarion call that we've heard that

3 came from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity for

4 a sound, basic education for all students.

5 And my region, very similar to the Senator's

6 region, Senator Young's region, is primarily

7 rural, and we have many small school

8 districts that are in part of the Appalachian

9 Regional Commission territory.

10 And so the challenge that I'm asking

11 you for some guidance on is we have a call

12 for quality education; my concern is that all

13 schools, as you know, are not created equal.

14 We have many schools that don't have distance

15 learning, we have many schools that don't

16 have the richness of AP courses. We have

17 Foundation Aid, which everyone drives at as

18 the basis for equity, if you would, between

19 schools, other than these categorical aid

20 supplements.

21 I'm just asking for your thought, do

22 we have a real handle on what each school can

23 provide and the mix of aid that should be

24 going to them to ensure that every student

171

1 has equal opportunity to AP classes, to

2 technology, to all the things that may be

3 enjoyed in more affluent school districts?

4 Sound, basic education -- do we have an

5 operative definition, and do we have an

6 inventory where schools fall short of that

7 operative definition?

8 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, let me point

9 out we are very concerned -- the Regents

10 proposal, if you've seen it, calls for an

11 increase in the Foundation Aid, a substantial

12 increase in Foundation Aid, because we're

13 very focused on making sure that all schools

14 have the ability and the opportunities that

15 are necessary to provide that great education

16 for every kid.

17 We have some things that we've already

18 talked about -- so the virtual learning and

19 those things that could open up opportunities

20 for rural school districts and, as a matter

21 of fact, some of the urban school districts,

22 as they look at how they can program and

23 provide opportunities for their kids. I

24 don't think there's any question that there

172

1 are schools with high needs in New York State

2 that are in tough straits right now, and this

3 needs to be addressed in the Foundation Aid.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN LOPEZ: So with that said,

5 again, we've had a number of critics -- Rick

6 Timbs being one of the chief ones, with the

7 School Financial Officers Association, and

8 he's pointed out flaws in Foundation Aid. Do

9 you feel that there's any ability or

10 willingness -- it's like opening Pandora's

11 box, I understand -- to really focus on --

12 we're not interested, really, in giving money

13 to all schools when, in this specific

14 instance, when there are some schools that

15 are not even on an equal footing with the

16 peers.

17 And so I'm getting back to the issue

18 of how do we equalize within the Foundation

19 Aid framework, recognizing that Foundation

20 Aid alone may not be the answer?

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So on page 3 we

22 have proposed -- the Regents state aid

23 proposal is there, identifying for Foundation

24 Aid, for the GEA restoration and

173

1 expense-based.

2 But I would suggest to you -- Regent

3 Tallon is on our Regents Board; he's been

4 very, very proactive in working with the

5 Regents on the development of their budget

6 and the budget process. And he has talked

7 about the fact that in previous years there

8 have been reviews of how you might change the

9 Foundation Aid. As you well know, that's not

10 an easy process. But it may in fact be

11 something that the Legislature chooses to

12 look at.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN LOPEZ: Thank you.

14 And I'll just shift real quickly, a

15 couple of seconds here, back to APPR. And I

16 know the ball's in your court in that regard.

17 My wife is a special ed teacher, and I have a

18 brother who's a teacher, a sister-in-law.

19 One of the issues that's come up is within

20 the APPR assessment of teachers, are we going

21 to give any weight to the limitations of a

22 teacher to address what you talked about with

23 the parental involvement -- issues of

24 poverty, drug abuse, domestic violence,

174

1 absenteeism? Is that going to be weighed or

2 reflected in the new APPR regime?

3 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, so it's

4 interesting, when you look at the formula

5 that was in place -- that we will be

6 reviewing, obviously, if we decide to move

7 forward on a growth model. But I will tell

8 you that there are factors that were

9 included, like the poverty level of the

10 students, like the attendance rate of the

11 students, things like that, that certainly

12 would have been in effect.

13 I want to say that there are many,

14 many places across this state where we have

15 parents that have needs, that are working two

16 jobs and don't have the opportunities that

17 other parents might have to put in the time

18 for connections all the time to schools. We

19 need to do whatever we can and work with our

20 districts across the state to facilitate

21 building those relationships, which is why I

22 want to bring it back to the request that we

23 have for developing a community and parent

24 connection through an office in the SED to do

175

1 that.

2 There are many places where strategies

3 have worked in very high-need districts to

4 address those issues. The simple answer is

5 we need to look at all of those things as

6 factors, but we also need to understand that

7 when you take a student and they come into

8 your classroom and you're a teacher in that

9 classroom, you need to work with the students

10 you have to move them forward. And I believe

11 that our teachers are committed to doing

12 that.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN LOPEZ: Thank you. And

14 again, my thought is we talk about them being

15 present, but we need to make sure their

16 hearts and minds are engaged, and not just

17 physically. Thank you, Commissioner.

18 Thank you, Chairman.

19 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

20 much.

21 Senator?

22 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

23 much, Chairman.

24 We do have Senator Nozzolio, who wants

176

1 to ask a question.

2 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Good afternoon,

3 Commissioner.

4 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Good afternoon.

5 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I've read your

6 testimony, I've listened to the questions and

7 especially your answers, both on the video as

8 well as here in person. You've addressed

9 many issues of extremely serious note, and I

10 continue to press you to do what you're doing

11 and continue communicating with the

12 Legislature how you're doing it, what you

13 need to do to make things better.

14 This issue that I'm going to present

15 in very brief format is one that has nothing

16 to do with the very cosmic and important

17 issues discussed this morning and this

18 afternoon. It deals, though, with a very

19 personal question to many individuals,

20 individual students, often whose future rests

21 in the balance. And it has nothing to do

22 with academics, but it has everything to do

23 with scholastic participation in

24 extracurricular activities, particularly

177

1 athletics. That I don't believe I would have

2 gone to the college I went to if it wasn't

3 for scholastic sports. Athletics are

4 important to me, and important to students,

5 and I believe a wonderful educational tool

6 for young women and young men. And I believe

7 those opportunities need to be expanded.

8 Upstate New York, the place where

9 you're from, where you taught, particularly

10 the more rural areas of upstate, have a

11 tremendous challenge -- to meet the

12 requirements of Title IX, to meet the

13 mandates generally of budgets and school

14 districts. We found many school districts

15 cooperating with each other and having joint

16 athletic teams from a variety of districts,

17 joint athletic participation, particularly in

18 the sports of swimming, indoor track, the

19 kinds of things that require a great deal of

20 cost to develop the infrastructure.

21 How can you expand scholastic athletic

22 opportunity for those students, particularly,

23 who don't have those opportunities, with

24 adjoining school districts and create more of

178

1 a cooperative spirit and, if necessary, a way

2 to fund that spirit so that school districts

3 could more readily join with each other to

4 provide those opportunities?

5 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, let me

6 preface my comments with saying that in my

7 experience, athletics is a key part of

8 success for many of the students in schools

9 across this country, and we need to, as

10 educators, provide those things. It's

11 like -- it's kind of the same parallel that

12 you could draw for arts programs or if you

13 had drama programs. Kids have different

14 interests, and what hooks them to school and

15 activities that are productive are really

16 critical.

17 I had the opportunity in the last week

18 to meet with the athletic organization here

19 in the state. We talked about ways that

20 we're going to work together to support each

21 other to make sure that our kids and our

22 schools and districts take advantage of

23 whatever ways that we can to join together

24 resources and make that work.

179

1 I particularly am aware of some of the

2 school districts in Western New York where

3 the difficulty of just getting to places

4 where you're going to have your meets or your

5 games or your play is going to be difficult.

6 And as you said, infrastructure is something

7 that's very expensive. To add that now is

8 not realistic. But to join together I think

9 is, and I'm very anxious to work with the

10 organizations that represent our athletic

11 programs to make sure that happens.

12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Appreciate that

13 attention. Is there anything specific that

14 you know of, that your office is cooking up,

15 that you want to put on the horizon that we

16 could move more closer to reality today?

17 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So I don't have

18 any specifics today. I had my first meeting

19 with the organization a week and a half ago,

20 and we've already talked about some things

21 that are going to occur. We will be joining

22 with them to provide scholarships for the

23 athletes across the state that have shown

24 particular prowess in their sport, and we're

180

1 going to be part of that scenario with them.

2 And they've talked about the way that they're

3 going to organize meets, and we can be, I'm

4 sure, very connected to that.

5 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Incentive funding

6 in particular for cooperation, collaboration,

7 allowing -- please put that on your laundry

8 list.

9 COMMISSIONER ELIA: We will look at

10 that.

11 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: And let us know how

12 we can work together to achieve those

13 objectives.

14 COMMISSIONER ELIA: We'll do it.

15 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you.

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: You're welcome.

17 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, Senator.

18 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

19 much.

20 Next, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton.

21 ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIFTON: Thank you very

22 much. Good, we're in the afternoon,

23 Commissioner.

24 I'm going to be -- I could talk to you

181

1 for an hour or two, I'm sure all of us could,

2 but you're going to be rivaling Hillary

3 Clinton's testimony to the Benghazi committee

4 if we keep going, so I'm going to -- I hope

5 you found it much friendlier questioning. So

6 I'm going to try to be very brief, and I will

7 only ask for as brief an answer as you want

8 to give me.

9 The questions end up being very

10 fragmented here, so just to be very clear,

11 we're delaying the teacher evaluation

12 requirement until 2019, but schools are being

13 asked to give the teacher evaluation system

14 now in order to get state aid this year.

15 What is it exactly that we're asking the

16 school districts to give to the state?

17 COMMISSIONER ELIA: So we just put out

18 guidance to the districts across the state

19 related to the regulation that was passed by

20 the Regents. What that basically does is

21 allow us, as you pointed out, to unplug the

22 teacher evaluation component that's based on

23 the growth score in the 3 through 8

24 assessments, and for principals the growth

182

1 score at the high schools. And it won't go

2 into place until the '19-'20 school year,

3 which really won't be until 2020.

4 And so I think that's an important

5 component. And what that basically does is

6 allow school districts then to use other

7 opportunities to use assessments to do the

8 evaluations. We are downplaying and

9 indicating that it's not necessary across the

10 board to develop new assessments, we don't

11 want that to be the proliferation of the --

12 in the results of this.

13 But we are telling districts -- and

14 many of them are being very creative in

15 working together with their teachers on

16 what's an appropriate way to include student

17 work into their assessments.

18 ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIFTON: Thank you very

19 much.

20 And maybe this has been somewhat

21 covered too, but again, to be clear, the

22 Governor's -- was it a commission or a task

23 force? I've gotten confused about the labels

24 that were put on things.

183

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: It was a

2 Governor's task force.

3 ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIFTON: -- task force

4 wrapped up their work and gave you a bunch of

5 tests to do, if I'm not mistaken -- 21, is

6 that correct, Commissioner?

7 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Yes.

8 ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIFTON: And including

9 this, I guess, comprehensive review of the

10 Common Core and all the pieces of that as one

11 of the main tasks you have in front of you.

12 But am I understanding correctly that

13 there's no money in the Governor's proposal

14 to help you with any of these 21 tasks that

15 you've been given to do?

16 COMMISSIONER ELIA: That's correct.

17 So it's a review of the Common Core

18 standards, that's one of the strong

19 recommendations from the committee. Senator

20 Marcellino and Assemblywoman Nolan were on

21 the committee as chairs of Education --

22 ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIFTON: If I can

23 interrupt you, can you just take -- in two

24 sentences, tell me what that means for the

184

1 SED, what that means for you in terms of

2 working on that? Is it just a few people

3 sitting in an office just looking things

4 over, or what does that mean for you? And

5 what does that entail for you as a task?

6 Just as briefly as you can.

7 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Sure. The

8 particular task of reviewing the standards is

9 a very comprehensive thing. And so let me

10 point out to you, one of the reasons that

11 there was a -- I believe there was push-back

12 on the higher standards in New York was

13 because there wasn't a widespread involvement

14 of stakeholders, particularly including

15 practitioners and teachers.

16 And so we don't want to make that

17 mistake again, we want to do this correctly.

18 We want to have it be very involved with

19 those stakeholder groups, including parents,

20 teachers, administrators. We certainly want

21 experts from our university. I had the

22 opportunity yesterday to talk to the

23 president of Cornell; she has some staff

24 members that specialize in early childhood.

185

1 We need to have a group of people who are

2 involved in this work review those standards

3 and make recommendations to us so that we can

4 put in place the standards for New York State

5 that will get our students where they need to

6 be.

7 It should not be an easy process. It

8 should be very involved. And it should

9 require much involvement from outside groups

10 and be transparent. We all like that word,

11 we use it a lot, a lot of people use it with

12 us, but it really has meaning. And if people

13 know what you're doing, then there will be

14 less push-back when that recommendation

15 finally gets to the Regents for adoption.

16 So it is a complicated process, and

17 that's only one of the processes that was

18 recommended by the commission. We also have

19 much work to do on curriculum, to support

20 teachers.

21 I would say one of the major things,

22 which was Recommendation No. 9, was to

23 provide staff development consistently across

24 the State of New York. We had funding that

186

1 went out in competitive grants, so people got

2 grants and they did a really good job and

3 they trained their teachers, and in those

4 places you have pockets of great work being

5 done on higher standards. But you have many

6 districts that didn't get the grant, didn't

7 get the money, and weren't part of that

8 process, and there's not consistency.

9 And we expect our teachers to do this

10 for our kids, they want to do it, but we

11 don't give them the support that they need to

12 be able to do it. And it is a critical task

13 that we have in front of us. And I will tell

14 you, as an educator for 45 years, I don't

15 want to do it wrong. So it's an important

16 thing for us to be very purposeful about the

17 work that we do, and it does take resources.

18 ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIFTON: Thank you,

19 Commissioner, for your very thorough answers.

20 I'm not getting to my question about -- and

21 I'm going to pass to my colleagues here, but

22 maybe we can discuss -- I realize it's not

23 quite in your bailiwick, maybe higher ed more

24 than -- but I'm sure you're interested in the

187

1 edTPA issues and what's happening with

2 teachers and training. I'm hearing still

3 great concerns about young people being

4 discouraged from continuing their careers in

5 teaching.

6 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, I think we

7 have a big job certainly here, but in the

8 nation, to turn around the rhetoric on

9 teachers. Nothing is going to happen in a

10 classroom across this country, no matter what

11 kind of school you're in, if you don't have

12 good teachers. And we need to make sure that

13 we develop the great teachers here, in

14 cooperation with SUNY and CUNY and all of the

15 independents, and everybody that produces

16 teachers, but we also need to make sure that

17 once they get in the job, that we support

18 them and help them forward.

19 ASSEMBLYWOMAN LIFTON: Thank you very

20 much, Commissioner.

21 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you.

22 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

23 much.

24 Assemblyman Titone, to close.

188

1 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: Good afternoon,

2 Commissioner. Thank you for being here.

3 And let me be the first to tell you

4 that I have horrible penmanship, but I do not

5 blame you or the State of New York for that.

6 (Laughter.)

7 COMMISSIONER ELIA: I have really

8 wonderful penmanship --

9 (Laughter.)

10 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: We'll talk

11 further.

12 COMMISSIONER ELIA: -- and I say that

13 my teacher helped me.

14 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: We will talk

15 further.

16 A little bit earlier you had mentioned

17 something, and I have to say it kind of got

18 under my collar. And I'm looking through

19 your presentation -- and I'm happy to say,

20 you know, at page 32 you have the Museum

21 Education Act. And just a full disclosure,

22 that's being carried by me, and I'm told that

23 Senator Little just picked up the bill, which

24 I think is a great start.

189

1 But reading through your report, quite

2 frankly, you know, if we took, every time in

3 this where it says pre-K, and substituted

4 arts in education, I would be sitting here

5 smiling ear to ear thanking you up and down.

6 And, you know, one of the problems I think

7 that we've had -- and I've been doing this

8 speech for nine years now, and I'm still

9 getting the same reaction. And here's what's

10 upsetting me, is that we had a brief

11 discussion about athletics. And, you know, I

12 don't want to put one against the other;

13 however, there are well over 220 studies now

14 internationally that demonstrate when you

15 take arts in education seriously, rather than

16 as after-school frivolous fun, children do

17 better.

18 When we talk about STEM, you know, you

19 look to Japan, you look to all the other

20 countries that are really where we can learn,

21 each one of those countries that do better in

22 science, technology, engineering and math all

23 take arts in education very, very seriously.

24 It is part of the curriculum. It is not

190

1 something that is optional, and it's not

2 looked at as something, well, my child likes

3 this or doesn't like that.

4 What we're learning, the studies that

5 we're seeing lately with sports, athletics,

6 is that, well, some of them actually may

7 cause brain damage. So putting one into the

8 other kind of gets under my collar, because

9 they're not the same. It's not something

10 that should be taken lightly as an

11 after-school time-filler. It is something

12 that's very real, and the studies are there.

13 In fact, there are more studies that support

14 arts in education than do universal pre-K.

15 Fact. I'm not making this up and, you know,

16 the educators are not making this up.

17 So my question, Commissioner, is in

18 the State of New York, where are we with arts

19 in education? I can point to schools not

20 only in my district but throughout this state

21 that will have brand-new music equipment

22 sitting in a closet because there are no

23 music teachers. So where are we with arts in

24 education?

191

1 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Well, I can give

2 you an update on a commission that Regent

3 Tilles has begun. Are you familiar with

4 that?

5 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: Absolutely.

6 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Okay, so he has

7 been working very --

8 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: Roger and I have

9 been working on that very closely together.

10 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Right. So he's

11 been working and we have already moved

12 forward so that we are expanding the options

13 in the 4+1 category, so it's a Pathway for

14 Graduation.

15 We're also -- and are working after

16 this year, because this year we're putting in

17 the opportunities for those assessments that

18 can be used instead of a Regents exam

19 relative to the arts. But we also are moving

20 forward on developing an arts curriculum.

21 Have you been to those meetings with the

22 committee? Because they've been talking

23 about doing a sequence that actually starts

24 in pre-K and goes all the way through 12.

192

1 And then a student would end up with an arts

2 kind of diploma.

3 So those are all things that have been

4 part of our program. And I will never pit

5 the arts against athletics. I do think that

6 every child should have art. And I am in

7 favor of, in fact, art being with a

8 specialist in a classroom, whether it's

9 kindergarten, whether it's fifth, eighth, or

10 ninth.

11 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: Right. Right.

12 And it has to move away from the mindset, the

13 culture that we've created, you know, that

14 it's a class trip to a museum and then that's

15 it. Because then what's happened is the

16 school district will think that by scheduling

17 that trip -- and then there's snow, so the

18 trip doesn't happen, but they still think,

19 well, we tried. And nothing has happened.

20 So my point is, Commissioner, and it's

21 something that I really would like you to

22 explore further, is that you could go

23 district to district, school by school, and

24 it's treated differently. It's viewed

193

1 differently.

2 COMMISSIONER ELIA: I agree.

3 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: And that's why I

4 really say, when I look at your report, if we

5 substituted the term "pre-K" with "arts in

6 education," I would be a very happy camper.

7 Thank you, Commissioner.

8 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very,

9 very much, Commissioner. It's been a

10 wonderful time listening to you, especially

11 there's the question you could have easily

12 said "Oh, I'm new, I'll get back to you."

13 We'd have been out of here quicker, but --

14 (Laughter.)

15 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: -- I'm glad what

16 you did. You gave us a great answer on

17 everything. So I'm really glad to have you

18 join us.

19 Senator?

20 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Yes, you gave a

21 wonderful presentation today and knew all the

22 numbers. Appreciate the fact that you

23 addressed our questions in the best way that

24 you could and gave great answers, and also

194

1 that you are willing to get back, to go

2 further in depth on some of the questions

3 that need more attention. So thank you so

4 much for being here today.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

6 COMMISSIONER ELIA: Thank you, I

7 appreciate it. I have one final comment I'd

8 like to make. And I used to say this when I

9 was running large organizations in schools.

10 If when you're making decisions you made a

11 decision that you know is the right one for

12 children, then we'll all be together.

13 So appreciate the work that you do,

14 appreciate the difficult tasks that you have.

15 And if you think about the children in your

16 life and what you would like them to have,

17 that's where we all want to be.

18 Thank you.

19 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you,

20 Commissioner.

21 I do want to point out that we've been

22 joined by Senator Phil Boyle.

23 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: We've been joined

24 by Assemblywoman Seawright and Assemblyman

195

1 Abinanti.

2 For those who are in their offices

3 upstairs, we are now going to have Carmen

4 FariÒa, chancellor from the New York City

5 Department of Education.

6 One hour from this moment, I will be

7 closing off the list to ask questions, one

8 hour from now. Which is at -- the time is

9 now 1:10. At 2:10, we will close down.

10 We've also been joined by Assemblyman

11 Felix Ortiz.

12 Good afternoon.

13 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Good afternoon.

14 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Good afternoon.

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: It's a pleasure to

16 be here.

17 I would have asked all of you to wear

18 your college something, but I'll explain why.

19 Good morning, Ways and Means Chair

20 Farrell, Finance Chair Young, Education

21 Committee Chairs Nolan and Marcellino,

22 New York City Education Subcommittee Chair

23 Felder, and all the members of the Assembly

24 and State Senate here today. Thank you for

196

1 this opportunity to testify on Governor

2 Cuomo's proposed 2016-2017 Executive Budget.

3 And I also want to say a special

4 thanks to Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, who

5 has been an unbelievable partner as we go

6 forward. And it was a pleasure to listen to

7 her testimony today.

8 On behalf of our city's over 1 million

9 public school students, I thank you for all

10 your support for all of the great initiatives

11 we have been able to accomplish in the past

12 year. You are all partners in our work.

13 Whether itís the nearly 70,000 children now

14 enrolled in free, full-day, high-quality

15 pre-K, the creation of new and expanded dual

16 language and transitional bilingual education

17 programs, or the 22,000 middle and high

18 school students now receiving arts education,

19 we simply could not have done any of these

20 things without you and your leadership.

21 Today in New York City, we are

22 celebrating College Awareness Day. As you

23 can see, I have brought my undergraduate cap,

24 and in many New York City public schools,

197

1 teachers and administrators are wearing their

2 college gear too. We want every student to

3 know the hard work, determination and skills

4 it takes to be on the path to college and the

5 work force. In support of this goal, and in

6 order to lay this groundwork as early as

7 possible, we started College Awareness Day.

8 The idea to start this celebration

9 highlighting the importance of college came

10 after I visited a class of pre-K students and

11 found that none of them knew what the word

12 "college" meant. The aim of College

13 Awareness Day is to embed the college

14 conversation at every grade level in all our

15 schools. It is important for students and

16 families to understand that their dream of

17 college is attainable and need not be

18 compromised by financial considerations,

19 geographical barriers, or any other

20 obstacles.

21 It is also important to recognize that

22 college readiness is not simply an academic

23 endeavor but a social-emotional one. In

24 addition to a high-quality education, our

198

1 students need confidence and drive to carry

2 them towards their goal of attending and

3 graduating from college.

4 I'm the first in my family to graduate

5 from college, and as my video that went

6 citywide today also states, I had to work and

7 raise two children while going to graduate

8 school. So I'm very proud to say I actually

9 have four degrees. But for many of our

10 students, just simply understanding that this

11 is attainable and it shouldn't be part of

12 economics, what neighborhood you live in, or

13 what family you come from.

14 So all over the city we -- one school

15 has the principal, who must have graduated

16 from Syracuse University, the entire school

17 is wearing Syracuse University t-shirts and

18 talking about what it means to go to college.

19 A few months ago, speaking in front of

20 hundreds of parents and educators, Mayor de

21 Blasio laid out new reforms to achieve equity

22 and excellence across all New York City

23 public schools. These initiatives bolster

24 the vision the mayor and I have of a school

199

1 system that begins earlier to give students a

2 solid foundation, makes rigorous and

3 challenging courses the norm, ensures

4 students master critical skills on time, and

5 invests in a path to college or career for

6 every New York City public school student.

7 I would like to take this opportunity

8 to share what our administration has

9 accomplished for our students since the last

10 time I had a chance to give testimony.

11 With the $300 million the state

12 invested last year -- and I want to be clear

13 that education is an investment. It is not

14 money wasted, it is not money put in as

15 charity. It means that you're putting money

16 up front so we don't have to spend it later

17 on in things that are negative to society --

18 we were able to enroll a record 68,547

19 children in free, full-day, high-quality

20 pre-K, nearly 50,000 more students than were

21 enrolled before Mayor de Blasio took office.

22 These students are now getting a crucial year

23 of problem solving and vocabulary building

24 that will put them on the path to long-term

200

1 success.

2 When I visit schools, I always ask to

3 drop in on at least one pre-K, and I cannot

4 tell you the pleasure I get from seeing

5 students making independent decisions,

6 talking to each other and, yes, making a

7 little bit of noise. For too long, many of

8 our classrooms have totally silent, and in

9 silence, no one learns.

10 We know quality is the key to a

11 successful expansion, and I am committed to

12 ensuring that every pre-K program throughout

13 the city continues to provide an important

14 foundation for academic achievement. In

15 order to ensure that every student has access

16 to a high-quality program, the city assessed

17 Pre-K for All programs using two rigorous,

18 research-based, nationally recognized tools:

19 the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and

20 the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale.

21 New York City's new program scores are on par

22 with other nationally recognized model pre-K

23 programs.

24 Pre-K in New York City is not daycare,

201

1 it's really laying the foundations of a

2 strong educational path to college.

3 Data released earlier this month

4 showed a strong increase in our cityís

5 graduation rates and college-readiness

6 indicators, as well as a decrease in the

7 dropout rate. The graduation rate was over

8 70 percent for the first time in the city's

9 history. These gains are a testament to the

10 hard work by New York City students and

11 teachers and administrators, who deliver

12 high-quality instruction from the moment

13 students enter pre-K to the day they graduate

14 high school.

15 I was particularly pleased to see a

16 decrease in the dropout rate across all

17 ethnicities -- critical progress, but there

18 is still much more to be done. We will

19 continue to be laser-focused on strengthening

20 instruction, expanding opportunities for all

21 students, and engaging families to ensure

22 there is a clear path to college or a

23 meaningful career for all city students.

24 Today, in addition to the teachers

202

1 celebrating the colleges they graduated from

2 and talking about how hard it was for many of

3 them to get to college, we're having forums

4 around the city for all parents to talk about

5 their role in getting students to college,

6 financial assistance in getting to college,

7 and also how to look at all the transcripts

8 that your students bring so that many of our

9 students are more aware of what they need to

10 be able to be on that path.

11 In order to provide every student and

12 every school with critical tools to prepare

13 students for success in college and the

14 workforce, and in order to make New York City

15 the best urban school district in the nation,

16 the mayor and I have pledged to meet rigorous

17 benchmarks: 80 percent of our students will

18 graduate from high school on time, and

19 two-thirds of them will be truly

20 college-ready.

21 To meet these targets, Mayor de Blasio

22 and I are committed to providing every

23 student and every school with critical tools

24 to prepare students for success in college

203

1 and careers, from providing every student

2 with computer science classes in elementary,

3 middle and high school to ensuring all

4 students are reading in second grade and on

5 track to take algebra by ninth grade.

6 One of the tools that we're using in

7 this particular area is to ensure that

8 there's more advanced math programs available

9 in fifth grade, before these students even

10 get into middle school. And that is really

11 one of the things we're working on,

12 particularly in the summer.

13 The city is also redoubling its

14 efforts around college-readiness and access

15 as part of the mayor's agenda for Equity and

16 Excellence across all schools, with College

17 Access for All, AP for All, and the new SAT

18 School Day.

19 One of the things, when I visited

20 schools in the last few months, is that I met

21 with several high school students who had not

22 taken the SATs, and I asked them why not.

23 And it was very interesting, but many of the

24 students said to me that because they were

204

1 held on Saturdays and many of them either had

2 jobs or family responsibilities, they

3 couldn't do it.

4 And the other issue that came up was

5 that many of them, the SAT courses were given

6 in schools outside the immediate

7 neighborhoods. And knowing what I know about

8 the geography in New York, sometimes you

9 don't live within a 10-block radius.

10 So by having SATs during the school

11 day, free for every student in New York City

12 high schools, we're going to ensure that they

13 all have that opportunity, but we'll also be

14 able to access and assess who are the kids

15 that we should be pushing further on a

16 regular basis. So this is something that is

17 really unique. This will be the first year

18 coming forth.

19 Through College Access for All, every

20 student will have the resources and supports

21 at their high school to pursue a path to

22 college. Through AP for All, every high

23 school student will have access to a range of

24 advanced placement courses. One of the

205

1 things with the advanced placement courses

2 that is unique, because so many of our high

3 schools are collocated in big schools -- and

4 many of your Queens representatives know

5 that -- if you have five high schools in one

6 building, they will all have different AP

7 courses. But students can take courses in

8 each other's schools within the collocated

9 buildings. And we've already started moving

10 in that direction, and going to visit

11 someone's schools, we experiment. Some of

12 them have already started, but we'll be doing

13 a lot more of that.

14 As part of our work to increase

15 college-readiness and access by meeting the

16 whole needs of every student, New York City

17 is committed to creating and sustaining

18 community schools. Over the past two years,

19 we have created and funded 130 new community

20 schools.

21 Community schools are customized to a

22 communityís unique set of needs, and they

23 create opportunities available for students,

24 families, and communities, including expanded

206

1 learning time, school-based health clinics,

2 mental health programs, dropout prevention

3 strategies, parent engagement programs, and

4 adult education opportunities. These

5 resources are embedded during the school day

6 as well as outside the school day.

7 I'll give you an example of one of our

8 community schools. A middle school in Harlem

9 has two separate community-based

10 organizations working with them. One of them

11 works during the school day on

12 social-emotional needs. They are there with

13 social workers, guidance counselors, and all

14 kinds of extra support for the students and

15 the teachers.

16 And another organization works on

17 academic mentoring and tutoring based on the

18 student's needs.

19 So you have two separate CBOs working

20 in the school all day. The same CBOs are

21 monitoring student attendance and, before the

22 summer ended, knocking on parents' doors and

23 making sure that every child that was

24 registered to come to that school actually

207

1 showed up in September. And then they do the

2 follow-up all year long.

3 Parents are also asking for workshops

4 on cooking, exercise, GED classes, more

5 programs for themselves. And to the degree

6 that those CBOs come to the table ready to do

7 it, we are incorporating them. Community

8 schools simply means a whole community. You

9 can't work with students without working with

10 their families, faith-based organizations,

11 and everyone else involved.

12 Ninety-four of these new community

13 schools are in the School Renewal Program, a

14 strong, clear commitment from the City to

15 improve our most struggling schools. With an

16 investment of $187 million in fiscal year

17 2017, the city is providing targeted,

18 tailored supports to 94 of New York Cityís

19 most struggling schools, including turning

20 each school into a community school. These

21 interventions have a strong focus on

22 improving student attendance and demonstrated

23 rigorous instruction.

24 Under my leadership the Department of

208

1 Education has also rolled out many new

2 initiatives, including a new streamlined

3 accountability system to best support

4 schools, which aligns the responsibilities of

5 supervising and supporting schools with the

6 superintendents. The reforms created clear

7 lines of authority in our school system.

8 Additionally, superintendents must now have

9 at least 10 years of pedagogical experience,

10 including at least three as a principal.

11 I have 44 outstanding superintendents,

12 and these superintendents know the names of

13 every principal in their district, the

14 accountability structures that they must

15 meet, and also are now working on making sure

16 that the professional development of

17 principals and assistant principals is tied

18 into their needs.

19 We in New York City are very proud of

20 the fact that we have one of the most

21 productive and really intelligent workforces,

22 and without that, we can never move forward.

23 New geographically based Borough Field

24 Support Centers provide integrated supports

209

1 to schools across areas of instruction,

2 operations and student services, including

3 health resources and counseling, support to

4 students with disabilities, and support to

5 English language learners.

6 Just last month we provided a service

7 that's going to be handled in the borough

8 support office, where parents can get

9 translations on any issues 24/7, including --

10 well, obviously including after 5 o'clock.

11 You can pick up the phone and someone -- a

12 live person, not a machine -- will help you

13 with any kind of translation you need, and

14 will be able to be available to you also on

15 Saturdays and Sundays, and it's in the 10

16 major languages of New York City.

17 A redoubled focus on parent engagement

18 run by our new executive superintendent,

19 Yolanda Torres. We believe in the importance

20 of strong family-community ties for student

21 achievement, we've invested in training,

22 providing increased professional development

23 for parent coordinators, parent leaders,

24 family support coordinators and family

210

1 leadership coordinators.

2 I continue to do Town Hall meetings

3 throughout the whole city, and by now I must

4 have amassed at least 50 Town Hall meetings

5 where parents actually ask questions and get

6 answers on the spot. And if I don't have an

7 answer, someone literally calls them on the

8 phone within a week. And if I call them

9 myself, they hang up because they really

10 don't think it's the chancellor calling, so I

11 have to call a second time, saying "It's

12 really me, could you listen?

13 A new investment of $23 million in

14 arts education funding allowed us to hire 300

15 new arts teachers and resulted in 22,000 more

16 students receiving arts education.

17 Because I have been a big advocate of

18 arts education all my life, many more private

19 funders are coming to the table. And just so

20 you know -- and please don't be jealous on

21 this one -- the producers of Hamilton have

22 given us 20,000 seats for 11th-graders in

23 New York City. We are filling the halls at

24 Hamilton. Luis Miranda just came to speak to

211

1 my staff. And one of the things that's also

2 happening, with money from the Rockefeller

3 Foundation, every student who comes has to be

4 from a Title I school. They are going to

5 have professional development done by Gil

6 Dulerma {ph}, so they won't just come cold to

7 see a performance, because I don't believe in

8 one-shot deals. And they will have to read

9 something on Hamilton.

10 If any of you haven't seen Hamilton,

11 do whatever you need to do to do it, because

12 it is one of the most phenomenal things I've

13 ever seen.

14 This week actually I was with the

15 Governor at a performance at a theater where

16 the Arthur Miller Foundation, first time

17 ever, gave us money to actually start theater

18 arts programs in 15 new high schools. And

19 part of that money is going to go to become

20 experts on Arthur Miller's plays.

21 And once again, Hamilton was

22 outstanding in one way; Death of a Salesman,

23 to me, is the quintessential play about the

24 human condition.

212

1 And to me, having that foundation work

2 with our schools, and 15 of our high schools

3 that did not have a theater arts program to

4 have it, to me is pretty amazing.

5 Forty new dual-language programs and

6 more being developed to give students the

7 bilingual and bicultural skills they need to

8 succeed, and a model dual-language program

9 that will foster collaborative practices

10 among dual-language educators, elevate the

11 quality of programs across the city, and

12 provide support and guidance to staff

13 interested in opening programs.

14 We now have in New York City this

15 year, for the first time, a Polish

16 dual-language program, Japanese dual-language

17 program, we have a program that's been

18 advocated for German dual-language. To me,

19 if New York City doesn't understand the

20 importance of two languages and

21 multi-cultures, who else can?

22 So for me, speaking two languages has

23 been a blessing. I see it as a total asset,

24 and I'd love to give that opportunity to

213

1 every child in New York City.

2 To share strong practices, we created

3 two important programs: Learning Partners

4 and Showcase Schools. Together, these two

5 initiatives demonstrate a commitment to

6 professional development and collaboration

7 among educators and schools that foster

8 student learning and school improvement.

9 When I see schools excelling in a particular

10 area, I want them to share their secrets, not

11 hide them.

12 For example, we will be hosting 17

13 superintendents from across the country to

14 show them how to improve schools. And

15 improving schools to me is not simplistic,

16 but it can be simple: Looking for excellence

17 wherever it exists, and having other people

18 come and visit and ask questions.

19 I went to a Showcase School yesterday

20 that is moving from being a Title I school to

21 non-Title I, that is in the middle of

22 gentrification. And having that principal

23 explain to about 30 other principals in the

24 room about how he did it and what struggles

214

1 he had and what you should be thinking about,

2 is much better than anyone publishing a book

3 or a chapter and saying "Here, read this."

4 Seeing the best of the best and then being

5 able to ask those people questions is how you

6 make change.

7 Expansion of language access services

8 through new field language access

9 coordinators at the borough field offices,

10 who will ensure that schools are providing

11 parents with limited English proficiency

12 access to translations and also translations

13 at all our public meetings.

14 And finally, approximately 220 new

15 athletic teams, providing access to

16 interschool athletics to an additional

17 3,000 students, the majority of which are for

18 small schools and for girls' teams.

19 Last week, Mayor de Blasio presented

20 the fiscal 2017 preliminary budget that made

21 targeted investments in our cityís public

22 schools, such as $868 million in capital to

23 reduce school overcrowding through 11,800 new

24 seats, which would bring the total current

215

1 capital plan to over 44,000 new seats. We

2 are making a commitment in our fiscal year

3 2017 budget that with any additional state

4 aid, we will raise the Fair Student Funding

5 at all schools to at least 87 percent, a

6 vision of both Ray's and mine, ensuring a

7 citywide average of 91 percent, which would

8 be an unprecedented investment of

9 $159 million in fiscal year '17 that will

10 provide vital education resources to students

11 in historically underfunded schools.

12 Ensuring that every student has an

13 equitable and excellent education is at the

14 very core of my vision of public education.

15 I've seen our schools evolve over the years,

16 and I know these are the right ingredients

17 for transformative change, but none of these

18 new initiatives would have been possible

19 without your leadership and support.

20 That said, I would be remiss if I did

21 not address the state aid that New York City

22 schools are owed from the 2006 settlement of

23 the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit.

24 Since 2009, the state has not met the

216

1 court-ordered obligation to the city from our

2 Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. In this

3 school year alone, New York City public

4 school students will be shortchanged some

5 $2 billion in state education funds. I am

6 confident you will agree that it is time to

7 make a significant down payment on this

8 obligation by fulfilling a commitment and

9 making equity in education a priority.

10 As I sit before you today, I am

11 thinking of the message of College Awareness

12 Day. College readiness starts in pre-K. It

13 is up to us to provide these students with

14 the opportunity not only to think about

15 college but to also envision themselves as

16 college students who will have successful

17 futures.

18 To that end, I ask for the full

19 support of the State Legislature for the

20 continuance of mayoral control in New York

21 City. I have seen firsthand the

22 extraordinary difference mayoral control has

23 made in our ability to move our school system

24 forward and put students on a path to college

217

1 and the workforce.

2 Having been an educator for 50 years,

3 I have seen all kinds of systems come and go.

4 I worked under school boards, I worked under

5 a regional superintendency, and I will tell

6 you that bureaucracies do harm education.

7 And being able to work hand in hand with a

8 mayor whose philosophy I share and agree with

9 has made it much easier to do the kind of

10 work that we are able to do in New York City.

11 It doesn't take going through

12 channels -- and sometimes, yes, but a lot of

13 the times what we believe in goes forward. I

14 would never have taken this job if I was not

15 going to have a mayor who's going to have my

16 back and I wasn't going to have his. And to

17 me, that is a crucial part of mayoral

18 control.

19 Providing free, full-day, high-quality

20 pre-K to every 4-year-old, creating

21 aggressive turnaround plans for our

22 struggling schools, and expanding community

23 schools are just a few examples of reforms

24 that were only possible because the mayor has

218

1 direct responsibility for our schools. After

2 more than a decade, we know New York City

3 schools do better when the mayor has direct

4 authority and accountability. Our students

5 can't go back to a system of patronage, of

6 favorites, and of some places getting more

7 than others. When I talk about equity, it's

8 about the kids in the Bronx and the kids in

9 Brooklyn, the kids from Park Slope and the

10 kids from Harlem having access to the same

11 professional development, the same excellent

12 teachers and the same excellent principals as

13 everywhere else in the city.

14 I look forward to working with the

15 State Legislature and the Governor on the

16 proposals outlined in the Executive Budget,

17 and stand prepared to do everything I can to

18 help. We have laid the foundation, we are on

19 the right path; we need your support to

20 continue moving forward.

21 I also want to say that to the degree

22 we've learned some lessons in the past two

23 years, we're also happy to share. And I

24 invite anyone who wants to come and see some

219

1 of the work we're doing. A lot more to do,

2 but we're very proud of what we've done.

3 Thank you for the opportunity to

4 testify before you. I am happy to answer any

5 questions you may have.

6 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

7 much.

8 To begin, Assemblywoman Nolan.

9 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Thank you,

10 Mr. Farrell. And thank you, colleagues.

11 I want to publicly thank Chancellor

12 FariÒa for the work that she's done. And the

13 wonderful testimony today was really

14 comprehensive, and the breadth and the depth

15 of the work you've done in two years. And I

16 do want to say your work in going to every

17 one of the Community Education Councils --

18 multiple times at this point -- has really

19 turned parental support for mayoral control

20 in a very positive way, because people are

21 seeing you and they're getting answers. As

22 you said, there's not multiple layers as

23 there were in the old school board days when

24 you could never get a straight answer to a

220

1 question.

2 So your work and your commitment to

3 traveling throughout the city has been really

4 exemplary. And, you know, I wish I had your

5 energy, because you're always out. I've

6 toured schools with you, and it's my favorite

7 thing because you always get there so early

8 and you have that great way about you that,

9 you know, everybody shapes up when they see

10 the chancellor's there.

11 I do want to say, though, we'd like to

12 get your thoughts on the community school

13 model. I already asked Commissioner Elia.

14 Has the money arrived? Is it -- you know, it

15 has been subjected to some criticism that

16 it's not going to improve academic

17 achievement. I'd like you to perhaps respond

18 to that criticism.

19 And then just one other issue near and

20 dear to my heart, I was a little disappointed

21 not to see it, we have asked every year since

22 I've chaired this committee, so your

23 predecessors as well, there are over 10,000

24 children in our city who go to school in

221

1 trailers. And they're substandard.

2 You know, there was recently a report

3 issued about disability accessibility in the

4 New York City schools. Well, none of the

5 trailers are accessible, that's for sure.

6 And I know that President Lorraine

7 Grillo from the School Construction Authority

8 is not here today. We don't usually have her

9 testify at this hearing. But you know and

10 she knows that this is a priority for me and

11 for many members from the city. So maybe you

12 could just start with that and then talk a

13 little bit about the community schools.

14 And two other topics that I didn't see

15 really addressed: CTE education is becoming

16 very important here in the Legislature, and a

17 real recognition with some new committee

18 members of work on that. And then adult ed,

19 though it's not often understood, it is

20 really also in your purview, and we

21 continually look at the issues of the GED and

22 things like that. But we can always talk

23 about that another time if we're not prepared

24 to today.

222

1 CHANCELLOR FARINA: No, absolutely.

2 Happy to talk about all of them. You know,

3 we just can put so much in a speech, but I'm

4 really happy to answer them.

5 The TCUs have been a big priority and

6 there is a tremendous amount of money in the

7 budget to remove them. And we have actually

8 started removing them, I think we removed at

9 least 80 by now already, and we're in the

10 process -- 70, and we're in the process of --

11 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Do you want to

12 introduce the gentleman with you? Maybe he

13 can --

14 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Oh, I'm sorry,

15 this is Ray Orlando, our chief financial

16 officer.

17 CFO ORLANDO: Good afternoon.

18 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Another person

19 with a thankless task. Maybe he wants to

20 address it, certainly.

21 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I think the TCUs

22 is certainly something we're trying to do.

23 But just as an example, when we remove TCUs,

24 we've got to place those children somewhere.

223

1 So for example in District 24, PS 19, which

2 is one of the most overcrowded schools in the

3 city, it was a matter of making sure we had

4 community input as to where those children

5 would go. So as we removed the TCUs -- we're

6 building an annex, actually, in that

7 schoolyard, so we thought we had a solution,

8 and the community thought differently. So it

9 was a matter of getting everybody on board

10 and deciding where we're going to be putting

11 some of those children meanwhile.

12 So we came up with a very good

13 solution, the community's happy, we're happy.

14 And I think that's part of it: When we

15 remove TCUs, where do we put them? Where do

16 the kids go? And if there's enough room in

17 the school -- like Richmond Hill was another

18 one that we had to change minds based on

19 community input. So it's going to happen, we

20 are looking at it. We have one right now in

21 Brooklyn that we have to remove the TCUs, but

22 where the students go while we do that is one

23 of the concerns.

24 But the specific numbers on TCUs?

224

1 CFO ORLANDO: Sure. Since -- over the

2 last two years we've removed 70 TCUs and have

3 plans to remove another 100. There's

4 $450 million in the capital plan for removal

5 of the TCUs including a planned $100 million

6 from the Smart Schools Bond Act that you all

7 had a role in. So thank you for that.

8 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I'm glad you

9 brought up the CTE. It is a passion of mine;

10 I know it's a passion of yours, Cathy. We

11 are increasing our CTEs, but the first thing

12 we have to do, career and technology

13 education, we have to make sure that the

14 programs that we're increasing are really the

15 careers of the future.

16 We still have some programs that we're

17 not preparing them for the day of today. So

18 what we're trying to do, rather than create

19 more CTE schools, is create CTE programs

20 within schools. I know Senator Montgomery,

21 particularly interested in Maritime, and

22 we've talked about it. It makes sense.

23 New York City is an island surrounded by

24 water; why not more careers that will give us

225

1 scuba divers, that will give us fishery.

2 And so we're looking very carefully at

3 what are the right careers. And now we have,

4 as part of our Showcase, CTE schools that we

5 think are extraordinarily. I just went to

6 visit Hillcrest High School, and he actually

7 has a need -- he has one of the best nursing

8 programs in school. And yet -- and we're

9 going to need your help in this -- we cannot

10 get the licensing because there's state

11 legislative laws on who can teach, who's not

12 a teacher.

13 So if you're going to have nursing

14 being taught by nurses and pharmacy being

15 taught by pharmacists, we need certain

16 changes. So we're going to come to you for

17 help on that. I've discussed that

18 extensively with MaryEllen because I know

19 this is a passion of hers as well.

20 So a lot of it is what are the right

21 career paths, where do we put them, and where

22 do we get the teachers. The teachers are a

23 big issue because they have to be -- you

24 know, if you're making millions of dollars as

226

1 a computer scientist, do you want to come and

2 work on the school level? Well, we have to

3 make it attractive enough so they will.

4 So yes, I do want to see more CTEs. I

5 want to see programs within schools. We're

6 also looking at CTE programs that will

7 enhance programs such as Rikers Island.

8 We're looking at incarcerated youth can come

9 back -- if they have a career path they can

10 follow, that this will make a lot more sense.

11 So that's another place.

12 One of the things you talked about was

13 adult education. Adult education -- I

14 actually went to visit all the adult

15 education centers in the city. Once again,

16 the bulk of the adult education is about GED,

17 ESL. They are asking for other programs, and

18 we're looking to see -- asking them what they

19 want more of. We have an adult education

20 superintendent who actually has classes

21 throughout the city. But we're also looking

22 to do a lot more of the adult programming

23 district-wide and borough-wide through our

24 parent coordinators.

227

1 One of the interesting -- I thought

2 was interesting -- demands that parents have,

3 because we've asked parents what do you want,

4 rather than us assume we know, they want

5 cooking classes, they want nutrition classes,

6 they want Zumba classes. They want things

7 that are going to improve their own health or

8 their own ability to be parents. So we're

9 trying to do that, and we're encouraging

10 schools, particularly community schools, to

11 do more of workshops with parents in things

12 that they want.

13 Community schools, I want to be very

14 clear. There are certain things that are not

15 negotiable in all community schools. All

16 community schools must have extended learning

17 time. They must all have an additional hour

18 of academic learning with a wraparound of

19 other services such as health services,

20 mental health services, clinics, things that

21 will improve their health so that also

22 attendance rises. The one thing that we see

23 universally in all the renewal schools is

24 attendance, that it has to improve, it has to

228

1 get better. We need to have a culture of

2 going to school is important. So that's

3 universal.

4 What differs from school to school is

5 that we've asked the schools to choose their

6 partners. So RFPs went out, and you can

7 choose to work with the Good Shepherd or

8 Partnership with Children or Citizens Union

9 or Children's Aid Society. But you have to

10 interview to make sure that the CBO partner

11 that you chose was one that would be

12 complementary to the needs of your specific

13 school. And you didn't have to have one

14 partner all day, you could split it up, you

15 could have two partners.

16 And I think that's what we're actually

17 evaluating now. And I know the UFT, the CSA

18 and I are working very closely on the

19 community schools together. I know this

20 weekend there's going to be a retreat that

21 the UFT is sponsoring, and it's all about how

22 do we keep the energy high.

23 We also have created, in many of these

24 schools, what we call master principals,

229

1 principals who have shown extraordinary work,

2 so that they in many cases will be working in

3 two schools, and model teachers. Because

4 obviously a challenge in a community school

5 or renewal schools in particular is how do

6 you recruit teachers. So we're looking for

7 many ways to get the best teachers to come

8 into these schools, and partially it's by

9 making teacher leaders, which get a little

10 bit extra money but also open their

11 classrooms for other teachers to learn from.

12 We also have, in many of these

13 schools, new leaders, about 36 new leaders in

14 our 94 community schools.

15 So we are trying everything and

16 anything, and the reality is we have

17 committed to closures where necessary, very

18 limited -- this year only three, and that may

19 be it -- mergers and consolidations. Mergers

20 means that if you have two schools in a

21 building and they're under a hundred

22 students, which many of our schools are, if

23 we bring them together, they can have more

24 resources. So we're trying lots of different

230

1 things. We certainly should know by June

2 some of the things that are working.

3 One school alone, the principal, in

4 the Bronx, decided to departmentalize her

5 fourth and fifth grade, which is something

6 very unusual in elementary school, and she's

7 showing results. So I send people there to

8 learn from her about something they may want

9 to try.

10 So part of it is innovating in

11 different schools, what works, what doesn't

12 work, so we can move it to another school.

13 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Thank you.

14 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

15 much.

16 Senator?

17 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

18 much.

19 And I'd like to welcome you,

20 Chancellor, to Albany today. And it's great

21 to have these types of important discussions

22 and exchanges, and I want to thank you for

23 that.

24 Our first speaker will be Senator Carl

231

1 Marcellino, who is chair of the Senate

2 Education Committee.

3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Good afternoon.

4 It's good to see you with an NYU hat on. You

5 well know that is my alma mater as well, and

6 I believe it's also the mayor's.

7 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: It's mine too.

8 Mine too.

9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Cathy, it's yours

10 too. You see? NYU forever.

11 (Laughter.)

12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Do we know what

13 the symbol for NYU is? We were the Violets.

14 Can you imagine going to a basketball game

15 and rooting for the Fighting Violets? That

16 was a problem from day one. We overcame.

17 The school is a great school, and I'm glad to

18 see it's being honored, and all the other

19 colleges. I like the idea that you talked

20 about.

21 But you mentioned the status of

22 teachers and their licensing. When I taught

23 in the city, I remember we always had a

24 problem -- this is back, you know, carrying

232

1 heavy stone tablets, things like that. It

2 was not easy. But the getting teachers

3 licensed to teach in the basic subject

4 areas -- I'm not talking about nursing or

5 some of the more exotics that you want to

6 bring in now, but I'm talking about the

7 basics -- how are you finding it to get

8 teachers to teach in basic subject areas in

9 the city?

10 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Right now, in the

11 basic subject areas, it is not that much of a

12 problem. However, the areas that are

13 problematic are English language learners,

14 ESL teachers and special needs teachers.

15 We have been working certainly through

16 the Teaching Fellows. This year we had over

17 a thousand Teaching Fellows, the primary

18 numbers all going to these two categories,

19 but also asking our universities to work

20 harder with us to make sure they're

21 graduating more people with these licenses.

22 I've even met with SUNY, not just CUNY, to

23 see if there was a partnership that we could

24 have with them to ensure that these teachers

233

1 come ready to work in the classrooms.

2 The other thing we're experimenting

3 with in New York City is an apprenticeship

4 model where teachers actually get paid --

5 not, you know, the going rate, but in their

6 final year, so they actually work almost like

7 assistant teachers in their final year of

8 teacher certification.

9 I would say the other thing, and this

10 is only now because of the extra money that

11 we're putting into the arts education, we are

12 finally going to have a need for more arts

13 educators. For a while, there were no jobs

14 for arts educators. So, for example, we're

15 encouraging what just happened, Hunter

16 College and Lincoln Center are going to start

17 working on certification for music teachers

18 together, the same way that the Museum of

19 Natural History works on certification for

20 science teachers with the university.

21 So we need to get more creative in how

22 we certify our teachers in hard-to-staff

23 areas. Math is actually going to be -- now

24 that we're going to move to algebra at a

234

1 younger age, we need many more algebra

2 teachers. So we're putting a lot more

3 investment in summer training for our own

4 teachers. We've increased our own

5 professional development in the city, and

6 we'll be coming out shortly with looking at

7 how we can upgrade paraprofessionals who

8 might be ready to work in some of these

9 areas.

10 So there's a lot of things we're

11 doing, because this is going to be something

12 going forward that is going to be a

13 challenge. But certainly English language

14 learners and special needs is really, really

15 a hard-to-staff area.

16 SENATOR MARCELLINO: The Governor put

17 in, for mayoral control, an increase to three

18 years. The last time the Legislature had

19 acted, we gave the mayor a year. It's my

20 understanding the Assembly is talking about

21 increasing the three years to possibly seven.

22 Why should we give the mayor more than a

23 year?

24 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Because I think,

235

1 based on the track record of what we've

2 accomplished in one year, imagine what we

3 could accomplish in seven. And imagine the

4 energy that we can put into getting the

5 schools and --

6 SENATOR MARCELLINO: If I could just

7 interrupt you, he may not be there for seven.

8 And I'm not suggesting he's going to lose his

9 next election; I don't want to get into that.

10 But the point is, in the seven years, you've

11 got a four-year term, he may not serve a

12 second term. By choice or for whatever

13 reason.

14 So you may get a mayor you're not too

15 happy with, yet you're stuck with him.

16 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, that's

17 politics with a capital P, so I'm going to

18 let you guys argue that among yourselves.

19 I'm just saying that from the point of view

20 of a chancellor, being able to work with a

21 mayor who has my back and who understands

22 philosophically where I'm coming from, makes

23 a major difference.

24 So in terms of the amount of years, I

236

1 can't imagine anyone running for mayor at any

2 time who's not going to want mayoral control.

3 But right now, under this mayor, I feel very

4 comfortable that we're moving in the right

5 direction.

6 SENATOR MARCELLINO: The mayor has a

7 program for -- a renewal school program.

8 What's the current stage of implementation of

9 this renewal school program?

10 CHANCELLOR FARINA: The renewal

11 school?

12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yeah. And are

13 there any schools destined for closure?

14 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yes, there are.

15 In fact, it was at the PEP meeting I was at

16 this month, two of the three that we're

17 closing are renewal schools. And in both

18 cases the schools are just too small. I

19 mean, we had a school with 37 students. We

20 had a school with 97 students. You can't

21 have a guidance counselor, you can't have

22 arts in any of these schools that are too

23 small to function.

24 So we're looking at schools in many

237

1 different ways. It's not just scores, it's

2 about what makes sense and what schools can

3 provide the services that schools are meant

4 to do. So yes, we are closing, we're

5 merging, we're consolidating. There's not

6 one thing that we're doing across the board,

7 there are many things, depending on the

8 school.

9 And again, to me, one of the most

10 important things is having a good leader, if

11 a school has a good principal. But then

12 after having a good leader and then having

13 good teachers, you need the resources. You

14 cannot run a high school with 125 students.

15 So just -- you know, there's a word I

16 like to use a lot, although it's not always

17 in practice as much as I'd like it: Common

18 sense. This is not about being punitive,

19 this is not about -- it's just does it have

20 common sense to have a school with 120 and

21 make it a high school?

22 So this is the kind of thing that

23 we're talking about. And that's why I think

24 having strong superintendents who are making

238

1 these analyses on -- you know, after visiting

2 a school, seeing a school. Why I'm also

3 encouraging collocated sites to share

4 resources, so that together you can do a lot

5 of things that individually you can't do. So

6 every option is on the table, but closing is

7 the last thing we do, because we have

8 hope that schools with certain numbers can

9 produce better results.

10 SENATOR MARCELLINO: What would be the

11 typical load for a guidance counselor in one

12 of your high schools?

13 CHANCELLOR FARINA: A typical what?

14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: The number of

15 students they have to service.

16 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, I would say

17 right now in a high school -- depending on

18 the size, because our schools vary in size so

19 dramatically -- in high-need areas we would

20 call -- and the mayor has a program that

21 we're putting in place in September, the

22 Shepherd Program, one guidance counselor or

23 social worker to 100 students. And it's not

24 because they're going to service them all at

239

1 one time, but they're going to follow those

2 students over an amount of years, so that

3 you're going to have this one person who's

4 going to know you well, know your family,

5 know your issues, and is going to follow you

6 over the course from sixth grade to

7 12th grade.

8 It's also a reason why we're

9 encouraging a lot more mentoring and

10 internships for our students. Many of our

11 students do not have an adult consistently in

12 their lives, and we need to have more adults

13 who come and visit you -- just knowing you

14 have special attention from someone is very

15 important. Particularly, you know, we've

16 done a lot of work on our male-only

17 initiative, our Brother's Keeper. Who are

18 the people who can come and be that support

19 service for you? And I think that's one of

20 the things that we're trying to do.

21 In the community schools we have

22 emphasized social workers, because social

23 workers also can do home visits, they can do

24 something that not all our guidance

240

1 counselors are doing. Although we're

2 encouraging guidance counselors to do home

3 visits as well in what we call our MSQI

4 schools.

5 I do believe support, family support

6 is crucial, and it does not have to do

7 necessarily with socioeconomic -- all

8 students deserve support, across the city,

9 where it's a very fast-paced society that we

10 live in.

11 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Just to jump to a

12 different type of situation, what's the

13 relationship between STEM and STEAM in the

14 city schools?

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, STEAM has A,

16 for arts, and STEM has really more of a focus

17 on science.

18 But I want to be clear that it's not

19 an add-on to the curriculum. If you were to

20 visit our summer programs, which are very

21 heavily STEAM-based, or even in pre-K, you

22 will see kids playing with LEGOs. LEGOs is

23 STEAM. You're building something, you're

24 thinking it through, you're trying to figure

241

1 out how do these parts fit together.

2 Robotics, second-grade robotics -- I

3 went to visit a class on Staten Island, all

4 the second-graders are doing robotics. And

5 they have to think about, how is this going

6 to move, does this need a motor, doesn't it

7 need a motor? That's STEM. Mathematics is

8 also part of STEM because you have to figure

9 out, using the Smart Board or an iPad, how do

10 you take an example and then turn it into

11 some kind of a figure. I was in a middle

12 school where the teachers and the kids were

13 using Smart Boards to teach math examples.

14 So STEM doesn't have to be -- or let

15 me put it this way. The last thing STEM

16 really is is more computer rooms in schools.

17 It's about how you use your iPads, your --

18 even your cellphones in the classroom for

19 everything that you need.

20 So that's part of it. But I do agree,

21 and I think -- and the Governor said this the

22 other night at the theater, that if we move

23 so much to technology and we forget that the

24 heart and soul is about the arts, then we've

242

1 lost something. We need to have both. We

2 need to make sure -- a lot of our arts now

3 are done through STEM. If you can see some

4 of the graphic arts work that I've seen in

5 some of our high schools, they have computers

6 but they're thinking like artists.

7 So I don't think it has to be one or

8 the other. But I do think it's a challenge

9 for us in terms of teacher professional

10 development. If I have to say there's one

11 thing that we really have stressed in the

12 last year, it's how do we look at

13 professional development for teachers so that

14 they can take the new tools that maybe

15 someone like me -- I still have to ask my

16 9-year-old grandson to help me with a lot of

17 technology.

18 So one of the things we've done is

19 we've asked outside corporations, we're

20 working heavily with Microsoft, we're working

21 with other companies that will tell us how to

22 work with our teachers. So there's a lot to

23 STEM that requires outside support, and we've

24 been very fortunate to get a lot of that.

243

1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you very

2 much.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

4 Assemblyman Cusick.

5 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Thank you,

6 Mr. Chair.

7 Chancellor, it's good to see you. And

8 I can attest that you are no stranger to

9 Staten Island. And thank you for referencing

10 us --

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I was just there

12 yesterday.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Yes, and I was

14 with you two weeks ago at St. Charles.

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Oh, that's right.

16 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: So thank you for

17 being there.

18 I have one budget question and then an

19 off-budget question.

20 The Smart Schools Bond Act, the voters

21 approved it in November. It's a $2 billion

22 bond statewide. Do you know how much New

23 York City will get from that?

24 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Ray?

244

1 CFO ORLANDO: $783 million.

2 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Okay. And have

3 you put out a plan yet as to what that money

4 will be used for, what type of technologies

5 and --

6 CFO ORLANDO: I --

7 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, I can answer

8 this --

9 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: If you could get

10 back to me --

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: But I can say

12 also, if we want to be very clear -- and we

13 have now an advisory board for technology.

14 Because technology that's good today is

15 obsolete next week. So we want to make sure

16 that we're not investing money in something

17 that's not going to be current.

18 So one of the groups -- I just met

19 with a whole group of all the top tech

20 companies in New York City, and we have a

21 member of the Fund for New York, who actually

22 runs -- and I just spoke at -- a TED talk for

23 all these companies. And I think we really

24 need to have people who are experts in the

245

1 field to come in and say to us, this is where

2 you're going to get the most bang for your

3 buck. This is not about buying more stuff,

4 it's about how do you use the stuff you

5 already have.

6 Well, what is the stuff that you have

7 readily at hand? Like the cellphone. One of

8 the things -- I went to Grover Cleveland High

9 School last week, two weeks ago, where

10 there's a company called Y Plan, it's a

11 national company, that does competitions on

12 how to get every high school student to learn

13 how to develop their own apps.

14 And the competition in this particular

15 school was to develop apps in groups of three

16 on how to use Forest Park. Which I had never

17 been to, had never seen, never knew existed.

18 And I was fascinated because one of the

19 groups developed a bird-watching app so that

20 you can actually go through the park and find

21 the birds and then figure out -- I said that

22 I would do, so I wouldn't feel like a total

23 fool trying to figure out what these birds

24 are.

246

1 But I would love to see a citywide

2 competition, and I'm actually meeting with

3 some people to see if every high school

4 student could be involved in something.

5 Because that is not -- not that it's not a

6 lot of money. But I also went to Girls Who

7 Code. We want to see more coding done in our

8 schools. Coding can be done as young as

9 second grade, but what do you do with it?

10 And how do you make sure that the learnings

11 will then lead to career paths and other

12 kinds of things?

13 So we can get back to you, but it's

14 still a work in progress. And I don't want

15 to do this just with educators at the table,

16 I want to deal with people who know what

17 they're doing and can help us.

18 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Good. I

19 appreciate that.

20 I have a question also -- as you know,

21 the obesity issue is an issue that spans New

22 York City, whatever district you may be in,

23 and particularly with younger people. And I

24 know there are many programs that New York

247

1 City schools take part in, whether it's with

2 the New York Roadrunners Club or -- I know we

3 have a summer program that we work with the

4 schools in our district.

5 But I think there's some confusion on

6 parents' end and some conflicting information

7 I get back about physical education classes

8 during school time. There's some parents who

9 tell me that their kids don't have phys ed,

10 and then there are some parents that tell me

11 they do have phys ed.

12 Could you clarify or maybe point me in

13 the right direction on this one?

14 CHANCELLOR FARINA: This comes up a

15 lot when I do my town hall meetings. And the

16 reality is there are regulations on how many

17 minutes per day students should have phys ed.

18 And the reality is that to some degree, it

19 depends on individual schools and the

20 facilities. So most of our schools have

21 gyms, have schoolyards; a few don't. But a

22 lot of the training that we've done in the

23 last few years is to also encourage teachers

24 to do phys ed within their own classrooms,

248

1 the kind of exercises you do when you're on a

2 plane, so kids can actually do some of the

3 exercises sitting down. We've done tai chi,

4 we've done all kinds of things to make sure

5 that there's more movement.

6 The other reason, and this is why I

7 think parents are asking for things like

8 Zumba classes and aerobics, we want to see

9 more family activities around movement. So

10 we have actually started doing a lot of our

11 family workshops. We now have, in the

12 contract for teachers, 40 minutes a week of

13 parent engagement. And in many of our

14 schools the parent engagement piece is more

15 workshops with parents. And one of the

16 recommended topics is how to do physical

17 exercise.

18 So it's almost a school-by-school

19 decision. And a lot of it is also, in some

20 of our overcrowded schools, how many people

21 can use the gym at the same time. I got an

22 email today from a parent that they always go

23 outside to do their physical exercise, but

24 with snow, where do they go?

249

1 You know, it's a balancing act. Not

2 that we don't believe it's important. We've

3 also started looking at our parks, local

4 parks, how we could use the parks more for

5 some exercise. But this is an issue.

6 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: And it's your

7 understanding that schools are meeting the

8 requirement of the time, though; right?

9 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yeah.

10 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: In some way or

11 another.

12 CHANCELLOR FARINA: It's certainly in

13 the guidebooks. I'm not saying -- you know,

14 we have phys ed teachers every year. This

15 year we hired an additional 50 phys ed

16 teachers citywide. So that's certainly one

17 of our missions, is to get those positions

18 filled and also train them so they can do

19 phys ed in multiple ways, not just the old,

20 you know, volleyball and dodgeball.

21 ASSEMBLYMAN CUSICK: Great. Thank

22 you, Chancellor. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

23 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

24 Senator?

250

1 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

2 much.

3 Our next speaker is Senator Diane

4 Savino.

5 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, Senator

6 Young.

7 Thank you, Chancellor, for your

8 testimony and for your very complete answers.

9 In fact, you've answered many of the

10 questions that I was going to ask you in --

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, I'm going to

12 take you with me --

13 SENATOR SAVINO: That's wonderful. I

14 do want to follow up on two areas, though.

15 On the CTE schools, I'm also a big

16 supporter of CTE schools and I will be honest

17 and say that I've gotten text messages from

18 one of my council members, Mark Treyger,

19 who's a former teacher. He's a big supporter

20 of CTE schools. And you touched briefly on

21 one of the issues that we have, which is

22 barriers to getting teachers to become the

23 CTE teachers.

24 What can we do to improve that for

251

1 you?

2 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, I'm actually

3 going to be writing you a letter, and I mean

4 you a letter, about what I really need done

5 in terms of CTE. CTE cannot be funded as one

6 to one. At one time it was 1.2.

7 Let me give you an example. One of

8 Treyger's schools is Dewey High School.

9 Dewey has a phenomenal culinary arts program,

10 which I'd like to see improved or made

11 bigger. However, think about where do you

12 get the money for all of the food at Long

13 Island City? Phenomenal culinary, but there

14 is no set money to the CTE schools for the

15 materials, the consumables they have.

16 So in the past, CTE programs were

17 given extra money for that. I went to a

18 great school in the Bronx, they're teaching

19 stage crafting. Where does he get the

20 lumber? He has a deal with a lumber company

21 that gives him all the scraps.

22 CTE programs should not be run on

23 scraps. So part of it is what is the funding

24 that's appropriate for the license area to

252

1 make sure those programs can function over

2 time and not just based on contributions.

3 The other -- and I met with Treyger

4 not too long ago. One of the other things

5 is, you know, if you're looking at science,

6 that has consumables. Grady is one of the

7 schools he's interested in. But you need the

8 consumables for that as well. So how do we

9 put that in there?

10 But this is the one area -- and I

11 certainly would love to work with Senator

12 Marcellino and Assemblywoman Nolan, because

13 this is a passion of mine. I want to see

14 this done so we have alternative paths. I'll

15 give you an example. Sometimes legal gets in

16 the way. We want to start a welding program

17 in one of our schools, maybe two schools.

18 And that actually came out of a visit that we

19 have made to Vocational. And there's all

20 kinds of laws on the books as to why we can't

21 do this or why we have to do it a certain

22 way. So we need to say these are the careers

23 of the future. I met with one of the union

24 leaders who said, I would give union cards

253

1 if -- I have to import workers from Italy to

2 come here to do welding, particularly in

3 brownstone neighborhoods. It's ridiculous.

4 Those are jobs that we could have.

5 But -- there needs to be changes in

6 the law, but I'm going to be very explicit in

7 what those changes need to be. But you guys

8 are going to have to help us.

9 SENATOR SAVINO: Well, we look forward

10 to it.

11 One of the other issues that is of

12 great concern to those of us in Staten Island

13 and even parts of South Brooklyn is the lack

14 of school seats for children. I know that in

15 the mayor's budget presentation he talked

16 about adding another 11,000 school seats

17 across the city, 800 alone for Staten Island.

18 And that's great, but the question is where

19 would they be, how are we going to accomplish

20 this. And in Staten Island, 800 may not even

21 be enough. You know, we have Tottenville and

22 Curtis High School, two of the most

23 overcrowded schools in the city. They go

24 back and forth depending on which one is more

254

1 overcrowded than the other. On the north

2 shore we're expecting, as part of the mayor's

3 affordable housing program -- it hasn't been

4 approved yet, but he's looking at parts of,

5 you know, the north shore of Staten Island

6 for development. Our schools there are

7 already overcrowded. PS 13 is at 145 percent

8 capacity -- I know we've discussed this

9 before -- and they're looking to become a K-8

10 school.

11 But we have real needs on Staten

12 Island, and we're not sure where these new

13 school seats are going to go and what role

14 we'll play in helping you develop that plan.

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, let me be

16 very clear. The CECs have been actively

17 involved in almost all our new school needs

18 and where they need to be and so forth. I

19 think also what -- as far as Curtis is

20 concerned, there's an annex going to go

21 there, and that is one of the ways that we're

22 going to help relieve that.

23 I think we also have to look at what

24 the word "overcrowding" means. Some schools,

255

1 overcrowding is when they have 19 children in

2 a class, another school is when they have

3 30-some. So we're trying to balance all

4 that. That's why I visit as many schools as

5 I do, to figure out what can happen and what

6 can be done.

7 I think that getting, you know, all

8 the elected officials with the CECs involved

9 is going to be part of it. In District 13,

10 for example, there's a whole committee now

11 that's going to be working at looking at the

12 district as a whole. It really doesn't make

13 sense -- District 15 as well. We can't look

14 at this one place, we've got to look at the

15 whole district and see where does it make

16 sense. Perhaps it also means moving a

17 school, an entire school, from one place to

18 another. Staten Island, maybe not so much.

19 But those are really big issues, and I

20 certainly wouldn't want to be flippant and

21 say this has an easy solution. But it's

22 certainly one we're very, very conscious of.

23 And I think also every superintendent

24 has been asked to present where they feel the

256

1 biggest needs are. And also I don't like

2 people to give me problems without some

3 solutions, so they've all been asked to come

4 up with some solutions. So that if you have

5 a school, for example, that may have extra

6 space -- and we have very few of those left

7 in the city -- how do we move this school

8 particularly to this place so that another

9 school that has more kids may have the other

10 space? So it's not an easy thing to do and

11 it requires a lot of community engagement.

12 SENATOR SAVINO: And in South

13 Brooklyn, Chancellor, as you know, many of

14 the schools in Coney Island and Brighton

15 Beach were seriously affected by Sandy, and

16 some of them have not really been repaired.

17 So last week Assemblywoman Pam Harris,

18 Councilman Treyger, Assemblyman Bill Colton

19 and myself, we hosted a meeting with Lorraine

20 Grillo from the School Construction Authority

21 and all the principals of the schools in

22 South Brooklyn to talk about some of the

23 problems they're having with their structural

24 -- the effects of Sandy and some of the other

257

1 problems of just having old buildings.

2 And, you know, I'm sure you're aware

3 of it, but it is a problem. But, you know,

4 we still have gymnasiums where the floors are

5 buckled and the children can't use them

6 anymore, and it's taking a very long time to

7 replace some of the equipment that was

8 destroyed, and it's having an effect on the

9 schools in that area.

10 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I went to visit

11 Fred Tudda, 188, and I went to visit Dominic

12 D'Angelo just recently, and they were very

13 clear to point out some of the deficits in

14 terms of their buildings.

15 But keep in mind -- and I'm not saying

16 this as an excuse, I'm just saying that one

17 of the things we know is a problem -- we have

18 several schools, many schools in New York

19 City over a hundred years old. And they were

20 constructed differently, they were

21 constructed of concrete at the time, because

22 that was a very good thing. It also creates

23 extra problems for us in terms of how do we

24 repair, particularly when it comes to wiring.

258

1 And many of the principals who want some kind

2 of upgrade, it has to do with wiring and

3 broadband.

4 So those are the things we're

5 challenged with, but there's no easy

6 solution. But I will say that in Coney

7 Island in particular, I was -- I would add

8 the Rockaways to that kind of a situation as

9 well -- we've got to be a little more

10 creative in how we look at where possible

11 places will be. One of the things we've even

12 discussed is, you know, how do we use the

13 aquarium there to be more of a community

14 partner, and maybe a school. I think this,

15 Velmanette, goes back to some of the stuff

16 you're talking about: How do we use that as

17 a way to grow a CTE program? So I'm using a

18 lot more cultural institutions also to work

19 with us in those ways.

20 But, you know, it's an area I've

21 visited a lot because of some of the issues

22 that have come up.

23 SENATOR SAVINO: Yes, you have.

24 And finally, one of the issues that

259

1 we're going to have to take up this year is

2 mayoral control. And the last time we did

3 it, it was rather contentious. I hope it's

4 not going to be as contentious this time.

5 But one of the issues that came up the last

6 time, and I imagine will come up again this

7 time, is the Panel for Educational Policy.

8 There are some of us who believe that the

9 current makeup of the PEP is really nothing

10 more than a staff meeting for the mayor's

11 office.

12 So I'm curious as to what your

13 thoughts are on whether you think we should

14 make changes to the PEP to make it a little

15 bit more independent. And we're not looking

16 to, I think, create problems for the

17 Department of Education, but I think a little

18 bit more input either from parents or

19 educators or elected officials might be a

20 refreshing voice on the Panel for Educational

21 Policy.

22 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, I would say

23 to you that you haven't been at any of our

24 PEP meetings --

260

1 SENATOR SAVINO: Certainly not.

2 CHANCELLOR FARINA: -- to think these

3 are rubber-stamped people. I think very

4 clearly a lot of them have very strong

5 opinions. I certainly meet with them in

6 small groups, big groups, and so forth, and

7 they have in many cases -- and I know Ray can

8 speak to this -- they have looked at

9 contracts with magnifying glasses and have

10 gotten us to change our minds on things.

11 So I don't think -- and I haven't been

12 here for two administrations. I was at the

13 PEP when they first started. There was a

14 time when you went in and you didn't have to

15 read anything, it was an automatic -- this is

16 not that kind of a PEP.

17 I think also you also have five

18 borough representatives, and they very

19 clearly speak their minds. They certainly

20 speak the minds of the borough presidents,

21 and I think that's very clear. We have

22 also -- we very carefully have members who

23 represent different constituencies. We have

24 someone who's there specifically to support

261

1 the needs of special needs parents, and Lori

2 speaks her mind on that.

3 So I do think it works well. And I

4 think also you either have mayoral control or

5 you don't. And I think part of our job, and

6 certainly my job, is to make sure that the

7 PEP members have all the information they

8 need, not only to vote but to ask the right

9 questions. And they don't always ask them at

10 a public meeting. We have taken tours of

11 schools with the PEP members. They have

12 asked, especially if there's going to be a

13 collocation site, we take them to visit the

14 school. We've invited them to go to CEC

15 meetings of -- just recently, on the

16 combination of 308 and PS 8.

17 So they are engaged more than I think

18 they have been in the past, and they

19 certainly make their decisions based on more

20 informed -- more information.

21 So I think that the way it stands now,

22 as long as the people who come are smart

23 people who are determined to make their mark,

24 I think we're in a good place.

262

1 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you,

2 chancellor. I certainly look forward to

3 continuing to work with you on this issue and

4 many others. Thank you.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

6 much. It's past 2:10, so we are now closed

7 down as to the people putting names in. If

8 you want to raise it now so we can have it.

9 And Mr. Weprin.

10 ASSEMBLYMAN WEPRIN: Thank you,

11 Mr. Chairman.

12 Welcome, Chancellor. I've told you

13 this on prior occasions, that I think you're

14 a breath of fresh air, just being an

15 educator, as you pointed out, for 50 years

16 and having been part of the system at every

17 level. And I'm happy to see that you

18 referenced working closely with UFT and CSA,

19 who we're going to be hearing from in a

20 little, and something that prior

21 administrations have not done, and very often

22 prior chancellors recently have not been

23 educators as well. So I personally am very

24 happy that you are there.

263

1 Two of the high schools you mentioned

2 are in my district, Richmond Hill High School

3 and Hillcrest High School. And I know you've

4 also been to Edison High School with their

5 vocational training, and I agree with the CTE

6 statements.

7 Having said all of that -- and I did

8 mention this to the mayor yesterday when he

9 referred to, as you did, to the

10 infrastructure of some of the schools being a

11 hundred years old and older -- I chair an

12 Assembly task force on people with

13 disabilities, and I was very disturbed by the

14 finding of the investigation by the U.S.

15 Attorney's office regarding 83 percent, which

16 seems like a very large number, of New York

17 City public schools not complying with ADA.

18 And I know the mayor is personally

19 committed to ADA. I marched with him, at his

20 request, to have the first Disability Pride

21 Parade ever in the City of New York, and I

22 know he's very committed to disability and to

23 ADA access.

24 What is the plan to bring that 83

264

1 percent up to ADA standards? You know, I

2 know there's a lot of money going to be

3 involved. But was there a formal response?

4 Because I think the U.S. Attorney

5 investigation asked for a formal response

6 sometime last week. Did you do a formal

7 response on behalf of the city, and can I get

8 a copy of it if you have?

9 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I'm happy to give

10 you more specifics, but most of the schools

11 have some point of accessibility. Where we

12 have tried, and it's -- we're doing a better

13 job, have a long way to go -- is putting

14 elevators, for example, in more of our

15 buildings. Not an easy thing, because

16 obviously there's a lot of construction

17 that's involved, and other space has to be

18 given up.

19 I know ramps are not the best

20 solution, but they are a solution that we're

21 using, and a lot of this goes particularly to

22 our wheelchair students. We have also in the

23 past made sure that within a certain

24 geographical distance there's always at least

265

1 one barrier-free school. But those

2 barrier-free schools generally have been

3 built in the last 30 years. The age of the

4 buildings does make a difference. But it's

5 not because of lack of trying.

6 In terms of a specific time frame,

7 we'll be happy to get back to you. It is --

8 the mayor has instructed us to look at this

9 as an issue and to come up with some

10 recommendations and solutions, so I'll be

11 happy to do it. But age of buildings makes a

12 difference.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN WEPRIN: Has there been a

14 formal response to the investigation yet?

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: No. Actually

16 we're working on it right now.

17 (Cross-talk.)

18 ASSEMBLYMAN WEPRIN: Would we be able

19 to get copies of what you're saying?

20 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Sure.

21 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Mr. Weprin, can I

22 break in for a minute on this?

23 ASSEMBLYMAN WEPRIN: Sure.

24 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: I have a problem

266

1 with this too, also.

2 One other comment, can you make sure

3 you work on those schools that are going to

4 be used for elections? You're going to have

5 four elections --

6 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Absolutely.

7 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: -- in the state

8 this year, and the first one I think is in

9 April --

10 CHANCELLOR FARINA: We're working with

11 the Board of Education even as we speak,

12 because that is obviously a priority.

13 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes, thank you.

14 I'm sorry, Mr. Weprin.

15 ASSEMBLYMAN WEPRIN: No, thank you,

16 Mr. Chairman, that was a very good addition.

17 And I'm concerned about that as well.

18 Thank you, Chancellor.

19 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

20 much. Our next speaker is Senator Leroy

21 Comrie.

22 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you, Madam

23 Chair.

24 Good afternoon, Chancellor. I'll wait

267

1 for you to finish writing your notes. I know

2 you've got a lot of things to catch up on.

3 I wanted to ask you two questions.

4 They talked about mayoral control already. I

5 just want to say that I hope that we can --

6 the main issue that I hear about mayoral

7 control is the ability of parents to impact

8 the system and to speak on different issues.

9 And I hope that we can add some additional

10 component of that to mayoral control so that

11 we can get enough -- so we can put that to

12 bed.

13 I think that mayoral control is an

14 important component and doing it more than

15 one year is important also. I don't know

16 about doing for seven years, extending it

17 beyond the term of the mayor, but I think the

18 major issue is that parents want to have an

19 ability to have real comments on issues and

20 policies at every level of the system. And

21 if they can have a period of comment or a

22 rotating parent on the PEP panels and also on

23 the Community Education panels, where they

24 can have a period of comment and feedback, it

268

1 would be, I think, a big help to parents

2 around the system.

3 And also, you know, not just at PTA

4 meetings, but having an opportunity to go

5 into the local schools and to participate at

6 a real level is something that parents are

7 still asking about. I know that we have the

8 parent coordinators that are trying to put

9 things together, but especially parents that

10 have limited time and access want to be able

11 to have their own opportunities to come in,

12 not necessarily within those limited windows

13 that they're being offered now.

14 And I think that we can find other

15 ways to create opportunities to allow more

16 parents to have access to policy issues and

17 understanding those issues and articulating

18 their concerns about those specific issues as

19 well.

20 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, let me tell

21 you three things that we have done

22 differently in the last year and a half.

23 Number one, we have given the CECs a

24 little bit more freedom and responsibilities

269

1 in terms of certain issues. Certainly

2 rezoning, bringing issues to the table at the

3 CECs, and how the CEC elections take place

4 has incorporated more parent voices.

5 I now meet with all the CEC presidents

6 on Saturdays. That was something I did

7 because when we were meeting at night, not

8 everyone could make it or people were rushed

9 or, you know, there was all kinds of issues.

10 So we meet once a month on Saturdays for

11 anywhere from two hours or more, if it takes

12 place.

13 We now have subcommittees of the CECs.

14 One of the subcommittees is on enrollment,

15 because a lot of parents around the city have

16 very strong opinions on enrollment,

17 particularly middle school enrollment. So we

18 have committees that are now working on

19 issues that seem to be somewhat more systemic

20 than just an individual district.

21 The other thing is I've asked all

22 schools to hold more open houses. Tours of

23 the building, we now have four days a year,

24 compared to two that we've had in the past,

270

1 for open schools, open houses. But we want

2 parents not just to go to see a middle school

3 when they're looking at the middle school,

4 but if you have a third-grader, you want to

5 see what fourth grade may look like. So

6 we're pushing for more open houses,

7 particularly in middle schools, but around

8 the city, so that principals have a more

9 welcoming approach to what your school has to

10 do.

11 I just spoke to a group of principals

12 about having their pre-K parents come visit

13 the kindergartens in the same building so

14 they could see what the kids are going to be

15 going to. But your second-grade parents

16 might want to see what third grade is all

17 about.

18 So we are trying to open schools

19 better. But it also has to be done, you

20 know, so that we don't disrupt education,

21 that the principals can still do their job

22 and the teachers can still do their jobs.

23 But I do believe that's important.

24 And the other thing we've done, which

271

1 I didn't even know hadn't been done, when we

2 have CEC meetings, we ask parents to ask

3 questions publicly but also we give them

4 cards on which they can write questions

5 privately. And every single parent that

6 addresses us with a question gets an answer.

7 And they generally get it within two weeks.

8 And it can be specific to their school, it

9 could be something they think we should do

10 universally.

11 So parent voice is very, very

12 important to me. We do a lot of parent

13 conferences. We have encouraged parent

14 organizations to come talk to us about

15 different issues. So -- but anyone who has

16 more specific suggestions on more things we

17 can do with parents, I'm happy to take them

18 under advisement.

19 SENATOR COMRIE: I'll be happy to send

20 you the specifics.

21 I want to applaud you for making all

22 the CEC meetings that you've made and having

23 public meetings in the evening. I attended

24 the one you had at 238 with District 29. The

272

1 auditorium was full, and there was a great

2 discourse back and forth. And I think those

3 types of things really empower parents and

4 they feel involved in making that. And I'm

5 impressed that you've been doing that all

6 over the city and are continuing to do that,

7 to have direct contact.

8 You talked about parity, and I wanted

9 to talk about the rezoning and the

10 distribution of children within school

11 districts, especially when we have some

12 schools that are overcrowded from children

13 and schools that are undercrowded. And how

14 can we start looking at making those changes

15 within the school year so that we don't have

16 schools that are undercrowded when we have

17 children overcrowded? Especially in parts of

18 29 and 28, we have some schools that really

19 need to get some relief, and while we have

20 other vacant space in schools. Just to keep

21 it parochial for a minute, but I understand

22 that's a citywide issue as well.

23 How can we create opportunities to

24 change those numbers so that these schools

273

1 can have a balanced and workable number of

2 children?

3 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, I think here

4 again, the parents' wishes have to be

5 listened to. And this is where -- this is

6 the one issue that it goes through the CEC.

7 But we have also sent people, from Elizabeth

8 Rose, Dorita Gibson -- these are deputy

9 chancellors -- and also Josh Wallack. But

10 all have to work together. Because it's

11 about how you're changing your enrollment

12 patterns, what is the real -- we have a

13 person who's an expert on facilities, does

14 nothing but looks and sees what the school

15 capacity is or what it could be. So those

16 are all things that we're looking at.

17 But the other thing is, you know,

18 parents get very attached to their

19 neighborhood school. So also convincing

20 parents that they're going to go to a

21 different school than what they traditionally

22 have gone to, it's about assuring them that

23 the other school is as good as the school

24 they're at. And that really, to me, is my

274

1 mission. And I wouldn't recommend doing any

2 kind of -- unless I could honestly say, in my

3 deepest heart, Guys, either school, your

4 child is going to get an education. And

5 that's certainly something I can say without

6 being at all hesitant in the rezoning at 308

7 and PS 8. I know both principals, I know

8 both student bodies, I've been to both

9 schools numerous times, and I can say to

10 parents: Guys, this is really a good thing.

11 So I do think it's a situation by

12 situation -- no blanket statements on this,

13 but this is something -- and many parents now

14 in CECs are saying to me, have you thought

15 about this, would you do this? I'm anxious

16 for parents to tell me first before we have

17 to go out to the public. So I certainly

18 encourage your constituencies to look at some

19 of the issues, and then what do we do from

20 there.

21 SENATOR COMRIE: All right. Great.

22 Well, also I support the CTE program.

23 Hillcrest High School I share with

24 Assemblyman Weprin, and the nursing program

275

1 there is a great program. And I hope that we

2 can get the proper people to continue that

3 program and a proper teacher to come in.

4 Maybe you could work with your college, which

5 has nursing programs, also Queensborough, to

6 borrow faculty to continue that program and

7 maybe do that on a citywide basis. I think

8 that would be critical.

9 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I'm going to use

10 this opportunity today to send you a letter

11 by next week. Because, you know, this is

12 like -- we have to strike while the iron is

13 hot. I don't know if you heard yesterday,

14 there was a national report on what the

15 careers in the future are. And the top 10 or

16 20 careers are all health-related. They all

17 have to do with geriatric care as well as

18 health-related. And that means that we

19 really need to put those programs in our

20 schools, because a lot of our kids will have

21 jobs and this is what they're training on.

22 So those CTE programs are going to be crucial

23 to making sure that we're moving forward on

24 this.

276

1 SENATOR COMRIE: Right.

2 And finally, Chancellor, we don't have

3 a community school in District 29 anywhere,

4 which has one of the longest commute times in

5 the city. We really need to find

6 collocations, hopefully, in 29 and 28, they

7 don't have a community school.

8 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Because you have

9 no renewal schools. So that was our first

10 option, to put community schools where you

11 have renewal schools. But as we move

12 forward, when more money becomes available,

13 there are several schools I actually visited

14 in 29, one of which would be a good

15 candidate. But it's really prioritizing the

16 community schools that are struggling

17 schools.

18 SENATOR COMRIE: Oh, okay. Well, I'm

19 glad that we don't have renewal schools, but

20 we have parents with some of the longest

21 commute times in the city, and having a

22 school that's open -- I would hope that every

23 school in the system could be open until 7

24 o'clock, as I told the state commissioner,

277

1 and I hope that we can work to that model.

2 As well, especially with working parents,

3 many of my parents have to leave their homes

4 before 7 a.m. They're not getting back, with

5 the long commute times, till 7 p.m. So the

6 more that we can set those up, the better.

7 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, keep in mind

8 that last year we put after-school programs

9 at every single middle school in New York

10 City. And our thinking on that one was that

11 who are the kids that are most likely to need

12 to be in a safe place? And we decided it was

13 teenagers, that adolescents have the most

14 need to be actively occupied. And by the

15 way, our after-school programs, different

16 than community schools, are focused on things

17 like the arts and chess and -- some

18 academics, but a variety of sports and arts

19 does a lot of those works for us. And those

20 are after-school providers, expanded-time

21 providers. And we did it in all middle

22 schools. So now the elementary school

23 parents are saying: What about us?

24 Many of them, if they're Title I

278

1 schools, have used some of their Title I

2 funding for after-school programs. The

3 people who are really kind of out there a

4 little are the ones who are not Title I

5 schools where parents have either fund-raised

6 for this. But, you know, the principals are

7 asking this, as are parents. But it's a

8 matter of when you have limited funds, where

9 do you prioritize? But it isn't that we

10 haven't thought about which are the

11 neighborhoods that we need to do more in

12 terms of after-school.

13 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you. Let me

14 just compliment you and your staff. You've

15 always been responsive and detailed. And

16 even when you haven't given me the response I

17 wanted to hear, it's been a response that we

18 needed to hear. So I want to thank you for

19 being diligent and getting back to us.

20 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Thank you.

21 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

22 much, Senator.

23 Assemblywoman Malliotakis.

24 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you,

279

1 Chancellor. I just wanted to, well, first

2 echo some of the sentiments of my colleague

3 Senator Savino regarding the $868 million and

4 the five-year capital plan. There are

5 schools in my district, as I'm sure most the

6 representatives here, that are at least 100

7 percent or 150 percent over capacity. She

8 had mentioned PS 13 on Staten Island. We've

9 been talking to our local council member

10 about that. We'd really like to maybe have a

11 meeting with you regarding that particular

12 school. Being with new developments in the

13 mayor's affordable housing plan and the Mount

14 Manresa development, we have significant

15 concerns. Also, parochial school closures in

16 that area have led to an overpopulation in

17 that school.

18 In the Brooklyn part of my district,

19 there are two in particular, PS 176 and

20 PS 127. The belief is that it's been the

21 problem of illegal conversions in the Bay

22 Ridge/Dyker Heights area that have led to

23 overcrowding at those schools. So certainly

24 if we're going to be adding seats, if you

280

1 could take a look at those as well.

2 I wanted to ask you a little bit about

3 some of the out-of-pocket expenses that

4 teachers may be having in the schools. It

5 just always seems interesting, I guess, to me

6 that the state spends $9.5 billion this year

7 for the City of New York, and it's gone up

8 significantly over the last few years, we

9 spend about 19,000 per pupil, yet we always

10 see the teachers don't have paper, they don't

11 have basic supplies that they need to perform

12 their duties.

13 And so I'm very happy to see that the

14 Governor has put in a $200 tax credit for the

15 teachers in this year's budget. I wish it

16 would be $500, which is a bill that I and a

17 couple of my colleagues have, that would --

18 if I was going to do a tax credit. But I

19 just wanted to hear your thoughts on it.

20 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, first of

21 all, good teachers always spend money out of

22 pocket. I was a teacher for 22 years, if I

23 wanted to give the students a party, it came

24 out of pocket. If I wanted to buy something

281

1 for the classroom that maybe was a little

2 unusual or different -- and in my case,

3 always unusual or different -- it came out of

4 pocket. It was part of the expenses, at the

5 time, of doing my job. My husband, who's in

6 accounting, would say to me, Well, that's

7 tax-deductible. And I would keep my

8 receipts -- and you always have said the same

9 thing.

10 CFO ORLANDO: Sure.

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: And I had a very

12 large envelope of tax-deductibles. The same

13 thing when I was a principal, I would buy

14 books for my teachers on my own, would buy

15 things for the school on my own. I think

16 that's part of it. I do think having a tax

17 credit would help. But I do think that if

18 you want to do a job, there are always things

19 you want to do that are different classroom

20 to classroom.

21 One teacher may want to do baking -- I

22 used to cook with my students one year every

23 single Friday. There was no way that that

24 money was coming out of any school budget.

282

1 There's nothing there for that kind of

2 consumable. But I wasn't going to stop -- I

3 decided this year, I was teaching American

4 history, that I would -- I had this book, the

5 Cookbook of Presidents, and I would cook the

6 menus that different presidents considered

7 their favorite. Till I hit one president who

8 liked lobster, and I stopped right there

9 because I didn't have enough money to do

10 that.

11 But I do think you're always going to

12 have that. I think whatever career you have,

13 you're going to spend some extra money. I

14 think certainly -- you know, we have

15 teacher's choice -- donorschoose.org, which

16 has been very helpful to a lot of our

17 schools. But there's no easy answer to this

18 in terms of -- but I think the tax credit

19 will go a long way to helping them.

20 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Okay,

21 great. Last year, 2015-2016, New York City

22 received $531 million in Contracts for

23 Excellence funding. Of that, only

24 $7.5 million went to Staten Island public

283

1 schools, representing only about 1.42 percent

2 of the funding. Staten Island public schools

3 serve over 70,000 students, as you know,

4 which represents about 6.2 percent of all New

5 York City students. So if you were to do

6 this proportionally, Staten Island should get

7 about 31 million. So I just wanted to know

8 how you make this determination.

9 CFO ORLANDO: Sure. The C for E money

10 that you're referencing, there are state

11 regulations promulgated on how the money gets

12 distributed, and it's determined based on

13 need, essentially. And so we look across the

14 entire city at the neediest schools. And

15 although there are needy schools in all

16 boroughs, it seems that as the money gets

17 distributed, Staten Island schools are

18 comparatively less needy. That's not to say

19 that they're not needy, please. Yes --

20 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: I still do

21 believe, though, it should be more

22 proportional based on population. I mean, we

23 have this fight all the time with HHC, right?

24 We want our fair share of hospital funding.

284

1 We don't even have a public hospital, we say,

2 well, give us our proportional share on

3 population for those hospitals that we do

4 have. So I think this is sort of a similar

5 case -- which we could talk at another time

6 about.

7 CFO ORLANDO: Happy to. Happy to --

8 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you.

9 Thank you for answering.

10 CHANCELLOR FARINA: And just so you

11 know, and many of you are already taking

12 advantage of it, any of you who want to have

13 one-on-one conversations with any member of

14 my staff or myself, I'm happy to do it.

15 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you.

16 CHANCELLOR FARINA: And you deal with

17 our intergov team, and then just give us a

18 heads-up on some of the issues so we can

19 research them before we meet.

20 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you.

21 I have two more questions.

22 I saw an article in the New York

23 Times, I guess it was a few months ago, about

24 the first day of school you visited a school,

285

1 PS 212 in Queens. They have a Move to

2 Improve program.

3 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Oh, yes.

4 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: The Move

5 to Improve program. And included in that

6 program is mindfulness programming, which I

7 happen to truly believe in. I believe that

8 this, you know, mindfulness, meditation,

9 quiet time, whatever you want to call it, I

10 believe it is really a tool to help children

11 focus, help their concentration, especially

12 children with attention deficit disorder,

13 hyperactivity, children with autism. So I

14 just would love to hear about what your

15 thoughts are on this program, and how do we

16 get one in my district?

17 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, this is a

18 program -- in fact, we had gone there for an

19 entirely different purpose, they were

20 starting a new language program, I believe,

21 and that's why we were there. The principal

22 told me it was done as a result of teachers

23 saying that life was too pressured and too

24 rushed. So the teachers went for training,

286

1 and really it's a very simple thing. It's

2 really more about taking a deep breath and

3 learning to let it out -- I mean, I actually

4 sat with the kids and did it, so I know it

5 does work at that level. But we made that a

6 Showcase School, which is schools that we

7 think are doing something excellent, so other

8 schools can go there and observe it and see

9 if they can replicate it. The only thing

10 that holds us back from doing that is the

11 willingness of teachers to be trained in it.

12 In this particular school, I think the

13 principal had a guidance counselor that was

14 trained in it, and she trained others.

15 So it's certainly an encouragement,

16 and principals can request it in terms of

17 they want more training in it, but it ties in

18 with all the things that we're doing in terms

19 of mental health and wellness in general.

20 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: How many

21 schools in the city do that?

22 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I don't know right

23 now, but I can find out.

24 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Okay,

287

1 great. And I'd love to come visit one with

2 you if you would like to take me.

3 CHANCELLOR FARINA: That principal

4 speaks very highly of it.

5 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Great.

6 I've just got one last question. I

7 read a report about this new policy on

8 student behavior, about school discipline,

9 and it was an article -- which I'm sure

10 you're familiar with -- that said in October

11 that, you know, they started giving out these

12 cards now, they're warning cards, instead of

13 suspension. But there was one student who in

14 October was -- instead of -- you know, he was

15 carrying seven bags of marijuana. How does

16 somebody like that get just a warning card?

17 This is for high school students, too, and

18 the warning card says you're supposed to take

19 the card home and discuss it with your

20 parents. I mean, this is not really

21 realistic that we can expect a child, a

22 student, a high school student specifically,

23 to go home and discuss this type of stuff

24 with their parents.

288

1 I think it's -- it's -- in terms of we

2 don't want to suspend kids, right, if there

3 were other circumstances in there -- dressing

4 inappropriately, cursing, whatever it was --

5 I can understand that. But seven bags of

6 marijuana, to send them a card instead of

7 sending them for suspension, I think is

8 really not the right move.

9 I just wanted to know what your

10 thoughts are on this, and the reason they

11 changed the policy.

12 CHANCELLOR FARINA: We have had a

13 committee working on this for the last year,

14 almost. And I think we're trying to balance

15 what is really behavior that needs to be

16 constantly reprimanded or somehow penalized,

17 and not that we just -- part of normal

18 behavior. So obviously that's something I'd

19 have to look at. I don't know that case

20 specifically.

21 But one of the things that I'm very

22 clear about is I started looking at kids who

23 were suspended and how many and for what, and

24 some from more schools than others, and there

289

1 was a big inconsistency. So in this school

2 you got suspended for X, but in this school,

3 no. So we need to bring more of a systemic

4 approach to suspensions.

5 We also know that with suspensions,

6 students who are suspended for too long tend

7 not to go back to school at all. So would

8 you rather have them in school learning and

9 on a career path, or do you want to make sure

10 that they're the first natural dropouts.

11 So this is something that we've spent

12 more time on and we haven't really finalized

13 it, because we have to bring in NYPD, you

14 know, principals' opinions -- but we have a

15 committee that's working on this. The

16 stickiest point is the suspension around an

17 issue called insubordination. And that

18 means -- what do we mean by it? What I

19 consider insubordination, someone else might

20 not. So we're trying to codify what are some

21 of the issues and what is the appropriate

22 penalty for those issues, so in one school it

23 doesn't become 10 days and in another school

24 20 days.

290

1 So this is really something that we're

2 working with. We do not have an answer as of

3 right now. But it's part of the process of

4 also making sure that some schools,

5 particularly in certain neighborhoods, don't

6 oversuspend versus other schools that

7 undersuspend.

8 So this is a puzzle, a problem, but

9 it's still in the works.

10 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Okay. And

11 I do think that it needs to be reexamined as

12 we go forward, because we don't want what you

13 said, which is insubordination, we don't want

14 children or students to think that they can

15 get away with disrespecting their teachers,

16 their colleagues or their principals --

17 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Absolutely. Also,

18 everybody had a right to feel safe in a

19 school, not just students, but teachers and

20 principals as well. That is what we

21 guarantee, that if you send your child to

22 school, they're going to be safe. So I take

23 that very seriously.

24 ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you.

291

1 I've run out of time, so I will end there.

2 Thank you.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

4 Senator?

5 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

6 much.

7 Our next speaker is Senator Velmanette

8 Montgomery.

9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Good afternoon,

10 Chancellor.

11 I can't help but make a note of

12 something that I hope my male colleagues will

13 not feel offended, but it is a certainly

14 wonderful thing in our history, in the

15 history of our state, to see a perfect

16 alignment in our educational system, with

17 women at the head of every system.

18 (Scattered applause.)

19 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you. I

20 appreciate your acknowledging. So you're

21 there, our chancellor --

22 CHANCELLOR FARINA: It's about time.

23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: It's about time.

24 Our commissioner was here this morning, our

292

1 SUNY chancellor is a female, the Regents,

2 outgoing Regents chancellor is female, the

3 NYSUT head is female. So we're in good hands

4 and good stead. So I thank you and I'm happy

5 that you're here. As a seasoned educator, I

6 can really feel it. It's very different.

7 I would just like to, you know,

8 appreciate also that you have referred to

9 school-based health clinics in your report,

10 and I am so happy that you acknowledge that.

11 And it's been a long time, we have not really

12 advanced, to my satisfaction, enough. But

13 you're acknowledging it, you're working on

14 it, and it's going to be part of the building

15 of the community schools that I think is so

16 important.

17 I just want to say to you that you

18 also mentioned very different programs that

19 you have instituted along the lines of

20 college-readiness initiatives. And certainly

21 that's something that we all applaud you for.

22 I want to just mention -- I'm not sure

23 that this was highlighted, but we've talked

24 about it, I know that you have. I know that

293

1 you're interested, and the commissioner this

2 morning indicated that she certainly agrees

3 with you and is going to be working with you

4 on it, developing the middle school as part

5 of the pipeline to college. That we seem to

6 not have put enough emphasis on that, and

7 that's really where we need the most help.

8 And so I really am looking forward to

9 us being able to talk a lot more about that,

10 as we have in the past.

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: My first six

12 months on this job, I did nothing but middle

13 schools. I am a firm believer that middle

14 schools are the crux of our system.

15 If you look at the system, that

16 elementary schools -- and now with pre-K --

17 we have those in pretty good shape. You

18 know, some need more help than others, but

19 honestly it's -- middle schools have several

20 issues, seventh grade in particular. You

21 have students going through social/emotional

22 issues. You have them deciding that -- they

23 don't even know if they want to be in school,

24 number one. But also they don't like

294

1 themselves, they don't -- so teachers have to

2 be of a different, you know, attitude.

3 You have teachers going for teaching

4 licenses, they know they want to be a high

5 school teacher because they want to teach a

6 subject, and they know they want to be an

7 elementary school -- no one says I want to be

8 a middle school teacher; somehow you end up

9 there. So I do think it's really important

10 to focus.

11 And because I did so much work with

12 middle schools those first six months, I

13 found some extraordinary examples of fabulous

14 middle schools. So if you look at our

15 learning partners in Showcase, the vast

16 majority are middle schools, because there is

17 the right way to run a middle school and the

18 wrong way.

19 So I do believe that middle schools

20 that offer arts programs, middle schools that

21 offer choices for students -- and

22 particularly choices around their making

23 decisions for themselves -- middle schools

24 that are of a certain size and run by houses,

295

1 so that you have the same guidance counselor

2 for three years, you have the same assistant

3 principal three years, these are better

4 models than some other models. So I do

5 believe that we're getting better at middle

6 school.

7 But also eighth-grade teachers must

8 start talking to ninth-grade teachers, the

9 same way that fifth-grade teachers need to

10 start talking to sixth-grade teachers. So

11 because we're now back in superintendencies,

12 you know -- the other structure, the middle

13 schools and high schools and elementary were

14 not geographically together. You had a

15 superintendent of this school, and right

16 across the street another superintendent, and

17 these principals didn't even know each

18 other's names.

19 So our thought was, under the

20 superintendencies that are geographically

21 based, like districts, that every middle

22 school would know all their feeder elementary

23 schools. And because they're all under one

24 superintendent, they meet at least once a

296

1 month and talk to each other. That, to me,

2 is a crucial point in terms of getting that

3 working.

4 We've also asked high schools now, who

5 tended to have their own little islands, to

6 kind of start adopting middle schools that

7 they all work with. For example, I went to

8 -- oh, God, let me think -- Dominic

9 D'Angelo's school. He has a phenomenal

10 orchestra, symphony orchestra, a

11 hundred-and-some-odd players. So I said to

12 him, are you working with any high schools so

13 that your kids, when they leave your program,

14 can automatically go. And I think he's

15 working with Fort Hamilton. But he also has

16 now two elementary schools where his teachers

17 go to work with them so they will have a

18 path.

19 So yes, we need a pre-K to 12 path,

20 and we need these people to know each other

21 and to talk to each other, but also to have

22 programs that will become consistent. I

23 mean, one of the other things that I think

24 eventually would help in the changing of the

297

1 laws, and I've already discussed this with

2 MaryEllen, is a ruling that says in middle

3 school you have to offer three different art

4 forms. I would love for her to have some

5 flexibility and say that if you have one form

6 that is fabulous, can we do the same one over

7 three years. Isn't it better to be really,

8 really good at something than have a little

9 bit of this, a little bit of that?

10 So there's a lot of things that I

11 think can be done to make middle schools even

12 better than the great ones really are right

13 now.

14 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you for

15 that. And speaking of alignment, there's

16 another area that I think the commissioner is

17 certainly aligned with you. You mentioned in

18 your statement that one of the principles of

19 success under your leadership is that you

20 want to see more sharing of best practices.

21 And that in fact is one of the pieces, the

22 tenets of the -- that the commissioner gave

23 us today, and that is a part of the section

24 of their budget proposal that deals

298

1 specifically with improving the outcomes for

2 boys and young men of color, but I think it's

3 a principle that we can probably use

4 throughout our system. And that is they have

5 requested a specific funding for developing

6 exemplary school models and sharing those

7 practices.

8 So hopefully you will be able to and

9 we will be able to benefit from that in --

10 for the fact that you're trying to do this,

11 you should be able to access some of those

12 funds. So we will be working together to

13 make sure that happens, because that's what

14 we need. There are some really wonderful

15 models. And one of them, as you know -- I've

16 spoken to you so many times about -- is the

17 Harbor School, which is one of those just

18 absolute jewels in your system, in our

19 system. And we need more of those. We need

20 a lot more CTE programs that work to actually

21 prepare young people to go into the world and

22 be more successful in many different areas.

23 So I thank you for your attention to that.

24 CHANCELLOR FARINA: To me,

299

1 collaboration is much better than

2 competition. Competition you care about

3 yourself; collaboration you have to be --

4 your success should only happen if you bring

5 someone else along to success.

6 So in our models we have what we call

7 master principals, master assistant

8 principals, and teacher leaders. Which get

9 extra money -- not because their test scores

10 are higher, but because they've opened their

11 doors and shared what they've already learned

12 with a lot of other people.

13 So this spirit of collaboration works

14 for all kids, and to me that's the model I

15 want to see.

16 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. And

17 personally and, you know, otherwise I worry a

18 lot about the fact that children with the

19 most needs are treated experimentally far too

20 often, and what really works is never

21 replicated widely, doesn't get factored into

22 becoming part of the system and the way that

23 we work with young people.

24 So I'm just happy to see that both you

300

1 and the commissioner are looking at ways to

2 look for the best practices and begin to

3 utilize them more widely. So thank you.

4 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

6 much.

7 Mr. Felix Ortiz.

8 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I'm corrected, I

9 stand corrected. Madam Chairwoman.

10 (Laughter.)

11 ASSEMBLYMAN ORTIZ: Thank you,

12 Mr. Chair {inaudible}.

13 MULTIPLE VOICES: Your mic.

14 ASSEMBLYMAN ORTIZ: Is it now working?

15 MULTIPLE VOICES: Yes, it is.

16 ASSEMBLYMAN ORTIZ: Okay, I'm not

17 going to repeat myself, but I will say

18 welcome for being here.

19 Just a couple of -- first of all, I

20 would like just to thank you so much for

21 intervening on PS 169 when we had a hard

22 situation about banning the Santa Claus to

23 come to PS 169. The bad news is that that

24 Santa Claus happened to be me. So I really

301

1 appreciate that you listened to the parents

2 that were really concerned. To the

3 principal, I thank her as well, because I

4 don't believe that we should deny our kids an

5 opportunity to enjoy their holidays. So

6 thank you very much for your intervention on

7 that. Thank you.

8 I had a couple of questions regarding

9 a follow up on probably Senator Marcellino

10 about guidance counselors and social workers.

11 As you probably know, one of every six

12 Hispanics, they're the age of 14 through 20.

13 And when you mentioned the middle schools,

14 this question came back to my mind again. As

15 a result that most of these girls happen to

16 be Hispanic girls, who their thought is to

17 have a tendency to commit suicide. And this

18 happened in my district as well. We had an

19 incident where a young girl was on 54th

20 Street and 4th Avenue trying to jump on the

21 rail of the subway station. We had another

22 one on 9th Street who was trying to jump on

23 the rail. We're talking about 13, 14, 15, 16

24 years old.

302

1 My question to you is, what kind of

2 assessment, mental health assessment, is the

3 Board of Education conducting in order to

4 assess our children within the school system?

5 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, we do have

6 protocols for guidance counselors on how to

7 talk about suicide in their respective

8 schools, that this is an issue. We have

9 guides around suicide.

10 In terms of assessing, having mental

11 health clinics is one of the ways to do it.

12 I think one of the challenges that we have is

13 how do we talk to parents about how to talk

14 to their children about this.

15 One of the things that we have found,

16 at least personally, in the last couple of

17 years that I've been here, is that there is

18 no one pattern for most of our suicides.

19 What seems to be a little bit more prevalent

20 is absence from school or fear of some kind

21 of repercussions. But it's not about

22 assessing which kids might be able to -- it's

23 still based on teacher recommendations or

24 parents coming to school to worry about their

303

1 kids. But also sometimes we also find that

2 if teachers -- and I just think of two cases

3 recently where teachers brought this to

4 parents, parents are in denial.

5 So there's got to be a lot more

6 workshops for parents about signs of, and we

7 have those. We have brochures on those

8 issues. And also to guidance counselors and

9 teachers, if you think your child is in need

10 of an intervention, what should you do. Our

11 guidance counselors are prepared to talk

12 about these issues, and putting more guidance

13 counselors and more social workers in our

14 schools is another way to go. But it's not

15 an easy topic.

16 ASSEMBLYMAN ORTIZ: Let me just

17 entertain the question back again about

18 the -- asking about how many social workers

19 and guidance counselors and psychologists do

20 we have in the system. Do every school have

21 a social worker? Do every school have a

22 guidance counselor? Do every school have a

23 psychologist?

24 CHANCELLOR FARINA: The psychologists

304

1 are used more for testing purposes. Most

2 schools have either a social worker or a

3 guidance counselor. Some schools have both;

4 some schools have three or four. Depends on

5 the population of the school.

6 But we can get you the specific

7 numbers. And that's a number we keep adding

8 to.

9 ASSEMBLYMAN ORTIZ: Yeah, I would

10 appreciate it if you can get back to me on

11 that. Because as you know, I represent

12 School District 15 and School District 20.

13 And there's a big discrepancy about both

14 school districts. And I do visit the schools

15 very often. I go to the schools Fridays, and

16 I speak to the kids. And I have maintained

17 my mission to be there for the last 22 years.

18 And one of the biggest issues that

19 continues to be addressed is we don't have

20 enough guidance counselors, and we would like

21 to have a psychologist inside; some schools

22 have a psychologist. Like you stated, and I

23 agree with you, some need more help than

24 others. But I do believe that is a pattern

305

1 that continues to happen in Sunset Park

2 itself.

3 And I would like also to thank you for

4 what you did in PS 15 about the autism, to

5 address the autism in the school, because I

6 think that can serve as a model, which is

7 another issue that I have worked very hard on

8 it, to make sure that we take care of those

9 kids who are suffering from autism and be

10 integrated into the regular mix. I'm for it.

11 My other question is you mentioned

12 about -- which I also agree with you -- on

13 art, music and, I will add to it, acting.

14 I'm a very big fan of that. Since I've been

15 elected to office, I've been putting money to

16 School District 15 and School District 20, to

17 make sure that every school, as much as I

18 can, will have instruments, will have the

19 equipment necessary to present -- to give

20 this to students in the school system. But

21 one of the lacking is that when I do that,

22 they don't have a teacher. We don't have an

23 art teacher, they don't have a music teacher,

24 they don't have an acting teacher. We have a

306

1 great model school in MS 443, which I work

2 with them very, very close, and PS 10, for

3 example, has another group, but they don't

4 have -- you know, some of them lacking in

5 teachers.

6 My question is, what are you trying to

7 do in order to make sure that we can give

8 these opportunities to the kids? Because

9 it's very helpful for the development and the

10 intellect of our kids.

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, first, let

12 me answer your three questions. First of

13 all, the fact that we're bringing back arts

14 teachers means that there's been a number of

15 years where many people didn't go into this

16 field because they didn't think they would

17 have jobs. Because I meet with the deans of

18 the School of Education like every three

19 months, and I've said to them, these are the

20 areas that I need you to prepare more people:

21 Guidance counselors, ESL teachers, special ed

22 teachers, arts teachers.

23 We know what the needs are going to

24 be. So that's one of the reasons we entered

307

1 into this partnership with Lincoln Center,

2 with -- we're also thinking of other cultural

3 institutions where, for example, BAM could

4 help do some of this.

5 In terms of not having enough

6 teachers, especially in District 15, all they

7 have to do is pick up the phone, and we have

8 a department that helps people get those

9 teachers.

10 This year we also put out grants -- if

11 schools were willing to share teachers and we

12 specifically did it based on the issue that

13 we brought up before, if an elementary school

14 and a middle school wanted to share the same

15 arts teacher, with the idea that eventually

16 you'd move from here to there, we would pay a

17 piece of this money. Part of the $23 million

18 was to encourage more arts teachers to be

19 shared between two schools.

20 But principals have to apply for this.

21 They have to let us know -- we have an entire

22 department that reviews resumes. I can't

23 imagine PS 10, Laura couldn't pick up the

24 phone and say "Do you know of anyone?" So I

308

1 do think that's part of it.

2 The other thing is -- and I do

3 encourage you to look at the arts also from

4 residencies. We have a tremendous amount in

5 all our boroughs, fabulous arts residents

6 that are willing to come to schools and work

7 with kids. And there are many of them who

8 would do that work.

9 And also the other thing we've entered

10 into partnerships with is for schools that

11 want to start instrumental programs, we now

12 have a relationship with WH -- one of the

13 media companies which actually donates

14 instruments to schools if they want to start

15 musical -- it will come to us, right.

16 But the reality is we're having the

17 right art teacher in the right discipline and

18 making sure the principal has a plan. The

19 one arts form -- and I agree with you on

20 theater arts, especially for our English

21 language learners. Getting up -- nothing

22 improves speech more than getting on the

23 stage and feeling empowered. As part of the

24 Hamilton money, the kids have developed

309

1 monologues and they have to go on the stage

2 and compete with each other, the schools that

3 are coming. That thing on Broadway is going

4 to be almost all day. So that's partially

5 what we're going to do.

6 The most popular arts form right now

7 in terms of unexpectedness is dance. Dance,

8 however, requires that we have a dance room.

9 It requires a certain kind of flooring. It

10 requires mirrors. There's a whole other

11 infrastructure that we have to put in place.

12 But we're finding that more and more schools

13 are requesting that.

14 So I do think arts are alive and well.

15 But, you know, just let me know and we'll

16 figure out a way to get them teachers.

17 ASSEMBLYMAN ORTIZ: Last but not

18 least, because my time is running out, I

19 forgot to wear my NYU hat, but you have a

20 beautiful one over there. I did went to NYU

21 myself as well.

22 I have two pieces of legislation which

23 I would like your staff to look into it and

24 give us feedback. One is mandating a social

310

1 worker in every school in the State of New

2 York, and the second one is mandating a

3 guidance counselor and a psychologist in

4 every school. I do believe fundamentally

5 that if we can identify the problems of our

6 children at an early stage of their life, we

7 will be able to intervene early, engaging the

8 family in the discussion, and make sure that

9 we can develop a plan of action to address

10 the needs and the problems that this family

11 faces, and this kid will be able to perform

12 better academically. So I hope that you get

13 a chance to look at it.

14 It was a pleasure to see you. Thank

15 you.

16 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I love funded

17 mandates. I'm --

18 ASSEMBLYMAN ORTIZ: Let me just -- let

19 me just -- let me just put it on the record.

20 It is not an unfunded mandate. I do have a

21 funding stream. The problem is that I don't

22 know if people here will agree with me. I'd

23 love to charge 25 cents to carbohydrate

24 items, and if we can do that, we can come

311

1 out -- and I have the econometric model to

2 prove it -- with $1.2 billion that will help

3 us also to address the issue that was

4 addressed by my colleague Cusick about

5 obesity, which has been another issue that

6 I've been addressing for many, many years.

7 So if you can support the surcharge on

8 sodas, we will be able to get $1.2 billion.

9 And I welcome your support for that. Thank

10 you.

11 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

12 much.

13 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you. Our

14 next speaker is Senator Nozzolio.

15 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you.

16 Good afternoon, Chancellor. You were

17 asked a lot of questions about a lot of

18 different things. Here's another different

19 thing.

20 We call them, in upstate New York,

21 school resource officers. I'm not sure what

22 you call them in New York City. But do you

23 have trained retired or current police

24 officers who are involved with safety in your

312

1 schools?

2 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, we have

3 school safety officers in all our schools,

4 and they're trained --

5 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: In every -- and

6 that's what I wanted to know, the scope and

7 breadth of it. In every single school?

8 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Every single

9 school. And how many there are, it depends

10 on the number of students. And they're

11 trained by the NYPD, and we work in

12 conjunction with them.

13 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: And they're

14 deployed by the -- they're full-time

15 employees of the NYPD?

16 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yes, and they --

17 again, in our high schools they tend to be,

18 depending on the number of students, anywhere

19 from 3 to 7 to 8 of them per school. But we

20 have them in every single school.

21 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: And so these are

22 paid for -- out of not your budget, but the

23 school -- but the police department budget?

24 CHANCELLOR FARINA: We pay for them;

313

1 the NYPD trains them.

2 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Could you explain

3 that a little more?

4 CFO ORLANDO: Sure. We make a payment

5 to the NYPD for the service that they provide

6 us of school safety.

7 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: So reimburse them

8 dollar for dollar for what they --

9 CFO ORLANDO: Yes, we give them the

10 money for the service they provide us.

11 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Do you have any

12 idea how many school resource -- school

13 officers there are?

14 CFO ORLANDO: I think the number is in

15 the thousands, but I don't have -- I can get

16 that for you.

17 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yeah, it would

18 have to be at least 3,000, at least. Because

19 we have at least one in every elementary

20 school, and then middle schools and high

21 schools tend to have more.

22 And what we also do, this year in

23 particular we're working with the NYPD to

24 retrain them, because we want them also,

314

1 especially with our culture and climate that

2 we're trying to do, how to deescalate issues

3 as well as be there in terms of when an issue

4 does occur. So we have a very good working

5 relationship, and also many of them work with

6 students, you know, in after-school programs

7 and a multitude of other things.

8 But that is something that's in every

9 single school.

10 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Chancellor, who

11 assigns those officers, and how is that

12 determination made?

13 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, first of

14 all, we have a level of -- there are

15 supervisors over them, and they take care of

16 the deployment and the redeployment,

17 depending on the issues in the particular

18 school. So if there's a school that is

19 perceived to have more issues, there will be

20 more what we call Level 3s, of the

21 supervisors.

22 But I'm in constant discussion with

23 the NYPD on what their roles are and what

24 they do. Principals have some ability to

315

1 talk to them, but in terms of evaluating

2 them, it's done through the NYPD.

3 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: And that NYPD unit

4 is specifically designed or tasked with this

5 particular skill set for officers?

6 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Absolutely. It's

7 a separate title. They're called school

8 safety agents.

9 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: And those school

10 safety agents, do they have individual posts

11 or are they to walk freely through the halls?

12 Or what is basically the modus --

13 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, the most

14 important job that they do, they serve as

15 security at the front door. You cannot get

16 into a school in New York City without

17 signing in and showing ID, including me, to

18 the school safety officer. So depending on

19 the size of the building, there is one person

20 at the desk or two people. That's their

21 first job. And that's one of their primary

22 jobs.

23 If it's a high school, they're also

24 expected to walk the building, and

316

1 particularly to walk the building in what

2 might be the hallways, the corridors,

3 whatever. And they have rotation posts.

4 In elementary schools, they serve more

5 as the face to the public, so that no one

6 goes in there without an appointment. You

7 have a sign-in book, as you go into a school

8 you have to sign, to show the ID. And they

9 also give you a sticker that says where

10 you're going. So if you're walking the

11 building, you have a special ID on you that

12 shows -- usually they're yellow and it says

13 "Visitor." And you have to go to where it

14 tells you that you're going.

15 So there's a lot of protocols that

16 we've put in place to ensure that they do the

17 job that they're meant to do. In high

18 schools, we've been encouraging a lot more of

19 walking the buildings in different ways and

20 engaging in conversation with kids. So you

21 don't get to see students for the first time

22 when they're in trouble, but it's a constant

23 conversation.

24 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: And that's exactly

317

1 the area I'd like to probe a little further,

2 that they're allowed to make conversation

3 with students, they're able to interact with

4 them and ask questions, answer questions, act

5 as role models, those kinds of things?

6 CHANCELLOR FARINA: It really depends

7 on them. And what we've been trying to get

8 principals to do is to make sure they're more

9 used as preventive than coming after the

10 fact.

11 But again, like everything else, it

12 depends on people's personalities. I went to

13 a school recently where the principal told me

14 that the school safety agent in her building

15 actually plays basketball with some of the

16 kids during lunchtime. And to me, that's an

17 ideal situation. Because if you have the

18 same eight kids who are going to get in

19 trouble all the time, get to know them first

20 so maybe that doesn't happen.

21 But that's not so much written in

22 stone; it's an individual agent and an

23 individual principal working on those

24 agreements.

318

1 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Did those officers

2 engage in normal -- are those officers given

3 regular training specific to that type of

4 role?

5 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yes, they are.

6 And last year, to enhance the role, we had

7 our first ever -- I'm a big believer in

8 celebrations, so we had our first celebration

9 for school safety officers, and we had it --

10 in order to be nominated, you had to go above

11 and beyond what the job calls for. And in

12 most cases, above and beyond, that you did

13 some kind of interaction, either with parents

14 or students, that was not part of your normal

15 job. Because we're trying to show that

16 people who go above and beyond are the people

17 who should be celebrated.

18 And actually Commissioner Bratton came

19 to the ceremony, we had all the brass coming

20 to the ceremony, they got certificates -- and

21 we're doing it again this year.

22 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Do you have any

23 idea the total cost in the budget for this?

24 CFO ORLANDO: I can get it for you.

319

1 I'm sorry, I didn't bring it. I can get it

2 for you.

3 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: And I think we'll

4 certainly probe this further next week in

5 Public Protection. But this program is

6 extensive and in many cases may be needed to

7 be replicated across the state. So thank

8 you.

9 Anecdotally, do you have success

10 stories that you can relate?

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yes. I'll tell

12 you we have one in elementary school that she

13 is the chief reader. Now, what is the chief

14 reader? She sits at her desk, she takes the

15 -- obviously she's a security officer. But

16 there are children every day who somehow

17 can't seem to sit still, and their job is to

18 take their read-aloud book and sit by the

19 school safety officer and read to her, and

20 she can still do her job while she's doing

21 that.

22 I gave you the example of the one in a

23 high school where he works with the kids.

24 And then there's one in a middle school where

320

1 there are three kids who are consistently in

2 trouble, so he mentors them on how to

3 behave -- I don't ask what that matters, you

4 know.

5 But those are the people who were

6 nominated for these awards. I'm trying to

7 think, there was another one that has been

8 doing this job for like 20-some-odd years, a

9 long time, and he mentors other school safety

10 officers on how to do the preventive stuff.

11 So there are a lot of people going above and

12 beyond. And, you know, we celebrate

13 custodians who go above and beyond.

14 Celebrating good work I think is really

15 important.

16 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you very

17 much. Thank you, Madam Chairman.

18 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you, Senator.

19 Assemblyman O'Donnell.

20 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: Good

21 afternoon. I just want to echo everyone's

22 comments about how impressive you are. I

23 want to publicly thank the mayor for

24 convincing you to take the job and say in all

321

1 my years of sitting in this room I have never

2 seen any witness that is as knowledgeable and

3 as thorough as you have been here today, and

4 I want to thank you for that.

5 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Thank you. I'm

6 going to say that to my husband, who's

7 enjoying his time in Florida while I'm doing

8 this.

9 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: Well, yeah, I

10 guess. We all have husbands. Yes, I

11 understand.

12 (Laughter.)

13 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: So let me tell

14 you that I represent District 3 in Manhattan,

15 which is not considered a high-needs district

16 -- but I represent the northern half of

17 District 3, okay, not the elite part. The

18 northern part.

19 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I know.

20 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: And what I

21 want to address with you is a very parochial

22 issue, but I think it gets to the heart of

23 some of the problems that we have. There are

24 two schools in my district that are

322

1 phenomenal schools. They have phenomenal

2 principals, they have engaged parents, they

3 are phenomenal. I would send, if I had

4 children -- I tell my constituents, send your

5 children to PS 75 and PS 163.

6 You know what the problem is? They're

7 under threat. They're under threat because

8 of building construction. They want to build

9 a 22-story nursing home 12 feet from the

10 windows of PS 163. That's as close as you

11 and I are. Right? For 26 to 30 months.

12 Okay? They want to do that by putting a

13 crane that would swing over the roof of PS

14 163.

15 At PS 75, they're intending to build

16 adjacent to the school in the next -- right

17 across the street, which is the street where

18 the children currently line up to go into

19 school. Right? PS 75 is the place where

20 that unfortunate accident took place, right?

21 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yeah. That's the

22 Emily Dickinson School.

23 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: That's

24 correct.

323

1 CHANCELLOR FARINA: And I know the

2 principal there.

3 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: Okay.

4 Unfortunately, we have been able to get

5 nowhere with the City of New York about

6 should this be allowed. In my opinion, it

7 should be against the law to build 12 feet

8 from a public school window. And because of

9 school choice, what's going to happen if

10 these plans go forward, those schools will be

11 destroyed. PS 163 may be physically

12 destroyed if some accident occurs.

13 But we have school choice, and the

14 parents who choose to send their children to

15 a Title I school in District 3 are going to

16 bolt. They're going to bolt, Chancellor.

17 They're going to bolt. And I can't really

18 blame them.

19 So my first question to you is, do you

20 have any ability to weigh in on what is

21 happening adjacent to the property that you

22 control, with the city to say this is an

23 unacceptable thing for you to allow to

24 happen? Or do you not have any role?

324

1 CHANCELLOR FARINA: We don't -- we do

2 not have a role. I've been to 163 several

3 times already, so I know the situation. What

4 we were able to offer 163 is the ability to

5 give them a person, under Deputy Chancellor

6 Rose, to help oversee the construction.

7 Because they have certain things they had to

8 do -- and Gabru {ph} has been very involved

9 in this issue as well, what guidelines -- and

10 one of the things they had asked for is for

11 not having the work being done during certain

12 school hours or during arrival or dismissal

13 time. So that's the kind of thing we can

14 impact.

15 But in terms of stopping them from

16 building, that's not within our jurisdiction.

17 75 is a whole other situation. And

18 that principal is doing such a -- and that's

19 one of the few schools -- originally

20 arts-focused, with a lot of things going on

21 there that --

22 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: Yes, my chief

23 of staff went there as an elementary school

24 student, yes.

325

1 CHANCELLOR FARINA: It also has one of

2 the model dual-language programs in the City

3 of New York.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: Yes, it does,

5 yes.

6 CHANCELLOR FARINA: So to me, I didn't

7 know about this PS 75 issue, and I will

8 certainly call -- Robert Ryan is still there?

9 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: Oh, yes, he's

10 still there.

11 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yeah, okay, so

12 I'll speak to Bob.

13 163 I'm very aware of because I've

14 been to several evening meetings there. But

15 I can get back to you specifically. But I

16 know we looked into it, and there's no way

17 that we can stop -- we can give assistance in

18 what hours they work, what kind of work they

19 do while the kids are in the building. So

20 that's the kind -- and we can give the

21 principal, which is what they asked for, help

22 so they don't have to do that aspect of the

23 job in terms of supervising.

24 ASSEMBLYMAN O'DONNELL: Well, I had

326

1 the distinct pleasure of being raked through

2 the coals by the New York Times Editorial

3 Board for sending a yoga teacher into the PS

4 163 when the previous construction down the

5 block was happening.

6 This construction is happening over

7 their heads. And if you and the mayor can't

8 do something to stop that construction, you

9 will destroy that school. It will become

10 what it used to be, which was a school that

11 kids only went to when their parents couldn't

12 figure out where else to send them. And that

13 would be the biggest shame in the world,

14 because Dr. Pepe and the current principal

15 have done such a phenomenal job, and those

16 parents have killed themselves. And now it's

17 all for naught. And, you know, I don't think

18 they should be allowed to build a 22-story

19 high rise within 12 feet of the windows of a

20 public school. Because I don't think there's

21 any way, while that school is occupied, for

22 those children to be safe or for them to have

23 an adequate learning environment or a safe

24 ingress or egress. There's just no way to

327

1 do that, given the scale of what they intend

2 to build and given the time frame.

3 And, you know, they've currently won

4 the first phase of the lawsuit the parents

5 brought, which makes me very happy. But, you

6 know, it's all very good to hear about how

7 we're going to build new schools or we're

8 going to do these new programs, and I support

9 all that 100 percent, but if we don't take

10 the jewels that we have and keep them that

11 way, we're going to end up failing in the

12 long run. And then what's going to happen is

13 all those elite schools to the south of me,

14 that's where those parents are going to start

15 demanding that their kids go, and we've been

16 through that once before.

17 Thank you very much.

18 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Thank you.

19 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

20 Senator?

21 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

22 much.

23 And I just have a quick question and

24 then I'll, when the time is right, turn it

328

1 over to Senator Liz Krueger.

2 I appreciate all of the answers you've

3 given today; you've been very thorough. I

4 was wondering about the renewal schools. And

5 I appreciate what you've been able to allay

6 today regarding them. But I do know that

7 part of the agreement on the renewal schools

8 is to expand the school day by one hour. And

9 the question is, is that something that you

10 look toward in the future to do for all of

11 the schools across New York? And if it's

12 good for renewal schools, why is it not good

13 -- or good -- for the other schools?

14 And if you could please comment on

15 that, please.

16 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, I think

17 you're talking about finances and resources

18 and where do you put your priorities. So

19 right now the money that was made available

20 was made for our struggling schools, so

21 that's where we're starting.

22 And the other thing is that one of the

23 things we do very carefully in New York City

24 is we assess everything we do. So once this

329

1 year comes to an end, we will assess this

2 work, what were the results. Certainly no

3 change in public education or any education

4 takes a year. I mean, that's one thing

5 MaryEllen and I have discussed forever. We

6 don't undo years of neglect or whatever

7 overnight. This is not a magic potion.

8 So that is part of what we do. Many

9 of our schools run extra programs. But in

10 terms of systemically doing it, we really

11 have to wait and see how the resources come

12 down.

13 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: So you said you

14 will be assessing that.

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Absolutely.

16 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: And when you do

17 that, do you issue some sort of public

18 report? Do you just give it to the mayor?

19 Do you share it with the public? Because it

20 would be interesting to see what the results

21 of the information you receive actually is.

22 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Yeah, I think at

23 least for this year and next year it will be

24 more anecdotal, or certainly in terms of

330

1 being the things I would like to see

2 improved. And that will be public. Which

3 schools have improved attendance, which

4 schools are going to have teacher retention,

5 which schools have -- we have something

6 called the snapshot in quality review. We

7 evaluate all our schools. And one of the

8 things that we looked at in terms of the

9 schools' evaluations is do teachers work

10 collaboratively, is there rigorous

11 instruction. So those are evaluation tools

12 we already have in place.

13 So it's maybe making public, in the

14 renewal school roles, these evaluations in

15 terms of how they improved before they had

16 resources and now with the resources. So

17 that we can actually -- they are public.

18 They're on the internet right now. You can

19 go on and download the information from any

20 single school in New York City.

21 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: I think that would

22 be very helpful because of the

23 decision-making process that we undertake

24 here, and also just sharing information as

331

1 far as policy goes. So thank you for that,

2 Chancellor.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Assemblyman Titone.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: Thank you,

5 Chancellor, and good afternoon.

6 Certainly from my perspective you hit

7 on so many points that are near and dear to

8 me. But with respect to the arts -- and I

9 can tell you, I've had three requests from

10 schools for so-called discretionary funding

11 for ballroom dancing at those schools. So

12 that's great.

13 But sadly, what I'm not hearing is

14 something that I'd really -- you know, we've

15 discussed before in the past. I just want to

16 give an example. You know, for decades on

17 Staten Island, on the north shore, there's

18 been an abandoned building that over the

19 years not only the residents, the people

20 around it, but the press and -- it's just

21 been, for decades, crying "Just tear it down,

22 just tear it down before something bad

23 happens." Finally, tragically, a 16-year-old

24 boy was in the building playing, and he died.

332

1 Weeks later, the building finally came down.

2 I bring that up because my question is

3 with respect to transportation of our special

4 ed children. What is it going to take to

5 finally get the city to change the way we're

6 doing business when it comes to transporting

7 our children with special needs?

8 We've seen, you know, just very

9 recently on Staten Island a young boy with

10 special needs who the bus driver could not

11 find his home, despite the fact that he had

12 GPS but refused to turn it on. The bus

13 matron was of no help. This boy was on this

14 bus for over six hours without anyone

15 stopping to give him water, to let him go to

16 the bathroom, with no information to the

17 parents or to the school. And the horror

18 stories keeping coming. It was put upon the

19 parents to adjust this poor boy's behavior

20 when he refused to get on the new bus because

21 he was traumatized by his experience.

22 The horror stories keep piling on and

23 yet we're still at, you know, Point A with

24 respect to this issue. We have special-needs

333

1 children who are being placed on school buses

2 with general education kids, so we have

3 young, young kids with special needs being

4 placed on the school bus with high school

5 kids because that is more economically

6 feasible. What is it going to take for us to

7 change that?

8 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I mean, I am very

9 happy to set up a meeting with you to discuss

10 this issue with Deputy Chancellor Rose, but I

11 know that we have been working hard -- and to

12 be very honest, that particular family

13 emailed me directly, and I answered them

14 directly. But once again, the amount of

15 busing in New York City -- and we've just

16 added for more busing -- is a very

17 complicated issue. It's probably one of the

18 ones that, you know, is one that requires a

19 lot more -- but why don't we make an

20 appointment, and I'm happy for you to sit and

21 talk with -- because I can't be specific

22 about a whole bunch of things.

23 ASSEMBLYMAN TITONE: I understand

24 that. But I hope the urgency of which I

334

1 speak -- that, you know, you're coming here

2 and we're talking about the Campaign for

3 Fiscal Equity; I would like to be hearing the

4 city and you saying: We need this money,

5 Albany, so that we can change a potentially

6 very dangerous situation. We don't have the

7 money that we need to transport our special

8 education kids safely.

9 Thank you.

10 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

11 Senator?

12 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,

13 chancellor. I think we're all very

14 appreciative both of your time here today and

15 what you're doing for the schoolchildren of

16 New York City every day. I certainly am

17 someone who can speak to the fact that your

18 administration has been incredibly

19 responsive, and the people of my district

20 appreciate that.

21 A number of issues, so many issues

22 were raised. But an earlier issue was

23 mayoral control in a one year continuation

24 versus longer. I'm just curious, since you

335

1 have an enormous system in New York City,

2 with a million students, is --

3 CHANCELLOR FARINA: A million plus.

4 SENATOR KRUEGER: -- a million-plus

5 students and over a thousand schools?

6 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Sixteen hundred.

7 SENATOR KRUEGER: Oh, way, way over.

8 CHANCELLOR FARINA: But who's

9 counting.

10 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. What

11 would it mean if suddenly at the, literally,

12 turn of a dime we didn't have mayoral

13 control? What would happen to you and these

14 over a million children?

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Well, a little bit

16 of chaos, I would think.

17 Right now I think we have the best of

18 all possible worlds. We have mayoral

19 control. And remember, a mayor campaigns on

20 his educational belief systems, so people

21 choose you because they believe you believe

22 what they believe in. And then by he or she

23 picking a chancellor who's on the same page,

24 there's a certain continuity that's just

336

1 going to, I think, work well for everyone.

2 I think the other thing is that I

3 believe in the law it goes back to this kind

4 of school board, if not the individual school

5 boards by district, it goes back to like a

6 receivership which would have gone back to

7 the days of, let's say, Cortines,

8 Fernandez -- I can give you all the names --

9 who on a dime might be fired because the

10 mayor wasn't happy about something they had

11 no control over, they weren't their people,

12 so they didn't work out their issues

13 together.

14 To me, what you want in a system,

15 especially if you want to improve a lot of

16 things, you want stability. You want

17 continuity in this. You want people who

18 speak with one voice. I mean, it's not just

19 the mayor and I, but it's a group now -- you

20 have UFT, CSA. We generally -- I mean,

21 there's going to be times we disagree on any

22 number of things. But isn't it better for a

23 teacher and a principal to go to work in the

24 morning and say one of the things I don't

337

1 have to deal with is all the politics around

2 this, everybody is on the same page?

3 So that's the best answer I can give

4 you. Because honestly, I have been around

5 for all the structures and I have seen the

6 good, the bad, and the ugly. And this, to

7 me, allows us to do things quickly,

8 comprehensively, and still with a lot of

9 community input.

10 SENATOR KRUEGER: And am I correct in

11 understanding that if this were to happen,

12 even if you're describing that we would go

13 back to a pre-system, we don't have that

14 structure. There aren't community school

15 boards. We would actually have to recreate

16 them and have separate elections. There

17 aren't separate superintendents in the old

18 definition of what they were with community

19 school board districts. So we would have to

20 literally start from scratch to rebuild any

21 system; would that be correct?

22 CHANCELLOR FARINA: We have community

23 superintendents since I've become chancellor.

24 But the thing that I think is particularly

338

1 meaningful is that they're instructional

2 people. They do not have to play politics,

3 they have to agree and they meet with elected

4 officials, but they're able to select what I

5 consider the right principals and focus on

6 instructional priorities rather than some of

7 the things that I, as a former district

8 superintendent, had to spend maybe more time

9 on things that were more political rather

10 than instructional.

11 So I think that's what -- you need an

12 instructional system where everyone is

13 focused on the kids and putting the kids

14 first. And I think this system does it.

15 SENATOR KRUEGER: And no system is

16 perfect, but -- not off the cuff today, but

17 do you think that you could prepare a

18 comparison list of how the New York City

19 school system is doing today as far as the

20 kind of indicators we all look at for

21 improvements in our schools compared to under

22 the old system?

23 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I think the one

24 thing I can say with certainty, because I've

339

1 been around long enough, is that there is

2 more equity in the system. Felix, correct me

3 if I'm wrong. I can tell you that when I was

4 a superintendent, I assumed that District 15

5 was the model. I just assumed all districts

6 ran like ours. We had a very reasonable

7 school board, we had committed principals. I

8 became a principal in District 2, some of the

9 same models.

10 And then when I became a regional

11 superintendent, I was in charge of four

12 districts. And one of the things I realized

13 is that professional development in some

14 places didn't exist, that programs were

15 chosen for all kinds of reasons, sometimes

16 other than the right person for the right

17 job. So the students in these districts

18 geographically may not all have been given

19 the best advantages, the best instruction,

20 the best teachers. And again, it's no one's

21 fault, it's just --

22 This is now about saying no matter

23 where you live in New York City, all the

24 superintendents go through the same training.

340

1 I personally meet with all the

2 superintendents once a month. All the PD is

3 universal for all the teachers. It's not

4 teachers in District 2 or 15, which always

5 had good PD, but it's teachers in District 7

6 and District 9 and District 12, the unanimity

7 that we have. When we open our schools to

8 each other, I expect teachers from the Bronx

9 to visit schools in Staten Island. We have

10 to learn from each other. It was two

11 separate, two uniform people that were happy,

12 were very, very happy -- District 26, very

13 happy.

14 But we need to all be happy. And we

15 need to say the best practices, the best

16 principles are universal. And I think that

17 is something that I can honestly say right

18 now is true that wasn't true in the past.

19 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

20 There was discussion about middle

21 school issues earlier, and you even described

22 that people go into teaching and imagine

23 being elementary teachers or high school

24 teachers, but nobody really ever plans on

341

1 being a middle school teacher. For the

2 record, when I graduated high school I went

3 back to my middle school and apologized to

4 the teachers for being so God-awful, because

5 there is something about that age range --

6 CHANCELLOR FARINA: They're wonderful.

7 I love seventh-graders. But it takes a

8 certain person to see them for what they are,

9 which is they're these little imperfect

10 beings who need to express themselves, and

11 you can't take it personally.

12 SENATOR KRUEGER: Right. So my

13 curiosity, we have some K-8 schools, some in

14 my own district, District 2. I'm wondering

15 what the evaluation is from your perspective

16 of whether that helps in improving the sort

17 of -- both the continuity for young people

18 and the kind of education they're getting

19 when you don't throw them all together by

20 themselves in separate buildings.

21 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I think it really

22 depends school by school. But just as a rule

23 of thumb, it takes a certain number of

24 students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth to

342

1 create a good middle school culture, whether

2 it's a K-8 or a stand-alone. And anything

3 less than 300-something, you do not have the

4 special programs that middle school kids

5 have. And when there's a stand-alone middle

6 school -- but they have to be good. Whether

7 it's K-8 or what, it has to be a good school

8 with a good principal and good teachers --

9 you have kids making more independent

10 decisions. They are being maybe raised a

11 little bit more sophisticated to go on to

12 high school.

13 So it's all about the preparation for

14 high school. And I think that really depends

15 on the school. Many of our stand-alone

16 middle schools do a lot of work with high

17 schools. They give high school courses or

18 they take business to high schools. In the

19 K-8, in some of the schools they do that too,

20 but in others they're more babied or

21 whatever.

22 So I don't want to say -- it depends

23 on the schools. But I went to a K-8 school;

24 however, I see the merits in stand-alone

343

1 middle schools. I do think that there's a

2 lot to be said for the opportunities, the

3 choices that kids can make. There's

4 certainly after-school programs, the arts and

5 all other things. So pretty much individual

6 decisions.

7 SENATOR KRUEGER: And finally, I

8 applaud you for what you're doing to expand

9 young people's opportunities to prepare for

10 college and go to college, particularly those

11 students who may be the first generation to

12 even consider college in their family,

13 perhaps new Americans where there's no one in

14 the family who even has any kind of, you

15 know, experience to offer their own children

16 when attempting to go to college.

17 I urge you, when you're doing this

18 work, because we see it as so broadly out

19 there in New York City, we need to make sure

20 these students are being encouraged,

21 supported, directed into quality education

22 post-high school. Too many of the

23 proprietary schools are great at convincing

24 young people to sign on the dotted line, use

344

1 up their TAP, their Pell, any loan money they

2 might have, to join them in their, quote,

3 unquote, educational institutions, and then

4 completely fail to provide the actual

5 education. Then the students find themselves

6 having used up their money, potentially in

7 debt for the rest of their lives, with no

8 education.

9 And I say that from experience, that

10 it is the exact population that you want to

11 help go to real colleges that gets sucked in

12 so easily by the fake schools. So I hope

13 that you are building in that reality to what

14 you're doing.

15 CHANCELLOR FARINA: I think that's

16 really one of the trainings that we're giving

17 the guidance counselors at the high schools

18 in terms of preparing kids for college. It's

19 also why we need more mentorships and

20 internships, different kinds, at that level

21 so that if they have someone who's -- one of

22 the things we're hoping is happening today in

23 a lot of schools, as teachers talk about

24 where they went to college and what they

345

1 learned at college, that they can make that

2 statement. But I'm certainly very cognizant

3 of that.

4 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very much.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

6 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: I believe Senator

7 Marcellino has one more follow-up question,

8 or maybe more.

9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: No, just one.

10 Chancellor, you talked about

11 suspensions, and I remembered back when I was

12 teaching and we had a rule -- I was the dean

13 of students at the time. You couldn't be the

14 dean of boys, you had to be the dean of

15 students. A suspension was for five days

16 max. And the principal was the only one who

17 could suspend. I could recommend. The

18 teacher could beg; they couldn't do anything

19 about it. They would come to me, I would

20 pull the kid out, we'd talk to the child. If

21 it was something really serious, we brought

22 it to the principal, who would have to make

23 the recommendation. But five days was max.

24 You couldn't do it for longer than that

346

1 unless there was an arrest involved and

2 something else took over.

3 You were talking about 20 days or a

4 time like that. When did that arrive?

5 CHANCELLOR FARINA: This is one of the

6 reasons why we're redoing our suspension

7 policy, because it was a little all over the

8 place. So we're going to come out with new

9 protocols on how many days you can do it for

10 and what is the infraction, and then it has

11 to be aligned with the number of days. And

12 also who you need to get permission from in

13 order to do it. Because there has to be a

14 protocol in terms of is it the principal --

15 we have principal suspensions, now we have

16 superintendent suspensions.

17 But there has to be -- again, when I'm

18 talking about equity, it's not just about

19 equity of teachers, it's equity of our

20 suspensions. There has to be a fairness

21 around the city that your suspension is not

22 dependent on the neighborhood you live in.

23 So that's one of the things we're working on.

24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Okay, thank you.

347

1 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you. Thank

2 you very much.

3 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you,

4 Chancellor.

5 (Scattered applause.)

6 CHANCELLOR FARINA: Thank you. I

7 appreciate the ability to come before you,

8 because also now that I know that you're

9 listening, I'm going to send you my requests

10 in writing. Thank you.

11 (Laughter.)

12 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: 11:30, United

13 Federation of Teachers, UFT, Michael Mulgrew,

14 president; New York State United Teachers,

15 NYSUT, Andrew Pallotta, executive vice

16 president, and Christopher Black, director of

17 legislation. Are you here?

18 (Discussion off the record.)

19 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes, we are ready.

20 Folks, can we move it out?

21 (Discussion off the record.)

22 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Good afternoon.

23 MR. PALLOTTA: Good afternoon.

24 Senator Young, Assemblyman Farrell, Chairs

348

1 Marcellino and Nolan, members of the Assembly

2 and Senate, I am Andy Pallotta. I'm the

3 executive vice president of NYSUT,

4 representing over 600,000 members from

5 throughout New York State in K-12 education

6 and higher education, healthcare, and our

7 retirees.

8 Thank you for the opportunity to be

9 here today on the proposed 2016-2017 budget.

10 With me is Michael Mulgrew, president of UFT,

11 also Chris Black, the political and

12 legislative director of NYSUT, and Cassy

13 Prugh, the legislative director of UFT.

14 Public education I feel is going

15 finally in the right direction. And moving

16 that way, we would hope to continue to work

17 together with the members of the Assembly and

18 the Senate to ensure that every child in this

19 state receives a great education.

20 We must continue to reduce testing in

21 this state and ensure that any remaining

22 tests are solely diagnostic in nature. We

23 must restore the joy of teaching and learning

24 for our children and for our teachers.

349

1 I will summarize my testimony. First,

2 school aid. While the proposed school aid

3 increase of $961 million is one of the

4 largest we've seen in recent memory, we also

5 have to point out that we have to

6 significantly see much more going into this

7 budget. This year in particular, we have a

8 state support of schools that is crucial.

9 The tax cap is near zero; actually, it's a

10 mere 0.12 percent, not even 2 percent. This

11 devastatingly low tax cap will cripple local

12 ability to raise funds. Under a true

13 2 percent tax cap, $700 million would have

14 been generated, which could have been used to

15 offset what the state will have to make up

16 for.

17 A significant increase in school aid

18 can be supported by the state. New York is

19 no longer running a deficit and instead has a

20 surplus of $5.4 billion, half of which is

21 recurring revenue. New York public school

22 students are still owed $4.4 billion in

23 Foundation Aid and $434 million in GEA

24 funding. An increase of $1.7 billion in

350

1 school aid is needed just to keep things as

2 they are, the current levels of programs.

3 NYSUT is calling for an increase of

4 $2.6 billion in general-purpose school aid.

5 This includes a $2.1 billion increase in

6 Formula Aid and $500 million in targeted

7 funding.

8 The $2.1 billion in Formula Aid is

9 needed to greatly increase Foundation Aid,

10 eliminate the GEA, and fully fund

11 expense-based aid. This $500 million in

12 funding would go for support of struggling

13 schools, for support for English language

14 learners, expansion of pre-K programs,

15 high-quality professional development, and

16 for college and career pathways and CTE. We

17 also request full payments of the

18 $318 million in prior-year aid claims that

19 are owed to school districts.

20 On the tax cap, we have said that it

21 is very problematic. Living under this cap,

22 most districts throughout this state are not

23 able to restore cuts that have been made.

24 The tax cap also hurts our poorest districts

351

1 the most, placing severe limits on their

2 ability to raise funds.

3 To address this problem, we urge

4 modifications to the current law which would

5 include changing the tax limit to 2 percent

6 or CPI, whichever is greater; eliminating the

7 supermajority requirement; eliminating the

8 possibility of negative tax caps; and

9 providing exemptions for increased

10 enrollment, school security, BOCES capital

11 expenses, and preventing PILOTs from

12 negatively impacting tax levy limits.

13 On community schools, we've heard a

14 lot today about this model. We support and

15 appreciate the proposed $100 million for

16 community schools, for conversion from

17 struggling and high-needs schools, but

18 obviously there is much more to be done. We

19 would also ensure that community schools have

20 the wrap-around services that they need.

21 We must work together to ensure that

22 any action taken to support community

23 schools' conversion takes into account the

24 unique needs of small and rural schools.

352

1 Under the proposed formula, a high-needs

2 rural school district could receive only

3 $22,000, not enough for real change.

4 Therefore, we request an additional

5 $75 million be provided for struggling

6 schools and other high-needs schools

7 throughout the state.

8 On receivership, we call for repeal of

9 the receivership law and for supportive and

10 collaborative community school models to

11 replace this current punitive statute. The

12 state has acknowledged concerns with the

13 implementation of the new state standardized

14 tests, and just like the prohibition on the

15 use of certain state tests and decisions for

16 students and teachers, the state should

17 provide the same delay for districts. The

18 decision for districts to be placed on a

19 struggling schools list should not be even

20 partly determined by student performance on

21 invalid state tests or by test scores.

22 Further, the $75 million previously

23 allocated for struggling schools was released

24 six months late. Instead of the required

353

1 July 1, 2015, the funds were finally released

2 only a couple of weeks ago. And the removal

3 of dedicated teachers from their profession

4 is a very harmful practice. Teachers in

5 receivership schools often feel punished, and

6 these educators have devoted their lives to

7 the high-needs schools that they work in.

8 We also should not attack collective

9 bargaining in these schools. In fact, the

10 high-needs receivership schools are owed more

11 than $2.7 billion in Foundation Aid and GEA

12 combined.

13 Teacher centers, something close and

14 dear to my heart. At a time when we are

15 asking so much more of teachers and educators

16 in the field, we must provide them with the

17 tools that they need. The Executive Budget

18 eliminates completely all funding for teacher

19 centers. Funding for these centers is

20 crucial, and we call on the Legislature to

21 restore funding to the 2008-2009 levels of

22 $40 million.

23 On the Parental Choice in Education

24 Act, we continue to oppose this, which

354

1 creates a back-door voucher program and

2 constitutionally questionable tuition tax

3 credit. The Education Scholarship and

4 Program Tax Credit drives $70 million to

5 corporations and the wealthy, who would

6 receive a tax credit equal to 75 percent of

7 their authorized contributions, up to an

8 astounding credit of $1 million. The Family

9 Choice Education Tax Credit would also set

10 aside another $70 million to provide a $500

11 per student refundable personal income tax

12 credit. We urge you to reject this.

13 On charter schools, New York public

14 schools are still struggling financially.

15 Currently one-third of these districts still

16 receive less than they did in 2009-2010, and

17 nearly a combined total of $5 billion is

18 still owed to these schools.

19 Despite this, the budget increases for

20 all charter schools and unfreezes per-pupil

21 aid for New York City schools. We do not

22 support the continued increase in charter

23 school tuition, especially without

24 accountability. And you should consider the

355

1 fact that companies that operate charter

2 schools have hundreds of millions of dollars

3 in reserve. Contrary to many reports, there

4 is nothing in the budget proposal that

5 strengthens accountability for charter

6 schools to enroll and educate ELL students

7 and students with disabilities.

8 On Career and Tech Ed, we must

9 continue to support and expand access to CTE

10 programs. Therefore, we fully support

11 increasing the aidable salary for all CTE

12 programs and increasing BOCES aid for Special

13 Services Aid.

14 We urge the Legislature to provide

15 regular, predictable increases in the tuition

16 rates of 4201, 4410, 853 and Special Act

17 schools, and assist them in achieving parity

18 with surrounding school districts.

19 In conclusion, we look forward to

20 partnering with the Legislature to ensure

21 that all of our students throughout this

22 great state receive the best education that

23 they can, and we know that the best

24 investment we can make is in the future of

356

1 our students.

2 Thank you.

3 MR. MULGREW: Thank you, Mr. Pallotta.

4 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

5 MR. MULGREW: I have submitted our

6 testimony, and I'll try to make this quick

7 because I know everyone has been working

8 diligently today.

9 I want to first thank the chairs:

10 Assemblywoman Nolan, Senator Marcellino,

11 Assemblyman Farrell, and Senator Young.

12 Thank you very much for having this hearing

13 today. And it's been a long -- this is my

14 eighth year, which I consider a long time at

15 this point, and we've come a long way. And

16 the last year has been quite contentious at

17 certain times, but right now we're seeing a

18 ray of light.

19 But I am here to represent New York

20 City, first and foremost. And as I am so

21 proud of hearing my chancellor's presentation

22 just before me, I also know that our level of

23 need in New York City is continuing to grow.

24 And when I say the level of need, I'm talking

357

1 about the need of our students as well as the

2 size of our school system.

3 A lot recently has been written about

4 homelessness in New York City. I can tell

5 you right now that 84,000 children last year

6 in New York City at some point were involved

7 in temporary housing, and on average, every

8 night of the school year, 28,000 children

9 will be sleeping in a temporary housing

10 facility. At the same time, our numbers and

11 percentages of students with disabilities as

12 well as English language learners are growing

13 exponentially. These are responsibilities

14 that we take on as the educators of the City

15 of New York public school system. And we

16 take that very seriously. But we also know

17 that it does make a difference when it comes

18 to funding how to service these children.

19 And we have made great strides over

20 the last couple of years. I know the mayor

21 was up here yesterday talking about our

22 graduation rate. You heard from the

23 chancellor today about all of the different

24 things and programs that we are implementing

358

1 to deal with all of the children's needs in

2 our city.

3 But I also was up here a couple of

5 heard a lot about GEA, which is great. I

6 believe every child should be funded what the

7 state owes them. But I don't hear a lot

8 about CFE. And the Contract for Excellence

9 is something that we feel very strong about.

10 We want every child to be fully funded. We

11 believe that the legislature should adhere to

12 a settlement, a court settlement, and we are

13 hoping that this is this the year that this

14 gets done, because we are moving in the right

15 direction in New York City but we still have

16 a lot to do.

17 We have a capital plan that needs to

18 be pushed up even further. As we know, we

19 still have children -- despite the gains

20 we've made recently, we still have a lot of

21 children inside of temporary school

22 facilities, trailers. And right now, for the

23 last two years, we are now at a 15-year high

24 in our class size for pre-K through 3. We

359

1 like the fact that we have pre-K for all, and

2 we like the Governor's proposal to do it

3 across this entire state. But that also

4 includes funding that goes with that.

5 So we are hoping at this point, we are

6 very strong about our belief that the

7 Legislature should make sure that there is a

8 real down payment this year on CFE. And it's

9 not just the money amount, it is also the

10 adherence of the plans that school districts

11 have submitted with them to be followed.

12 Class size is a major issue inside of New

13 York City, as I am telling you. We're

14 overcrowded, that's one issue. But even when

15 we can reduce classes, we're not doing it.

16 And if we receive this money, we want to make

17 sure that it is going towards things that we

18 know will make an educational difference.

19 One year ago today I sat before you

20 and I was basically giving you a lot of

21 research and facts about proposals that I was

22 vehemently against. We right now are at a

23 better place. We support the Governor's

24 commission and their recommendations, but

360

1 that's going to require a lot of work. I do

2 believe it is in our state's best interest to

3 develop their own standards and develop

4 standards by working with all of the

5 stakeholders -- with parents, with

6 administrators, with teachers, and making

7 sure that it's just not a basic set of

8 standards but we're also designing

9 standards -- and this has never been done

10 before -- making sure that we're supplying

11 our school districts with standards for

12 students with disabilities as well as English

13 language learners. Because we cannot

14 continue to leave those segments of our

15 student population behind and leave the

16 teachers to fend for themselves.

17 So to do all of this work, we know

18 that is going to require funding. If the

19 Board of Regents has adopted an action plan

20 to redesign all of the standards for New York

21 State, come up with basic curriculums that

22 match all of those standards, have a training

23 regimen put into a calendar so that all

24 school districts have the ability to train --

361

1 unlike last time, where we just said, Here's

2 the new standards, here's the new tests, good

3 luck. And we want to get it right this time.

4 So I'm up here and right now in

5 New York City, we have 70 teachers who are

6 volunteering after school and on weekends and

7 are looking at those standards and taking

8 that all apart. But we know that that work

9 is not going to get done without funding.

10 Teacher Centers is an important piece, it's a

11 very important piece to this budget, as well

12 as designing an actual plan to get this work

13 done for the entire state. New York City

14 would be more than happy to share any of the

15 work that we do with the rest of the state,

16 that is my word to all of you.

17 And when it also comes to Teacher

18 Centers, I want to get to the piece on

19 receivership that my colleague just spoke

20 about. Receivership is a very difficult

21 issue. New York City has a very aggressive

22 plan. We started a plan -- before the law

23 was passed last year, we already started a

24 plan to make changes. You have to have an

362

1 educational support system, which is once

2 again where Teacher Centers come in. We are

3 doing community learning school work.

4 But I cannot emphasize enough what my

5 colleague just said. We all talk about this.

6 And we call them renewal schools in New York

7 City, not failing schools. And if we

8 continue to use this as a focal point to

9 attack the staffs at the schools -- I am

10 telling you right now the most difficult

11 thing we have is attracting teachers to these

12 schools, because they're like, Well, aren't

13 those the schools they always write bad

14 things about?

15 If we want our best and brightest

16 inside of these schools, we have to give them

17 the supports, we have to give them the

18 services. We make no excuses, we know -- and

19 we were very happy to see in the State of the

20 State address that there is a recognition

21 that poverty matters when it comes to

22 education. We want those services, we need

23 them to be targeted for our students' needs.

24 But to continue and act like we can have this

363

1 conversation here and say we need this, but

2 at the same time say we have to go after

3 those failing schools, acting like that does

4 not give us a problem at the level inside of

5 the communities to try to get people to do

6 this difficult work would be a little bit

7 disingenuous.

8 So I am asking that we do something to

9 look at that law, talk about what these

10 services are. We support the community

11 learning school model. You know that. I was

12 up here five years ago talking to you about

13 what we were doing in New York City, asking

14 for funding. We run -- the union in New York

15 City runs 26 of its own. We are very proud

16 of that model. We already have PS 335 in

17 Brooklyn. Four years ago, everyone was

18 looking at it, it was a horrible school, on

19 closure lists. Now it's doing very well. It

20 has its services. It has educational

21 supports that are needed. We have a resource

22 coordinator based in the building talking to

23 the community as well as to the staff and

24 making sure everything is being coordinated

364

1 the right way. That is how you make

2 community learning schools work.

3 It should not be just the state

4 throwing money at schools, saying boilerplate

5 here's these services, this is what you need.

6 You need to engage the community in the

7 process. That is the way to do it.

8 And in terms of what I heard a lot

9 already in the questions about school

10 discipline, as a teacher, it always goes like

11 this. First it was zero tolerance, now it's

12 zero discipline. We can't play politics with

13 this. This is tough work. Okay? Zero

14 tolerance sounded nice for a little while, a

15 whole bunch of people got behind it, student

16 suspensions went up, parents were outraged,

17 it was not the right approach.

18 The only way to truly do this work is

19 with a school-based cultural approach. We

20 are asking this year for a new program, a

21 program we've been running for two years as a

22 pilot in New York City, the union, just as I

23 came to you five years ago with community

24 learning schools. It's called the positive

365

1 learning community. We embed a behavior

2 specialist and the schools, the 15 schools in

3 New York City that are now running this, we

4 clearly have positive results, suspensions

5 are down. And the surveys about how people

6 feel about the school are way up.

7 It's not easy work, and you're always

8 going to hear these debates, number of

9 suspensions. Remember when No Child Left

10 Behind came out, how did a school get in

11 trouble? If it reported incidents. So what

12 happened? Nobody reported an incident. And

13 then all of a sudden nobody's having an

14 incident because they don't want to be on a

15 persistently dangerous list.

16 It's time to get common sense into the

17 discussion. If we want to make a difference

18 at the school level in terms of discipline,

19 it's not easy, but we have to have people

20 there who are guiding the school through this

21 process, and that's why we are asking for

22 this.

23 Career and Technical Education. For

24 those of you who know me, and I like the

366

1 support that I've heard about this all day,

2 it is something that it has been moving in

3 the right direction but I believe New York

4 State is on the precipice to take this to a

5 place no state has before. You heard the

6 chancellor talk about this; there are some

7 impediments in current regulations, more

8 about the licensing and certification of

9 teachers, about how the system is slightly

10 archaic when it comes to all of the new areas

11 for Career and Technical Education.

12 We are absolutely in the business of

13 making sure that we develop more of these

14 programs. The business community works with

15 us hand in hand on these, developing these.

16 And it's a lot of -- and I have to say, in

17 terms of being an educator, it's just a lot

18 of fun. It's a lot of fun to go to a CTE

19 school and see what's going on, see the

20 excitement, see the different things. And if

21 you haven't been able to do that, just get in

22 touch with me and I'm sure myself or

23 Assemblywoman Nolan has a couple of schools

24 that we could bring you to rather quickly.

367

1 Now my topic which we always have fun

2 with every year: Charter schools. I will

3 start. I will never paint the charter

4 schools with a broad brush. There are

5 independent charters, there are charter

6 chains. But in terms of any sort of

7 legislative proposals that include anything

8 with giving charter schools any more funding,

9 I am vehemently against.

10 When I was here last year, one of the

11 few things I did support was the idea of

12 finally creating what was called then

13 anti-creaming language. And the only thing

14 that was created at the end of the

15 legislative session was that the management's

16 children, their families now had preference

17 over children from the district. This is

18 absurd. You want to be a public school, take

19 all kids and keep them. And in New York City

20 you compound that with the fact that we now

21 have to supply space, valuable public school

22 space. And when their attrition rates are

23 going up every year, there are empty seats in

24 their classes, yet our public school children

368

1 are sitting in the same buildings, completely

2 overcrowded.

3 It's time to stop the games. It's

4 that simple. All children, and keep all

5 children. That's that we're asking for. And

6 I can't make it any plainer than that.

7 In terms of revenue, as I said last

8 year and I will say again this year, we know

9 that everything we ask for costs money. We

10 believe that we should look at closing all

11 sorts of different tax loopholes that we have

12 in our state. The hedge funds and the

13 carried interest is something we brought to

14 you many times before, as well as I do not

15 believe that people who are not residents of

16 our state should get all sorts of tax

17 exemptions and tax preference on their

18 residences. If you don't live here but you

19 want to own property here, you shouldn't get

20 the tax incentives that a resident should

21 get. It's that simple to me.

22 And I can't thank you all enough for

23 all of the work that we have been able to do

24 together over the past year, and I look

369

1 forward to working with all of you this

2 legislative session.

3 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Thank you.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

5 Cathy Nolan, Assemblywoman Nolan.

6 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Just quickly,

7 thank you for your testimony today. And I

8 know we have a lot of witnesses yet to go,

9 but I was asked by a number of my colleagues

10 to get your opinion on what Commissioner Elia

11 talked about in teacher evaluations. Are we

12 seeing a level of participation? How do you

13 think her looking at new perspectives for

14 developing teacher evaluations is going, and

15 your perspective on what she's doing in test

16 development and her comments that the tests

17 are diagnostic?

18 So I don't know if you were here for

19 her testimony, but she did reference several

20 times that she's trying to include teachers

21 in everything she does going forward, whether

22 it's evaluations, whether it's test

23 development and how we use those tests.

24 So, I don't know, maybe Andy rather

370

1 than Michael. But whoever wants to respond.

2 Did I get it right, Harry? Okay. So some of

3 our colleagues who are not on the committee,

4 we try to ask questions for them. Because we

5 have a big group here and we're trying to

6 speed it along. So I'm really just helping

7 out here.

8 MR. MULGREW: Okay, fine. Yes, I can

9 tell you, as a matter of fact, that the

10 commissioner has been very open about making

11 sure that teachers are involved in all the

12 different parts of the different processes

13 and discussions that are happening. That is

14 very nice because that's not always what

15 happened.

16 Quite frankly, what would happen is at

17 the end of the process they would invite

18 teachers to look at what they did and then

19 say thank you. And that is not what is going

20 on at this point.

21 The company that is designing the

22 tests that will not start until next year has

23 already reached out to us as well as to NYSUT

24 and has asked us for a group of our members

371

1 to talk to them about different --

2 development of different questions and how to

3 do this and making sure it's diagnostic, as

4 well as about how to administer a test.

5 Because that's another thing that seems to be

6 finally on the radar, about how -- it's not

7 just the test design, but the administration

8 of the test has a lot to do with how a child

9 will perform. So this commissioner has been

10 very open about it.

11 MR. PALLOTTA: I also want to thank

12 you for your work on the task force,

13 Assemblywoman Nolan and Senator Marcellino.

14 The findings were very helpful to our

15 membership and to our schools throughout the

16 state, and we know it was a lot of work. And

17 we just wanted to relay the appreciation for

18 what you did.

19 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Well, I got to

20 go to New Rochelle, I had never been, so --

21 in my tenure on this committee, the 10 years

22 I've chaired the committee, I've been to an

23 awful lot of the parts of the state I had

24 never seen, a girl from Queens. So

372

1 New Rochelle was pretty nice.

2 So yes, we did attend a lot of

3 hearings, Senator Marcellino and I, and I

4 think it was a more collaborative process.

5 And I think, you know, we're kind of moving

6 forward, I think, in allaying parents'

7 anxiety about the tests and stuff. Thank

8 you.

9 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

10 much.

11 Welcome to NYSUT and UFT. So happy to

12 have you here today. I know that Senator

13 Marcellino, as chair of the Senate Education

14 Committee, has some questions or comments.

15 So Senator?

16 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,

17 Chairman.

18 Gentlemen, lady, appreciate you coming

19 in, appreciate your patience. It's been a

20 long day. We were supposed to be out of here

21 about three hours ago. I think we expect it

22 will take a little bit longer.

23 You may know I was a UFT delegate when

24 I was a teacher, and then when I moved into

373

1 administration, transferred over to the dark

2 side and became a CSA member.

3 MR. MULGREW: We always need a good

4 administrator. Always.

5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: We always need

6 good -- amen to that. Never crossed a picket

7 line in my life, never will.

8 This renewal school negotiations

9 relative to the city, how have the negotiated

10 changes impacted the teachers? Is it

11 working, is it not working? I know longer

12 days were part of that, and other things. Is

13 there an effect that you can point to? Are

14 the teachers reacting in any way, pro or con,

15 on these things?

16 MR. MULGREW: There's two schools that

17 we did a radical change, Boys & Girls and

18 Automotive High School. And the other

19 94 schools, it was more of a spending extra

20 time coming up with a plan, looking at your

21 data, targeting it and moving it forward.

22 It really is -- first, it's a process

23 of trying to help, you know -- there is the

24 we came here to teach and they're blaming us

374

1 for everything. And you have to get through

2 that part of it first, the union as well as

3 the Department of Ed. But the union really

4 has invested a lot and we now have a separate

5 department who goes there. We have a retreat

6 this weekend where half of those schools are

7 coming away with us for two nights.

8 It is working, because you had to

9 create a team approach and get past the --

10 and let's just be frank about it, you had

11 15 years in the United States where most

12 people weren't saying nice things about

13 teachers. So this was added on in terms of

14 we chose to work in really difficult

15 situations, and now here they come again. So

16 it was getting past that process first.

17 We do have an issue, though, with

18 trying to attract teachers into these

19 buildings. That is just factual. And that

20 is what scares me more than anything else,

21 and where we want now to use the teachers who

22 are in the building who really understand

23 that this is a process more about our

24 profession and showing folks that the most

375

1 difficult teaching you can do is probably in

2 a high-poverty area. That is the most

3 difficult job a teacher in the United States

4 probably can do. And take that on as a badge

5 of honor and a responsibility. It's more

6 that, that overcoming that -- the psychology

7 of it that has been problematic.

8 In terms of the work, they just, you

9 know, extra hour, we'll figure it out, roll

10 up our sleeves. How do we integrate with a

11 CBO? Great. Somebody's here to help,

12 finally. They're coming and telling us what

13 to do, they're asking us what we want.

14 That's been a huge change.

15 So we're happy at this point, we're

16 seeing positive movement, but we're going to

17 wait to see exactly what the data shows.

18 SENATOR MARCELLINO: How has the

19 waivers relative to the delay -- the task

20 force recommended four years in the APPR

21 application. And during that time,

22 negotiations are supposed to be occurring

23 between the boards, superintendents,

24 whatever, and the teachers and parents and

376

1 the like. Is this in fact happening?

2 MR. PALLOTTA: Well, we appreciate the

3 waivers, that's for sure, because this mean

4 word that we used to describe the evaluation

5 system for the past couple of years has been

6 debacle, disaster -- most of them started

7 with a D.

8 So what we have here is the entire

9 state looking to the Legislature to make

10 changes. You were able to give that

11 responsibility to the Regents, the Regents

12 have acted upon that, you have made your

13 recommendations through the task force.

14 I believe that in my conversations

15 today with superintendents and school boards

16 here, there is still a lot of confusion, so

17 they definitely need guidance on what they

18 should be doing for that September 1st

19 deadline.

20 MR. MULGREW: I can answer that yes,

21 we are negotiating. And I also think that

22 there's an opportunity here, because of your

23 work on the commission. I think as a state

24 now, the next challenge and the next debate

377

1 really is what is authentic student learning.

2 And that's what we should be headed towards,

3 where most people have not. They've said

4 that student learning is a test score or you

5 have nothing. And I think New York State is

6 ready to tackle that. Most people have not

7 been willing to tackle that.

8 But as you know as an educator,

9 project-based learning, students doing all

10 sorts of different portfolio and consortium

11 work. And I believe New York State is

12 willing now, because we see this political

13 willingness to do this, to move forward on

14 tackling the question of what is real student

15 learning. And we want that as part of

16 teacher evaluation. We all understand the

17 debate on the test scores, and we've been

18 pretty forthcoming about our feelings on it,

19 both what real student learning is -- and

20 teacher evaluation is not just about real

21 student learning, it's also about the

22 development of the individual teacher. It's

23 supposed to be a support system. Yet that

24 never enters the conversation. It never

378

1 enters it. It's all about, well, are you

2 good, are you bad, and what are we doing with

3 bad. And it's supposed to be a development

4 and support system. And also what is real

5 student learning.

6 And I think we are having these

7 conversations. We've had negotiating

8 sessions on this already in New York City.

9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Your people in

10 your -- the people who look to you for

11 protection, look to you for guidance and the

12 like, I've heard back from many of my

13 constituents, and they're not unhappy,

14 they're happy with the way both your

15 unions are being run. I get positive

16 feedback from both sides, from NYSUT and from

17 my UFT constituents. So you're obviously

18 doing something right.

19 All I can suggest to you is the door

20 is always open. If you need anything or want

21 to talk about something, whatever it is, give

22 us a ring. There will be a positive answer

23 to that, and we'll try to help you out as

24 best we can.

379

1 MR. MULGREW: Thank you very much. I

2 appreciate that. And I'll take you up on it.

3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Do that.

4 MR. PALLOTTA: Thank you.

5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thanks for

6 coming. Appreciate your time.

7 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

8 much.

9 Assemblyman Murray.

10 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: Thank you,

11 Mr. Chairman.

12 Thank you for coming. I'll be quick,

13 because it has been long day. But a little

14 earlier I spoke to -- Commissioner Elia was

15 here and I brought up the issue regarding

16 testing, testing this year and the opt-out

17 movement and those sorts of issues.

18 There's a feeling among parents, and

19 I'll tell you I've been contacted by some

20 teachers as well, and it's why are we doing

21 this this year when it's not going to count

22 for the evaluations, it's not going to count

23 for the grade scores. Now, the

24 commissioner -- and I don't want to -- I'm

380

1 not going to get into evaluating her

2 response, but it was troublesome in that it

3 sounded again like all of the evaluations or

4 all of the assessments for the students come

5 down to this test. And, you know, I would

6 think that assessments are ongoing,

7 constantly, by the teachers who are the

8 professionals.

9 So it still troubles me when the

10 answer was yeah, we should still be doing the

11 tests because of the assessment. I think

12 it's ongoing. So I kind of want to get that

13 off my chest, because as I was having that

14 discussion, I received a message from a

15 teacher who messaged and said yeah, okay, the

16 evaluations have been delayed a little, but

17 I'm still getting evaluated on local tests

18 and they're still going to be test-centric

19 evaluations. And that's troublesome.

20 So I wanted to hear your feedback,

21 what you're hearing from your members,

22 because you brought up an excellent,

23 excellent point, authentic learning. You

24 know, learning today is -- it's just evolved

381

1 to a point where it involves so much. It's

2 teaching these kids what happens when they

3 graduate, where do they go from there. We

4 talk about CTE, we talk about whether you're

5 college-ready. But there's so many different

6 aspects and branches that they could go off

7 on, what is authentic learning?

8 That's my concern. And I'm getting

9 the feeling you're hearing the same thing,

10 but I'd like to hear, are you hearing this

11 from your members, that the concern is it's

12 still going to be test-centric?

13 MR. PALLOTTA: Well, I agree with your

14 statement, and we are hearing the same thing

15 from our members. So the fear is that this

16 will continue. And I believe that the task

17 force and the Regents will undertake to

18 reduce the amount of testing, to shorten

19 testing, and to make it a nonpunitive system

20 of testing. This is what has to be done.

21 This has been the outcry from, as you

22 said, the opt-out movement. They have said

23 that this is a ridiculous way to run a school

24 system. They've voiced their opinions and

382

1 they made them very loud. So we agree with

2 the parents that this should not be what our

3 schools are all about.

4 MR. MULGREW: In terms -- the federal

5 law has now changed, okay, so there is no

6 longer a requirement to use standardized

7 tests in teacher evaluation. The federal law

8 only makes a requirement of giving a

9 standardized test each year, for

10 informational purposes only. So the federal

11 government has clearly sent a signal.

12 In terms of teachers, the idea --

13 remember, standardized tests have been here,

14 but it's supposed to be a diagnotic. And the

15 minute you put any stakes on it, it is no

16 longer a diagnostic.

17 And New York City is a perfect

18 example. The political rhetoric was social

19 promotion needs to go away, we need to use

20 tests. So we got rid of social promotion,

21 which was a great little political term. But

22 the fact of the matter is once we used the

23 tests as the only, the only criteria for

24 promotion, more kids were promoted than ever

383

1 and less were left back when you took the

2 discretion away from the teacher to say

3 whether the child is actually ready to move

4 forward. That little fact never gets out

5 into the media.

6 So the get-tough-and-use-the-test

7 actually did the exact opposite from what it

8 was purported to do when they were running

9 the campaign to make that happen.

10 So I do believe -- what is real

11 student -- right now, this week, you have

12 some schools in our state, most of them in

13 New York City, consortium schools, who are

14 doing their end-term exams. Their exams are

15 a student has to stand in front of a group of

16 educators and actually go over whatever

17 theory, hypothesis, whatever the work they

18 were doing, challenging it. And it is one of

19 the most difficult things I have ever seen.

20 It is much more difficult than any Regents or

21 standardized test. That's authentic student

22 learning. It's a lot more work on the

23 teacher's behalf, but they like it. And they

24 know it's real.

384

1 And that's where I hope I see our

2 state starting to move. The first step was

3 the commission saying enough, it's not right,

4 pause. But the pause will be over, you know,

5 because -- like, oh, it's four years. But

6 you know, we'll be sitting here in four

7 years, God willing, and I'd rather be at that

8 point or before that point saying this is

9 what New York State now stands for in

10 education.

11 ASSEMBLYMAN MURRAY: And I agree with

12 that, and I think that's the -- the pause

13 button has been hit, that's great. But we

14 have work to do during that pause. And if

15 we're not moving in that direction -- and I

16 think we have a lot of work on all sides, us

17 included, in letting your members know that,

18 you know, it shouldn't be test-centric, it

19 should be authentic learning. It should be

20 about building a future for these kids. And

21 I think we all need to do a better job of

22 letting your members know that, you know,

23 they're the professionals. You know, let

24 them teach. And we can rely on them because

385

1 we have some of the best teachers around.

2 So thank you for coming today.

3 MR. PALLOTTA: Thank you.

4 MR. MULGREW: Thank you very much.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

6 Senator?

7 SENATOR KRUEGER: No one here. Any

8 Assembly?

9 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Mr. Abinanti,

10 Assemblyman Abinanti.

11 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you,

12 Mr. Chairman.

13 I just want to very briefly discuss

14 one subject that has been given very short

15 shrift today, and that's special-needs

16 education in traditional schools. And I

17 don't see anybody on the agenda either who's

18 going to discuss that topic. So I'd like to

19 raise it with you gentlemen. I know you

20 mentioned it very briefly in your comments.

21 But I want to put it in the context of a tax

22 cap and minimal increase in state aid.

23 Being a parent of a child with a

24 disability, being an Assemblymember who gets

386

1 a lot of calls from parents of kids with

2 disabilities, we are very concerned that the

3 tax cap, in the light of the Foundation Aid

4 formula restrictions, has become an attack on

5 kids with disabilities. Because what we see

6 is that the first programs that are going to

7 be cut are the most expensive programs, and

8 that's the programs that take care of kids

9 with disabilities. Every one of the issues

10 you discussed is magnified when you're

11 dealing with a child with a disability,

12 whether it's testing, whether it's program

13 resources available, everything.

14 And I notice in here the Governor is

15 trying to give the school districts a way out

16 by basically allowing them to waive the

17 requirements that have been imposed, the

18 minimum requirements for what must be given

19 to a child with a disability. And we all

20 know that the mandates become the minimum,

21 not the maximum.

22 MR. PALLOTTA: In our testimony today

23 we're saying, we're urging the Legislature to

24 have parity between the Special Act schools,

387

1 the 4201 schools. I visited a school in your

2 district, Assemblyman, the School for the

3 Deaf, and what we're saying is we would love

4 to have parity with surrounding school

5 districts and funding.

6 Also on the tax cap, it's been

7 something that we've been fearing for years,

8 that there would be such a low CPI and that

9 we would see a 0.02 tax increase for

10 localities. It just -- if the state does not

11 fund the schools the way they need to,

12 they're making it impossible for a locality

13 to raise the funds that's necessary.

14 And I've often spoken to folks from

15 Massachusetts, where they do have a tax cap

16 but the state infuses tremendous amounts of

17 money into those schools to make up for what

18 the locality cannot raise.

19 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: I just want to

20 reemphasize that. Because when you're

21 talking about such a small tax increase

22 that's permissible, in some school districts

23 where I am, the state actually contributes

24 $1500 to the cost of education, $1500 per

388

1 child, $1800 per child. There's one school

2 district in Westchester where it's $950 per

3 child. I'm not going to begrudge those

4 around the state who get $8,000 and

5 $10,000 -- they need the money. But to say

6 that the school district now has to follow

7 the requirements that the state imposes on

8 all kinds of things like audits and things

9 that really don't go to the education of the

10 children, yet they can't hire another teacher

11 to deal with some kids who have special needs

12 because they don't have the money, I think is

13 absurd.

14 You think about the -- if a school

15 district could increase its tax base by

16 $50,000, one child with a disability moves

17 into that district, it costs them $60,000 to

18 educate that child, so they've got to cut

19 something else.

20 So I appreciate your support for it,

21 and I think it's important that we emphasize

22 that.

23 MR. PALLOTTA: Thank you, Assemblyman.

24 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

389

1 Senator?

2 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. I'm

3 sorry, we skipped two Senators.

4 Senator Diane Savino.

5 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, Senator

6 Krueger.

7 Welcome, gentlemen and ladies.

8 I want to touch on something that came

9 up earlier today that Senator DeFrancisco

10 raised with the state chair. As you know, I

11 think it's like once a week one of the

12 tabloids loves to have a front-page story,

13 usually on a Sunday, about teachers and the

14 rubber room, a term I find particularly

15 offensive. But a couple of years ago I know

16 the UFT in your contract negotiations, you

17 negotiated a change to the teacher

18 disciplinary process, and my understanding is

19 it's actually improved considerably and sped

20 up considerably.

21 MR. MULGREW: Yup.

22 SENATOR SAVINO: So can you clarify

23 the tabloid journalism that claims that there

24 is no expeditious handling of teacher

390

1 disciplinary cases?

2 MR. MULGREW: I don't know if I can

3 ever clarify some of the tabloids in our

4 wonderful state. As the subject of a lot of

5 those stories, I find them quite fascinating

6 at times.

7 We're very proud of the work we did in

8 terms of speeding up the process. And the

9 numbers are there; they'll talk for

10 themselves. You saw that story was never

11 picked up by anyone else because anyone who

12 actually checked it just said, oh, it's not

13 true.

14 And we are very happy, the mayor,

15 Mayor de Blasio himself has said the process

16 is working absolutely fine. We made changes,

17 we thought it would -- fast and fair is the

18 way to go. You don't want anything drawn

19 out. We understand we work with children, we

20 have to have a greater degree of pause. We

21 get that. But fast and fair. It's not fair

22 to the school, it's not fair to educator.

23 And we're very proud of the work that we have

24 done. The tabloids, I leave that for you

391

1 guys to try to fix.

2 (Laughter.)

3 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you. Just for

4 full disclosure, President Mulgrew is

5 actually one of my constituents, so I have to

6 be nicer to him than the rest of you.

7 (Laughter.)

8 SENATOR SAVINO: But I want to touch

9 on two things that are in your testimony,

10 both NYSUT's and the UFT's.

11 I had the opportunity about a month

12 ago to attend a conference where they

13 described this new program that you guys have

14 started in the City of New York, the Positive

15 Learning Collaborative. Which is really --

16 if anybody hasn't seen it, you should really

17 go and take a look at it. It's really a

18 wonderful way of dealing with some of the

19 most difficult schools, bringing down

20 violence, improving outcomes. We're

21 providing real resources.

22 So I know you're asking for an

23 additional $1.5 million to expand it to

24 another up to 20 schools.

392

1 MR. MULGREW: Correct.

2 SENATOR SAVINO: Is that also -- is

3 that outside the City of New York, both -- or

4 just New York City?

5 MR. MULGREW: We would be happy to

6 help train a school outside of the city if

7 they want to do that. This is a union

8 initiative that we took on, just like the,

9 you know, rebooting community learning

10 schools five years ago. We got sick and

11 tired about hearing these debates about

12 incidents, suspensions, this -- and we're

13 like, well, we're the ones who keep telling

14 everyone it's about culture, so we'd better

15 put something together.

16 We took our union money, we sent some

17 people to Cornell for training, we asked if

18 any schools were interested. We funded it at

19 this point. We're funding all of it at this

20 point. Their teachers are then trained,

21 there's a team at the school. And it took a

22 good eight months before we started seeing

23 results, and now those schools we've had for

24 two years, and you try to take away their

393

1 behavior learning community team, and they'll

2 go nuts, they'll leave the building. They

3 were in schools that -- and we dealt with

4 administrations who were like, if we report

5 every single thing, they're going to tell us

6 we're a bad school. Do you understand that

7 no matter what we do, we can't win? We're

8 like, yeah, we can win. We've just got to

9 take a different approach.

10 And, you know, we understand the

11 reporting requirements and all the rest of

12 it. But it's a fantastic program. If anyone

13 wants to come to see it, we would be more

14 than happy to arrange the visit. It's

15 phenomenal. And we would absolutely be

16 willing to, if there's a school or a district

17 that's interested, to bring them to New York

18 City to take a look at what we're doing and

19 try to help them do it also.

20 SENATOR SAVINO: How do you decide

21 which schools would be, you know, a good fit

22 for the PLC?

23 MR. MULGREW: It's up to the school.

24 If a school community says this is something

394

1 we want to engage in, that this is -- we have

2 students who are really just coming to

3 school, they don't understand, we inherited a

4 school that -- it's usually a lot of folks

5 who just all of a sudden just say, all right,

6 this is not the way we want our school to

7 run. And the majority of students want to go

8 to a safe place every day. They want to go

9 to a safe and orderly environment.

10 And as the chancellor said, it's a

11 small segment. And you can buy -- you know,

12 you never know who your student cohorts are

13 going to be, and you can have students who

14 have all sorts of challenges, and all you

15 need is some intervention for that. It could

16 be that simple that it's a small number. But

17 this program isn't just about that, it's

18 about creating a culture of respect for

19 everyone.

20 So it's self-selected by the school,

21 but you need leadership and you also need a

22 group of teachers. But right now what we

23 have is a waiting list, because this is all

24 being funded by union dues. We have a

395

1 waiting list of over 20 schools in New York

2 City who want to get in right now, and we

3 stopped adding people onto the waiting list

4 because that's -- we figured we'd come up

5 here and ask you guys.

6 SENATOR SAVINO: Hopefully it will be

7 something we address in the budget.

8 Finally, in both of your testimonies

9 you refer to the concerns you have about the

10 home-based childcare system. If you

11 remember, it was five years ago, I think, six

12 years ago, I sponsored the legislation to

13 allow for home-based childcare providers the

14 opportunity to organize so that they could

15 essentially band together for the purposes of

16 improving and increasing the subsidies for

17 subsidized childcare.

18 And I know that it's -- it was

19 difficult, but I'm not sure, has there been

20 any improvement in the subsidized childcare

21 industry? Are we seeing an increase in the

22 vouchers? Have they been able to utilize

23 this organizing effort to improve their

24 circumstances?

396

1 MR. MULGREW: Well, we have federal

2 intervention that's problematic at this

3 point, because right now there are a whole

4 set of new requirements on top of home-based

5 childcare providers that is in terms of

6 safety inspections, also different protocols,

7 they need sign-off from different agencies.

8 Now, you have to understand that the

9 majority of home-based daycare providers have

10 two to three children. And it's a vital

11 service in a lot of our communities. So the

12 vouchers, the number of vouchers is actually

13 going down as more unfunded mandates,

14 basically, are put upon them.

15 And what we hear is, well, everyone

16 likes pre-K. We're like, yeah, but we've got

17 to get the child to 4 years of age first.

18 And it's not just the child, it's the family

19 that has to go to work that cannot afford to

20 send their child to a lot of the different

21 centers that we have that do childcare. So

22 the daycare provider is essential in so many

23 of our communities, yet slowly you see that

24 this is moving in the wrong direction.

397

1 So we need -- we are asking for

2 funding in our testimony, there's a funding

3 ask in there. But it's really about trying

4 to help not just here at the state level, but

5 also we need to go have a conversation with

6 the federal government: What are you doing?

7 What are you doing? Who decided that you

8 need six different agencies to sign off on

9 someone who's watching three kids a day? I

10 mean, talk about ridiculous bureaucracy.

11 And then they'll say, oh, we're here

12 for the welfare -- well, there's a way to

13 license a daycare provider and there are ways

14 to put that in a process so it's workable for

15 all those involved. But in the end, all we

16 know right now are there are things that

17 we're looking for funding to keep and just

18 increase the number of people who need the

19 slots, but at the same time we're going to

20 need intervention at the federal level to

21 say -- because right now I have to go to you

22 guys, I need $90 million, and you're not

23 increasing a slot. That's just to do the

24 work that the federal government is just now

398

1 asking daycare providers to do so they can do

2 the work. Which is a little absurd.

3 SENATOR SAVINO: Certainly I look

4 forward to working with you guys on that.

5 We are also looking at center-based

6 daycare and some of the concerns and problems

7 there with the licensing requirements. You

8 know, the state handles it one way and the

9 city handles it another way, and it's a very

10 complicated industry. So hopefully

11 post-budget we can sit down and try and

12 figure out how we can make it easier for our

13 home-based childcare system, because as you

14 pointed out, it's critically important to

15 many working families.

16 Thank you.

17 MR. MULGREW: Thank you very much,

18 Senator.

19 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Senate, to close.

20 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

21 much.

22 Our next speaker is Senator Velmanette

23 Montgomery.

24 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. Well, I'll

399

1 be very quick. I thank my colleague for

2 asking those questions about the childcare

3 program, appreciate it. And I have similar

4 questions, of course, and look forward to

5 working with you and her on this issue.

6 But for myself, I just want to say

7 very, very briefly and sincerely how much I

8 appreciate your working with the community,

9 the electeds, Principal Wiltshire and the

10 Boys & Girls High School family, if you will,

11 to make that school really happen, to keep it

12 from going under, to keep it from becoming a

13 massive charter school and all the other

14 things that could have happened.

15 So this is the best example of

16 collaboration, and I want to just publicly

17 acknowledge your participation and thank you.

18 MR. MULGREW: We acknowledge your

19 participation also.

20 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Absolutely.

21 MR. MULGREW: Thank you.

22 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: You know, it's --

23 we have to save that school.

24 And I also am happy that both of you

400

1 had in your testimony a specific reference to

2 your support of the CTE, expanding it,

3 improving and making whatever necessary

4 changes that are required in order to make

5 that a substantial part of our system, as

6 well as the Early College programs, both of

7 you have. And I think the reason I keep

8 talking about those is because I see that

9 they really do work for young people. They

10 are very successful. I would like to see

11 that become the new paradigm. You know, a

12 lot of people talk about the pipeline, but

13 they never really do anything about it, they

14 just talk about it. So this is really one of

15 those kinds of tangible programs that have an

16 outcome that we can recognize, they've been

17 in existence long enough, and we just need to

18 make them a part of what we do and how we do

19 education for young people.

20 And I am also promoting, and I believe

21 all of the education leaders are supporting

22 as well, let's extend that pipeline to the

23 middle school so that we now begin to really

24 build institutionally a new paradigm about

401

1 what happens to youngsters in school. And

2 middle school, we have to do middle school.

3 We can't just wait for high school to start

4 talking about college.

5 So thank you for your support, and I

6 look forward to us working together on all of

7 these issues, including the babies and the

8 toddlers and everybody.

9 MR. MULGREW: Thank you very much.

10 MR. PALLOTTA: Thank you, Senator.

11 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: That concludes

12 everything, so thank you for your patience,

13 thank you for your contributions, thank you

14 for your service. Look forward to seeing you

15 in the future very shortly, I'm sure. Thank

16 you.

17 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

18 much.

19 Conference of Big Five School

20 Districts, Georgia Asciutto, executive

21 director; Sharon Contreras, superintendent of

22 Syracuse School District; Edwin Quezada,

23 interim superintendent -- I hope you're all

24 teachers, you can tell me how to speak --

402

1 Yonkers Public Schools; Linda Cimusz, interim

2 superintendent, Rochester School District;

3 and Dr. Kriner Cash, superintendent, Buffalo

4 School District. I know the last one, Cash.

5 I've seen it on occasion.

6 MS. ASCIUTTO: Hi, good afternoon,

7 distinguished members of the panel. I am

8 Georgia Asciutto. I'm the executive director

9 of the Conference of Big 5 School Districts.

10 I am here today with my colleagues from the

11 Big 4 city districts, as well as a

12 representative from Utica School District in

13 the audience. I'm going to introduce them.

14 You have my written remarks, and in

15 the interest of time, if the chairs allow, I

16 am not going to speak to those. I am going

17 to let the superintendents speak, and then I

18 will fill in if there are any issues that

19 haven't been raised.

20 So to my right is Dr. Sharon

21 Contreras, superintendent of the Syracuse

22 City School District. To her right is

23 Dr. Kriner Cash, Buffalo Schools

24 superintendent. At the end of the table is

403

1 Dr. Edwin Quezada; he's the interim

2 superintendent of the Yonkers School

3 District. And to my left is Ms. Linda

4 Cimusz; she's our interim superintendent in

5 the Rochester schools.

6 And I'm going to ask Dr. Contreras to

7 begin.

8 DR. CONTRERAS: Thank you. Good

9 afternoon. I would like to thank the State

10 Assembly and State Senate for the opportunity

11 to testify today. We appreciate the support

12 that the State Assembly and the State Senate

13 have provided to public education.

14 According to the most recent United

15 States Census data, half of the children in

16 Syracuse live in poverty, and the city

17 continues to be among the poorest in the

18 nation. Syracuse is now poorer than all of

19 the other major upstate cities. Most

20 alarming is that a recent analysis of census

21 data shows that Syracuse has the highest rate

22 of extreme poverty, concentrated among blacks

23 and Hispanics, out of the nation's 100

24 largest metropolitan areas. Our combined

404

1 property and income wealth is one-third that

2 of the average New York State school

3 district.

4 The Syracuse School District is

5 implementing key strategic initiatives to

6 improve the academic outcomes of our

7 students, and we are making progress. The

8 district's four-year June graduation rate

9 increased by four percentage points in

10 2014-2015, the highest one-year increase in

11 six years, and the highest graduation rate in

12 nearly 10 years. The five-year graduation

13 rate reached 60 percent, which is also the

14 highest rate in nearly a decade. The dropout

15 rate has decreased from 26 percent to

16 16 percent.

17 While there is much work to do, the

18 Syracuse City School District is making

19 progress. In order to continue to close

20 persistent achievement gaps and fundamentally

21 change the life chances and opportunities of

22 the students that we serve, we respectfully

23 request a minimum additional state aid

24 increase of $22.8 million beyond the

405

1 Executive Budget proposal to support school

2 turnaround and new school development.

3 The New York State Education

4 Department has designated 18 of Syracuse City

5 School District's schools as struggling or

6 persistently struggling. The students who

7 are most often relegated to attend these

8 schools are the poorest and most vulnerable

9 in the City of Syracuse, and New York State,

10 and indeed in our nation. Syracuse City

11 School District is prepared to infuse more

12 choices into our existing school system in

13 order to introduce more high-quality options

14 for families, and as a key strategy for

15 school turnaround. We are exploring ideas

16 such as expansion of expeditionary learning,

17 expansion of gifted education at the

18 secondary level, where students of color are

19 woefully underrepresented, development of a

20 performance arts secondary school,

21 development of year-round school models,

22 development of a Montessori School,

23 development of a personalized

24 blended-learning school modeled after

406

1 New York City's School of One, boys' focused

2 education to reduce the deplorable dropout

3 rates of black and Latino males, and

4 programming designed to encourage and

5 increase opportunity for girls to participate

6 in computer science education -- coding,

7 gaming, engineering and mathematics.

8 Secondly, we're looking for

9 transportation to school for students.

10 Syracuse currently buses K-12 students who

11 live outside a 1.5-mile radius from school,

12 the minimum distance aided under the current

13 state formula. Pre-K students are not

14 provided with transportation. However, many

15 of the district's students reside in

16 economically distressed areas that are

17 plagued with violence and crime. These

18 students have difficulty getting to school on

19 a daily basis, especially given the inclement

20 weather and the brutal cold for which Central

21 New York is well known.

22 We are requesting that the state

23 funding formula is changed so that any

24 pre-K-12 students who reside more than 1.0

407

1 mile from school is considered an allowable

2 pupil for aid purposes. This would allow us

3 to bus 1,000 pre-K students and an additional

4 2,200 K-8 students, and would generate a

5 total of $11 million in aid for the Syracuse

6 City School District.

7 Thirdly, academic interventions and

8 support for students. Part 100 of the

9 regulations of the Commissioner of Education

10 requires that school districts provide

11 academic intervention services or additional

12 instruction. With implementation of the

13 Common Core learning standards and state

14 assessments aligned to these more rigorous

15 standards, more than 90 percent of students

16 in the Syracuse City School District qualify

17 for academic intervention services, including

18 6,228 students in Grades 4 through 8.

19 As a result of increased state aid for

20 the 2015-2016 school year, we have been able

21 to add 58 academic intervention teachers to

22 support struggling students in Grades K-5.

23 However, the sheer number of students who

24 need additional supports require new models

408

1 of instruction and additional staffing.

2 Fourth, the new federal Every Student

3 Succeeds Act, ESSA, includes computer science

4 with other core subjects. Computer science

5 education offers more employment

6 opportunities for students than any other

7 discipline. Unfortunately, women, blacks,

8 and Latinos are underrepresented in the

9 field. Currently, blacks and Latinos each

10 make up 2 percent of all of those employed in

11 computer sciences throughout the United

12 States. Syracuse is moving toward making

13 computer science available to all 21,000

14 students across all of our schools.

15 Implementing computer science

16 education, coupled with implementation of

17 personalized blended learning models that

18 allow teachers to tailor instruction to each

19 student's strengths, needs and interests,

20 will transform education in the Syracuse City

21 School District.

22 Fifth, the expansion of arts

23 programming. The research is overwhelming

24 that children from low socioeconomic

409

1 backgrounds who have access to the arts also

2 tend to have better academic results. An

3 overpreponderance on academic intervention

4 services alone, coupled with drastic budget

5 reductions over the years, has resulted in

6 many students in Syracuse being denied the

7 basic opportunity to participate in the same

8 arts programming that their more affluent

9 peers enjoy less than 5 miles away.

10 The Syracuse City School District is

11 requesting the addition of programming at the

12 elementary and middle school levels. We also

13 ask support for implementation of the newly

14 amended CR Part 154, to support English

15 language learners, and for support of Career

16 and Technical Education. Over the last three

17 years, Syracuse has invested in more than 20

18 Career and Technical Education programs,

19 addressing career readiness and projected

20 regional, state, and national growth fields.

21 The district is expanding to include three

22 new CTE pathways next year.

23 In the Syracuse City School District,

24 students enrolled in CTE programs experience

410

1 greater academic success and higher

2 graduation rates.

3 Thank you so much for your support of

4 public education.

5 DR. CASH: Good afternoon, colleagues,

6 honorable members of the Legislature.

7 I am new to the New York region and

8 area, specifically Buffalo, and I thought I'd

9 take a moment to just say a little bit about

10 my background, introduce myself. I have over

11 21 years of executive experience in public

12 education, 37 years total. I have been a

13 chief of accountability and systemwide

14 performance for Miami-Dade County Public

15 Schools, serving four years there, being

16 recruited there by Rudy Crew, former

17 chancellor of New York City Schools. I've

18 been a superintendent in Memphis City Schools

19 for five years and a superintendent on

20 Martha's Vineyard for 10 years. Also an

21 associate dean and faculty at Howard

22 University, and a department chairman and

23 professor at the Massachusetts College of

24 Liberal Arts. I'm educated undergrad at

411

1 Princeton, Stanford University, graduate, and

2 University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

3 I say this because I'm excited to come

4 to Buffalo and help begin to continue the

5 transformation of that district, in line with

6 the exciting economic renaissance that is

7 already occurring there.

8 I want to thank Georgia Asciutto for

9 ushering me around yesterday and getting to

10 meet many of you, and I thank you certainly

11 for all of the tremendous legacy that these

12 committees have in supporting our school

13 district.

14 I'll get right to it. You know the

15 history of Buffalo, so I won't cite where

16 we've been. We're more interested at this

17 time in where we're going. And I've spent

18 quite a bit of time in these last five months

19 talking extensively with district leaders,

20 teachers, principals, students, parents,

21 business leaders, faith-based community

22 leaders, higher education community, and all

23 of our stakeholders. And what has been clear

24 is that there are six priorities that have

412

1 emerged from those conversations. We're

2 calling it the New Educational Bargain for

3 Students and Parents in Buffalo.

4 And the New Educational Bargain is

5 simple. The district will guarantee pathways

6 to opportunity that will lead to achievement

7 and success, in exchange for hard work,

8 commitment, and collaboration of our students

9 and parents.

10 The essential elements of the New

11 Educational Bargain are these:

12 Institute rigorous early elementary

13 education, pre-K through Grade 3, which shall

14 include but not be limited to reduced reading

15 and math class sizes in Grades 1, 2, and 3,

16 and the selection of highly qualified, highly

17 talented reading and math instructors for

18 this effort.

19 Establish strong community schools in

20 each quadrant of the City of Buffalo, to

21 serve students and families within their

22 neighborhoods. Each community school will

23 provide an enriched education experience,

24 including extended day and full wraparound

413

1 services.

2 Redesign and launch new innovative

3 high schools in our underperforming high

4 schools to bridge the quality -- and the

5 equality gap -- between traditional and

6 criterion schools, and provide for expanded

7 opportunities for career development aligned

8 to emerging industries in Western New York.

9 Over 165,000 new jobs will be coming to that

10 region; we want our young people to be

11 qualified to take those jobs.

12 Commit to a plan for extended learning

13 excellence for all our students, which

14 includes revamp after-school, summer school,

15 Saturday school, alternative education,

16 digital learning, and technology-based

17 learning, especially including the arts and

18 athletics, as you've heard throughout the

19 testimonies today.

20 Five, provide services for our

21 neediest children and families, which shall

22 include a revamping of educational

23 opportunities for students on the east side

24 of Buffalo. Buffalo is extraordinary in the

414

1 way in which it's providing mental health,

2 legal and other health services for all of

3 our students and families.

4 And perhaps most important, create a

5 new relationship with our teachers, which

6 recognizes them as professionals, pays them

7 fairly and competitively, provides the

8 support and professional development they

9 need to enable them to do their best work,

10 and reform the working understanding between

11 the district and the Buffalo Teachers

12 Federation. We want, together, to ensure the

13 best instruction for all our children, every

14 day, in every school, in every classroom, in

15 every subject, for every year of school.

16 So in short, the priorities that we're

17 asking your support on are these:

18 Increase Foundation Aid to the

19 district to fund its educational priorities

20 for the New Educational Bargain that I've

21 just described, for an estimated cost of

22 $40 million over the next three years.

23 Because these goals won't be achieved in one

24 year alone, they'll be phased in over three

415

1 years;

2 Expand and consolidate the universal

3 pre-K programs as described by the

4 commissioner, Commissioner Elia, earlier this

5 morning;

6 Provide a permanent increase in the

7 health services aid line for Buffalo of at

8 least $2 million more, to $7.3 million. As

9 you know, with the exception of the one-time

10 bullet aid allocated in 2015-2016, there have

11 been no increases since 2006-2007, despite

12 significant increased costs of services,

13 service needs, and requests from charter

14 schools to provide much-needed nursing

15 services;

16 Increase funding for the receivership

17 schools or the struggling schools -- again,

18 as the commissioners and others have asked

19 for, specifically adding funding for schools

20 that are classified as struggling, so that we

21 can make more investment in their leadership

22 talent in those schools, teacher professional

23 development -- a lot of that is needed

24 there -- chronic absenteeism, and enriched

416

1 after-school programs.

2 And then, to help support the infusion

3 of digital technology into our schools, which

4 align with all six of these priorities herein

5 described, I'm asking that you consider

6 funding from the New York Broadband Program.

7 We already have the Smart Schools Bond money,

8 but the broadband program would help us for

9 projects that are now in rural areas of the

10 state where no broadband exists, so the

11 services are inadequate. We understand that,

12 and we support that.

13 But a critical component for our

14 success with the New Educational Bargain is

15 to be able to access this available funding

16 so that we can serve our poorer communities

17 in Buffalo. It's not that they don't have

18 connectivity possibility, but they often --

19 the families can't afford that connectivity.

20 And so we want to help that and get that done

21 in all of our communities in the city, but we

22 need to have access to that broadband

23 program.

24 And finally, I just wanted to add my

417

1 support for what you have heard often today.

2 I served on the Regents task force led by

3 Regent Lester Young, and I support the

4 recommendation over two years of about $25

5 million to help improve outcomes for our

6 young men and boys of color. It's very

7 important that we continue to provide

8 on-ramps for success for all of our children,

9 all of our girls and boys, certainly, but we

10 see profound continuing problems with that

11 population of our young people.

12 So thank you for listening. We think

13 our request in Buffalo is aligned to our

14 colleagues' here in the Big 5, aligned with

15 the commissioner's request for the whole

16 state, and we want to be a good team player

17 in all of this. And we thank you for

18 listening and for your continued support.

19 DR. QUEZADA: Distinguished members of

20 the joint legislative fiscal and education

21 committees, thank you for the opportunity to

22 address you on behalf of the Yonkers City

23 School District. I am Dr. Edwin Quezada,

24 interim superintendent of schools, here to

418

1 advocate for the 27,000 students who on a

2 daily basis seek the American dream, and to

3 explain why investing in the Yonkers public

4 schools is a prudent use of state tax

5 dollars.

6 Also with me in the audience are the

7 finance commissioner for the City of Yonkers,

8 Mr. John Liszewski, and the budget director,

9 Mr. Andrew Lenney. Together we are a dynamic

10 team who seeks opportunity for each and every

11 one of our students.

12 I have entered my testimony into

13 evidence, and I will only give you a synopsis

14 of what I have written for you. It is our

15 joint responsibility to provide each child an

16 education that will enable them an

17 opportunity to attain their dreams and become

18 productive citizens. Yonkers Board of

19 Education trustees, the mayor and city

20 council have embraced a common goal,

21 committed to an educational agenda that

22 supports the needs of children who attend

23 school in an urban center and who continue to

24 lack a sound, basic education.

419

1 The Yonkers public schools are

2 experiencing significant success. Much of

3 the success was accomplished working with our

4 mayor, city and state delegations, and the

5 Governor, garnering valuable resources for

6 our children. So why invest more in Yonkers'

7 children? Because our school district

8 continually improves student outcomes.

9 Just look at the state data. On

10 January 11th, the State Education Department

11 released the 2015 graduation rates and once

12 again, Yonkers public schools' graduation

13 rate is up. The June 2015 graduation rate is

14 up 5 percent from last year, to 74 percent.

15 And for August, the gain is 2 percent, with

16 78 percent of the Class of 2015 graduating on

17 time, the highest of all the Big 5 school

18 districts.

19 Yonkers public schools made gains in

20 the 2015 English language arts and

21 mathematics assessments over the three years

22 of the new Common Core standards. And this

23 year, I'm expecting growth in each and every

24 one of our underperforming schools.

420

1 Our enrollment grows every year by

2 almost 300 students. This trend is predicted

3 to continue. As of yesterday, Yonkers is

4 educating 27,784 students. Four hundred

5 students with disabilities are in out-of

6 district placement, which I would love to

7 bring them all back; 618 students in a

8 charter school, and 26,766 students are in

9 our public schools. As you can see, our

10 commitment to education has not wavered.

11 Enrollment is increasing, more families are

12 staying in our city, teachers remain

13 committed to our students' education,

14 students achieve at high levels and graduate

15 on time.

16 Community schools and partnerships

17 flourish in every school. We work with local

18 health, medical and post-secondary

19 institutions to provide comprehensive

20 academic, social and health services for

21 students and family members that will result

22 in improved educational outcomes for our

23 children.

24 And the successful implementation of

421

1 the 2014 intermunicipal agreement between the

2 City of Yonkers and the Board of Education is

3 a model approach to shared services in

4 municipalities facing financial challenges.

5 Now that I have captured your

6 attention with Yonkers' successes, let me

7 share our challenges. Yonkers' children are

8 educated in crumbling infrastructure. The

9 average age of our school buildings is over

10 75 years. These schools are at or over their

11 capacity and cannot accommodate current

12 technology or required additional

13 instructional space for our growing

14 enrollment and increasing need for

15 in-district space for students with

16 disabilities and English language learners.

17 Out of necessity, due to limited

18 funding and staff, our annual capital

19 improvement plan is actually done as triage,

20 prioritizing projects based on health and

21 safety and building integrity needs.

22 Yonkers is further constrained by the

23 70 percent state reimbursement on approved

24 construction projects. This can be remedied

422

1 by the city's proposed legislation for the

2 reconstruction of Yonkers schools. The

3 Yonkers community supports this legislation

4 and will vigorously lobby for its adoption.

5 The challenges facing the Yonkers City

6 School District in 2016 and beyond is to meet

7 its lawful responsibility to provide

8 educationally sound instructional programs

9 that address the needs of Yonkers students

10 and the community. Too many years have gone

11 by, and too many Yonkers students have not

12 had the benefit of an appropriate public

13 education. The majority of our schools do

14 not have a guidance counselor, a school

15 psychologist, or a social worker.

16 Let me share our student-teacher

17 ratios. Guidance counselors, 787 students to

18 1. Psychologists, 1,150 students to 1.

19 Social workers, 2,231 students to 1. As you

20 can see, these are not services that we're

21 really providing. Again, we're only

22 addressing small issues with that limited

23 support that we have in our schools.

24 Our elementary schools are void of

423

1 extracurricular activities or sports. Music

2 and art are limited to a day or less a week.

3 And our student-teacher ratio for library

4 media specialists is 3,347 students to 1.

5 But Yonkers is determined to turn

6 these challenges into real opportunities for

7 its students. I ask that you recognize our

8 challenges, celebrate our successes, and

9 commit to expanding opportunities for

10 Yonkers' children. Help us move towards

11 compliance and provide opportunities for our

12 students. Please consider increasing the

13 Foundation Aid formula to recognize growing

14 enrollment both at BEDS day and throughout

15 the year, thereby providing Yonkers essential

16 recurring revenues to support our increasing

17 number of students with disabilities and

18 English language learners.

19 Please understand that the Executive

20 Budget leaves my school district with a

21 $7 million gap for a status quo budget.

22 Based on what you heard, a status quo budget

23 is not what we need in Yonkers.

24 Restoring the total amount of our Gap

424

1 Elimination Adjustment this year, providing

2 full funding and reimbursement for our Career

3 and Technical Education programs, which has

4 remained stagnant for years and does not

5 recognize program sequencing that begins in

6 9th grade.

7 I thank the committee for all the

8 energy that you have around Career and

9 Technical Education, and I invite you to come

10 to Saunders trades and technical high school

11 in Yonkers, the oldest trades and technical

12 high school and the best trades and technical

13 high school in the state. So please come and

14 see us.

15 Recognizing that pupil support

16 services, art, music and sports are not

17 extras, these are essential components of a

18 sound, basic education.

19 Increasing funding for community

20 schools statewide to enable districts to

21 properly implement mandated instructional

22 improvements. The Executive put in $100

23 million for community schools; Yonkers will

24 get about $4.4 million. Community schools

425

1 will require a lot more funding, as my

2 colleagues have indicated already.

3 Providing adequate funding to support

4 professional development aligned to state

5 mandates. We are in the middle of changes

6 again. These changes will not become a

7 reality unless the proper professional

8 development is provided for administrators

9 and teachers. They are responsible for

10 educating our students; let's provide them

11 with the tools essential for making that

12 happen.

13 Finally, I encourage each of you to

14 visit Yonkers and see firsthand the appalling

15 conditions of so many of our schools. I am

16 confident that your visit will convince you

17 to support the city school reconstruction

18 legislation and, as you have with other

19 cities across the state, become an active

20 participant, creating jobs and quality

21 schools to improve the entire Yonkers

22 community.

23 The Yonkers Board of Education

24 trustees, the mayor and city council,

426

1 parents, students, teachers, administrators,

2 civil service employees and I are committed

3 to the education of all of our children.

4 I leave you with one last number. For

5 us to begin to move towards compliance, we

6 have a budget deficit gap of about

7 $24 million. Let us not allow that to

8 continue in Yonkers any more. Our children

9 are succeeding. Our city is doing what's

10 right for our children. Our teachers and

11 administrators are taking care of our

12 youngsters, and providing a good education.

13 Let us provide them with the funding needed

14 for making this happen.

15 I ask you to also commit to our

16 diverse, growing, and vibrant community. It

17 is Yonkers' time; give our children what they

18 deserve.

19 Thank you.

20 MS. CIMUSZ: Good afternoon, honorable

21 members. Let me introduce myself very

22 quickly. I see my colleagues have left me

23 two minutes, so I will try to keep my remarks

24 to that.

427

1 My name is Linda Cimusz. I have been

2 in Rochester as the interim superintendent

3 for seven days now, so -- however, I am not a

4 stranger to the Big 5. I spent 22 years in

5 Syracuse, I did my teaching there, was a

6 principal -- elementary, middle and high

7 school -- there. Just last year I worked in

8 an interim manner in Buffalo. And then I

9 spent 16 years in the Williamsville School

10 District as assistant superintendent. So

11 although I'm brand-new to Rochester, I am not

12 new to the Big 5 and urban education.

13 My earliest estimate is that the

14 Rochester schools are taking many of the

15 right steps toward improving outcomes for

16 students. Ninety-five percent of Rochester

17 4-year-olds are enrolled in our universal

18 pre-K program, nearly all of whom attend

19 full-day classes. On January 4th, we began

20 serving 650 3-year-olds, thanks to the pre-K

21 expansion grant. With help from Governor

22 Cuomo's new initiative on pre-K at age 3, we

23 hope soon to offer full-day programs to every

24 3- and 4-year-old in Rochester.

428

1 Once again, we continue to work on

2 attendance improvement. The focus of the

3 school district for this past year has been

4 reducing the number of chronically absent

5 students in elementary schools. And last

6 year, 1100 students improved their attendance

7 as a result of this initiative.

8 Rochester's graduation rates, although

9 still way too low, are also improving. The

10 five-year rate of 58 percent in 2015 was the

11 highest in six years, and performance by

12 students with disabilities has increased

13 steadily over the past four years.

14 From a financial perspective,

15 Rochester has reduced its structural budget

16 gap by more than 25 percent over the past

17 four years. While doing so, the district has

18 invested more in students while improving

19 financial stability. We intend to continue

20 on that path into the 2016-2017 budget.

21 However, we do project a budget

22 challenge of nearly $42 million next year.

23 There are specific areas in which we would

24 like to request more help, and without being

429

1 repetitive, I will echo many of the

2 sentiments of my colleagues. And you have

3 more detailed remarks in the written

4 testimony, but I would like to highlight

5 three areas that I'd like to particularly

6 mention now.

7 One is the receivership schools. All

8 14 of Rochester's receivership schools have

9 improvement plans in place, compliance

10 deadlines have been met. Our four

11 persistently struggling schools have used

12 receivership aid to fund the staffing support

13 they need to meet improvement targets.

14 However, Rochester's 10 struggling

15 schools, the ones with two years to meet the

16 improvement targets, have similar needs, and

17 therefore we respectfully request

18 receivership aid for those struggling schools

19 for 2016-2017, perhaps using the formula that

20 supported our persistently struggling

21 schools' budget this current year.

22 Our second request is for a pilot

23 project to provide universal transportation

24 for our elementary and K-8 students for next

430

1 year. Fewer than 20 percent of these

2 students currently attend their neighborhood

3 school, and we believe the transportation is

4 the major reason why, according to parents

5 who have told us so.

6 We intend to request a grant to fund

7 transportation for Rochester schools to their

8 neighborhood schools. This will support the

9 Safe Neighborhoods objective of the

10 Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative. We

11 also believe it will reduce transportation

12 costs in the long run through more efficient

13 routing.

14 Finally, we ask for $2 million to

15 maintain school nursing services. Our nurses

16 play an exceptionally valuable role in

17 helping our Rochester students stay healthy,

18 and the demand for their services, as you are

19 well aware, is increasing.

20 We deeply appreciate your past support

21 to this initiative and hope the Legislature

22 will continue to help us maintain nursing

23 services at the current level.

24 With that, once again, and knowing

431

1 that I could repeat the remarks of my

2 colleagues, I will not. But I thank you for

3 your time and your consideration of our

4 requests.

5 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Let me thank you

6 for coming. I apologize, I had to run out

7 for a minute. I look forward to getting to

8 know each and every one of you a little

9 better. We've obviously had some turnover in

10 these spots, and you have very challenging

11 assignments. And we want our committee to be

12 there for you. I know you meet primarily

13 with your delegations, but, you know, we hope

14 that we can make the time to do that.

15 I particularly want to extend my best

16 regards to Dan Lowengaard, who of course

17 served in Syracuse for so many years. And I

18 really feel very terribly that he would be

19 taken ill. And it just is -- take good care

20 of yourselves, because you're in very

21 high-pressured positions.

22 So we look forward to that. I

23 certainly have told Shelley and Gary Pretlow

24 I want to see that school in Yonkers, because

432

1 it's easy for me to get to from Queens, and I

2 just -- we keep saying we're going to do it,

3 and just somehow we're up here for 12-hour

4 hearings and so we don't get there. But I

5 look forward to it.

6 And of course I get to Syracuse all

7 the time to see my mom, so I hope that I'll

8 be up there to see the superintendent again

9 soon.

10 Thank you very much. Thanks.

11 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: And thank you. I'd

12 like to echo what the Assemblywoman said. On

13 behalf of the Senate, we welcome you to

14 Albany. Sorry for the delay. We appreciate

15 all the great things that you do for the

16 children in your districts.

17 You've had seven successful days now

18 as a new superintendent, and I'm sure there

19 will be many more.

20 And as a fellow Western New Yorker, I

21 want to give a shout out to Dr. Cash. I'm

22 glad that you spent time in Massachusetts so

23 that you could get used to some of the colder

24 weather after coming from the South. But

433

1 congratulations to you too, and look forward

2 to working with all of you. Thank you.

3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Cathy Young meant to

4 say thank goodness you studied in

5 Massachusetts, a Democratic state. That's

6 what she really meant to say.

7 (Laughter.)

8 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: The time is late,

9 but it's not that late.

10 (Laughter.)

11 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Okay, so I don't

12 think we have any questions. No questions.

13 Thank you.

14 DR. CASH: Thank you.

15 DR. QUEZADA: Thank you.

16 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: I'm sorry, Senator

17 Montgomery wanted to ask a question. Sorry.

18 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I don't have a

19 question. I just wanted to say specifically

20 to Dr. Cash we were very fortunate in that we

21 now have Dr. Crew back. And you were with a

22 masterful educator, so I trust you're doing

23 wonders for Buffalo. Sorry we don't have you

24 in Brooklyn.

434

1 DR. CASH: Thank you.

2 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

3 much.

4 MS. ASCIUTTO: Thank you.

5 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Next we will hear

6 from the Council of School Supervisors and

7 Administrators, CSA, Ernest Logan, president.

8 MR. LOGAN: Good evening, good

9 afternoon, late afternoon. I am going to --

10 I provided my testimony. I just want to

11 highlight a few things.

12 And I want to welcome Senator Young.

13 Thank you for -- congratulations on this new

14 opportunity here.

15 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

16 much.

17 MR. LOGAN: I'm sorry that my fellow

18 supervisor was not able to continue to join

19 us. Senator Marcellino, who's a former

20 member of CSA, was a school supervisor.

21 But I'm going to be brief. You have

22 my testimony, and there are a couple of

23 things I want a highlight for you. You've

24 heard a lot of what is going on, and we are

435

1 in support of what has been said.

2 On mayoral control, I just need to

3 tell you this. I think it's at a point now

4 where we start to remove this from the

5 political realm and it really doesn't matter

6 who the mayor is -- but we need to decide if

7 this is what we need to do in the way of

8 governance. And if we're not willing to

9 really extend it and make it work, then we

10 need, out of this august body here, to create

11 a task force to decide what we're going to do

12 about governance in New York City. Because I

13 don't think we can continue to hold our

14 children as a political football.

15 Continuity is key to being able to

16 make educational changes. And we saw this as

17 we came together -- the chancellor, the

18 mayor, the teachers, the UFT and CSA -- to

19 really work on what we call our renewal

20 schools. We would not be able to do that if

21 we didn't believe that there was something

22 long term to what we were planning. These

23 are not one-shot fixes.

24 The other thing that I would like to

436

1 point out -- you've heard some of this today

2 from the commissioners and others about

3 professional development for teachers, but

4 also for supervisors. Historically, CSA has

5 done professional development, and with the

6 help of the Legislature the last couple of

7 years, we've been able to get funding for the

8 Educational Leadership Institute where we're

9 able to provide mentoring and coaching for

10 school leaders, principals and assistant

11 principals. And this became critical for us,

12 because we were able to then not just do it

13 for brand-new people, but people who were in

14 service as things changed, to be able to get

15 them to get up on what needed to happen.

16 And yes, we believe that we need to do

17 full funding for the Campaign for Fiscal

18 Equity. We need to get away from this --

19 with this gap elimination -- we just need to

20 get past all of that.

21 Now I'm going to touch on something

22 that's very controversial, and most people

23 seem to have a problem with it, but I need to

24 tell you this. The core value of what we

437

1 looked at, myself and at CSA, is what's best

2 for kids. And so we represent a group of

3 unionized charter schools, and these were

4 board of ed schools where people, community

5 people, decided they wanted to try something

6 different. And so instead of it being a

7 place where we could really look at the

8 innovations they have done and been a real

9 incubator for what's happening, people have

10 thrown them into this pot -- a political

11 pot -- that's not about what's best for

12 children. And so what we've looked at is

13 that there are legacy issues that they have

14 because they are unionized, so they're having

15 a major issue in regard to how they do their

16 funding, how do they pay for their pensions,

17 how do they pay for their health costs, how

18 do they pay for the buildings that they're

19 in.

20 And so we need -- we're asking this

21 committee, if you read what we've talked

22 about here, is that we really would like you

23 to look at the legacy cost of conversion

24 charter schools. And we are proposing

438

1 something a little different.

2 Now, some of my colleagues say why do

3 you say anything good about charter

4 schools --

5 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: There are six of

6 them, right? I just wondered if there are

7 six.

8 MR. LOGAN: Pardon me? There are six

9 of them, yes.

10 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: So there are

11 only six, we're only talking about six.

12 MR. LOGAN: Only six.

13 And we're really looking at -- if we

14 were to do the legacy course for these

15 schools, we pull out the rest of this and

16 just see to it that they're able to continue

17 to exist, because they're doing good work in

18 the community.

19 And my final piece that I'd like to

20 talk about is that we have been very

21 supportive of community schools, but I want

22 everyone to understand here that community

23 schools is not a school improvement model.

24 It's a supplement to what needs to happen in

439

1 these schools. And I don't want people to

2 think that because we bring in CEOs and bring

3 in health centers and improve this thing

4 about attendance, that that's going to turn

5 the academics around in these schools. The

6 only way these schools improve is when you

7 get quality school leaders and quality

8 teachers.

9 And we were in New York City, because

10 we wanted to make this right. There's some

11 things to allow this chancellor to get the

12 leadership she needed in these schools to be

13 able to have the right people at the helm.

14 And the issues that we've had all along is

15 that principals should have the discretion to

16 do what's best at their building, because

17 that's the person you hire to do that work.

18 And so if there are any questions,

19 I'll take them. But I knew it was a long

20 day.

21 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: It is still a long

22 day.

23 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: I just always

24 want to thank you. I stay no matter how late

440

1 so I can hear -- you're earnest -- even

2 though I have to, at some point, to get that

3 train back. With the snow, I wasn't able to

4 drive this week and stay as late as I can.

5 But I really appreciate the wisdom we always

6 get from you personally and from the people

7 you represent and your team up here, which we

8 work so closely with, all the men and women

9 who represent you up here, and we appreciate

10 it very much.

11 MR. LOGAN: Thank you. Thank you so

12 much.

13 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Senator Krueger.

14 SENATOR KRUEGER: Hi. And also thank

15 you. I just -- when I go on record and I --

16 while the UFT and NYSUT may have left, I

17 don't think they disagree. We know from our

18 communities when you have great principals in

19 your schools, they make them great schools.

20 And they work with their teachers and the

21 families to make sure that happens.

22 So people like to joke about setting

23 you off against each other, on the dark side

24 or the light side, but again, I don't think

441

1 there's one legislator who doesn't recognize

2 you get the right principals in those schools

3 and you back them up and you will be happy

4 with the outcomes.

5 So thank you.

6 MR. LOGAN: I appreciate that. That

7 absolutely is true, and we've shown that does

8 happen.

9 Thank you so much.

10 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you so much.

11 And you have great energy considering the

12 length of the day, so thank you for that too.

13 MR. LOGAN: Thank you.

14 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you, yes.

15 School Administrators Association of

16 New York State, SAANYS. Jim Viola, director

17 of government relations.

18 Yes, good afternoon.

19 MR. VIOLA: Good afternoon,

20 Chairpersons Farrell, Young, and Nolan, and

21 honorable members of the New York State

22 Legislature. My name is Jim Viola. I am the

23 director of government relations for the

24 School Administrators Association of New York

442

1 State, and we're grateful for this

2 opportunity to present testimony in regard to

3 the Governor's proposed Executive Budget.

4 I'm not going to go into great detail

5 on the budgetary aspects of our paper. You

6 all have that before you, and you'll find

7 that many of our recommendations are on the

8 same page as these from the State Education

9 Department and from NYSUT. To wit, we

10 recommend an increase in state aid to schools

11 of at least $2.2 billion; that we completely

12 do away with the GEA and make meaningful

13 progress in terms of foundation aid; that we

14 address an anomalously low property tax cap

15 for this year, which is the equivalent of

16 losing $308 million from school districts

17 outside of the Big 5. And to make sure that

18 every school district in New York State gets

19 a fair and realistic additional allocation of

20 state aid, recognizing that under the current

21 budget proposed by the Governor, some school

22 districts will sustain a cut in state aid for

23 next year.

24 The balance of my presentation is

443

1 going to be focused on programmatic types of

2 issues, starting with annual professional

3 performance reviews.

4 First of all, we appreciate the

5 efforts and actions taken by the Governor's

6 Common Core Task Force and the

7 recommendations that accrued from the task

8 force. We also appreciate the timely action

9 on the part of the Board of Regents in

10 putting regulations in place to implement

11 Recommendation 21.

12 But when the former leadership of the

13 State Education Department was putting their

14 education reform agenda in place, they many

15 times described it as building an airplane

16 while flying it. In some ways -- you know

17 what, what we're still doing is exactly that.

18 The actions of the Common Core Task Force,

19 the regulatory changes, are an imperfect

20 patch, not a fix, of our APPR system.

21 We're glad to hear that the new

22 commissioner and her leadership team is

23 already pursuing improvements in the Common

24 Core-aligned tests for Grades 3 to 8. That's

444

1 great. We're hopeful that they're also

2 considering alternative ways to do the

3 state-developed growth score. There are

4 other aspects, though, of 3012-d and

5 regulations that need to be reviewed and

6 probably adjusted. Things such as the

7 matrix, looking at student performance, and

8 observation. Are these the right factors to

9 keep in place, knowing the additional

10 flexibility that we now have under ESSA? Is

11 a fifty-fifty weighting of those things the

12 right weighting of those things? Because all

13 of that remains in place still today.

14 In terms of the independent evaluator

15 requirements, is the additional

16 administrative burden, the additional costs,

17 and the information that accrues from those

18 observations -- is the juice worth the

19 squeeze?

20 And so what we're saying is this: We

21 encourage the Governor's office, members of

22 the State Legislature and the State Education

23 Department to continue engaging appropriate

24 entities so that together we can continue to

445

1 make changes that are necessary in statute

2 and regulation so that the next time we fly

3 the APPR plane, it will be in a plane that's

4 actually airworthy.

5 The next thing I'd like to discuss is

6 failing and persistently failing schools.

7 The requirements and targets set for those

8 schools -- that are basically all in 17

9 fiscally-strapped school districts -- is like

10 driving the Indy 500 in an old car that

11 doesn't have enough gas.

12 All of these 17 school districts, none

13 of them get their full allocation under

14 Foundation Aid. And they should be

15 prioritized for that purpose. They're in

16 arrears by $2.7 billion right now.

17 The $75 million that was set aside in

18 2015 for the persistently failing schools, it

19 was supposed to be provided to them by

20 statute by July 1st. It didn't materialize

21 until, I believe, last week -- with half the

22 school year having already elapsed. We think

23 that something should be done to extend

24 availability of those funds and also in terms

446

1 of the accountability.

2 For the failing schools -- not the

3 persistently failing schools, but for the 124

4 failing schools, right now they receive no

5 additional fiscal support. And so if they're

6 going to be putting some additional finances,

7 personnel, or resources into those schools,

8 it's done on a rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul basis

9 which our members are telling us is occurring

10 in some of these schools. If $75 million is

11 appropriate for 20 persistently failing

12 schools, then we think $75 million is

13 appropriate for 124 failing schools. So why

14 don't we do that?

15 In terms of accountability, there is

16 no silver bullet in turning around these

17 schools. There's no quick fix, and there's

18 certainly no free fix for these schools. The

19 failing schools are given two years in order

20 to post demonstrable improvement, and

21 counterintuitively, the persistently failing

22 schools that have been in that status for a

23 decade or more are given half that much time,

24 one year, to post demonstrable improvement.

447

1 In the public hearing that was led by

2 Assemblywoman Nolan back in October, speaker

3 after speaker, including researchers and

4 practitioners, all said one year, two years

5 is out of sync with what is really called

6 for.

7 What we're recommending is that at

8 least five years be set for these schools in

9 order to post demonstrable improvement. And

10 one other thing in terms of judging the

11 efficacy of this program -- it shouldn't be

12 done with tunnel vision, looking only at

13 failing schools, only at persistently failing

14 schools, but it should be looking at the

15 other schools within those school districts.

16 Will we really consider it to be a success if

17 a failing school achieves its targets and

18 multiple non-failing schools fall into

19 accountability status?

20 For community schools, we support the

21 $100 million being proposed by the Governor

22 to go into the 17 school districts, with $25

23 million to go into other high-needs,

24 low-performing schools. But we have two

448

1 concerns about this. Number one,

2 sustainability. What happens after one year

3 or two years? Community schools aren't "one

4 time you establish it and run it forevermore

5 for free." There are recurring costs

6 associated with these schools, and something

7 has to be put in place or they will

8 evaporate.

9 The other thing is, are community

10 schools the right remedy for every one of

11 these schools? Can't this money be somewhat

12 fungible, as the $75 million that was put in

13 place for the last year for the persistently

14 failing schools, so that they can do other

15 things if that's appropriate for them as

16 well?

17 In terms of the pre-kindergarten

18 programs, we feel it's premature to hoist the

19 victory flag for 4-year-olds and start going

20 down the road in terms of 3-year-olds.

21 Currently, approximately 60 percent of

22 4-year-old children in New York State have

23 pre-kindergarten available to them.

24 There is an equity gap in this

449

1 program, and we can put a number on it: it's

2 52 percent. In the testimony that you have,

3 the last page shows that New York and New

4 York City, 82 percent of 4-year-old children

5 have access to pre-kindergarten programs, and

6 on Long Island it's 30 percent.

7 This has to be done in a fair manner

8 and in a manner, to Senator Krueger's point,

9 that doesn't disadvantage schools that are

10 already operating these programs.

11 We oppose the establishment of the

12 Empire State Pre-K Grant Board. This will

13 add to state overhead, it will add to

14 bureaucracy. It will also politicize the

15 program, and basically it will just fragment

16 the program more than it already is with the

17 six programs in operation right now.

18 We recommend that the $22 million or

19 more proposed by Governor Cuomo be redirected

20 to 4-year-old pre-K programs. On a

21 longer-term basis, we recommend also that

22 these programs be amalgamated into a single

23 cohesive pre-K system that's universally

24 available to all students on an equal basis,

450

1 with funding that's built in -- not on a

2 competitive basis, not having to run it

3 through you on a year-to-year basis to get

4 additional allocations -- with a single set

5 of standards and requirements.

6 And lastly, in terms of the

7 commissioner's point around PD -- yes, we do

8 get calls at SAANYS from failing schools and

9 persistently failing schools saying they need

10 professional development, some technical

11 assistance. We get calls around where can we

12 get PD around the Common Core standards --

13 keep in mind now, based on what the

14 commissioner said, they'll be revising those

15 standards. So more PD will be necessary --

16 pedagogy PD, and also professional

17 development in line with the Common Core Task

18 Force Recommendation 9. SED does not have

19 the capacity to do this right now, and we

20 support SED's recommendation that they

21 receive additional support for this purpose.

22 Thank you very much.

23 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

24 much, Mr. Viola.

451

1 Any questions? Hearing none, thank

2 you.

3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very much.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: All right, folks,

5 we're now going into the five-minute rule.

6 Let's see -- the next person is

7 Jasmine Gripper, legislative director of the

8 Alliance for Quality Education.

9 I'd like it, from now on in, if we

10 could do five minutes on the clock. And

11 would you please come down closer. The next

12 person will be Bernadette Kappen -- so if you

13 come closer, you'll be able to walk faster.

14 And then after that would be Tim Kelly.

15 Ms. Gripper? Yes.

16 MS. GRIPPER: Yes. Thank you.

17 Chairman Farrell, Chairman Cathy

18 Nolan, the members of the Legislature, thank

19 you for having me here today.

20 My name is Jasmine Gripper. I am the

21 legislative director for the Alliance for

22 Quality Education. Our organization is a

23 coalition of parents, teachers, students and

24 community members from all across the state.

452

1 In an attempt to be brief and

2 efficient, I will not read my testimony in

3 its entirety, but I will go through some key

4 points that I would like to highlight.

5 It is unfortunate that the Governor's

6 budget --

7 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: I'm assuming the

8 clock in front of you is working, though.

9 You can see the clock?

10 MS. GRIPPER: Yes. I'm going.

11 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Okay. I just

12 wanted to be sure.

13 MS. GRIPPER: It is unfortunate that

14 the Governor's Executive Budget proposal is

15 grossly inadequate. $961 million sounds like

16 a lot of money, but it is not enough for the

17 2.7 million students of New York State. The

18 $266 million in Foundation Aid in his

19 proposal seems like a bad joke when

20 Foundation Aid should be our number-one

21 priority.

22 We all know that this is not enough to

23 actually improve schools or close the funding

24 gap between the poor and wealthy districts,

453

1 which now stands at over $8,733 per pupil and

2 is growing.

3 This year marks the 10-year

4 anniversary of the final court decision in

5 the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. It

6 has been 10 years since the state's highest

7 court ordered the state to adequately fund

8 our schools, and yet our schools are still

9 owed $4.8 billion. And 72 percent of this

10 funding is owed to high-need districts.

11 This lack of adequate funding has

12 perpetuated inequality across the state. It

13 is important to note that our schools are not

14 failing, it is the state that has been

15 failing to fully fund our schools. And the

16 state has been persistently failing for over

17 10 years.

18 The Alliance for Quality Education is

19 recommending an increase of $2.9 billion.

20 This amount is necessary to maintain services

21 and to provide vital programs from pre-K to

22 Grade 12. This funding would provide for

23 smaller class sizes, engaging curriculums,

24 curriculum materials, AP classes, electives

454

1 like art, music, career and technical

2 education programs, programs for English

3 language learners, restorative justice

4 practices to keep students in school instead

5 of pushing them out, and to hire more school

6 psychologists and social workers.

7 I've heard one New York City teacher

8 once comment "We have iPhone children

9 receiving a flip-phone education."

10 It is now up to you to make sure that

11 our schools have a large enough increase,

12 $2.9 billion, that's fairly distributed to

13 comply with the Campaign for Fiscal Equity,

14 to give kids a sound, basic education, with

15 72 percent of it going to high-needs

16 districts.

17 In terms of community schools, we are

18 pleased that the Governor proposed funding

19 for community schools. But $100 million is

20 insufficient to create college-ready

21 community schools. Last year the Governor

22 and the Legislature determined that $75

23 million was required for the 20 schools.

24 Based on this cost, we should be providing

455

1 $535 million for the 144 schools.

2 In terms of pre-K, in 2014 New York

3 State promised to provide full-day pre-K for

4 every 4-year-old. This promise was fulfilled

5 for New York City, but there are 115,000

6 4-year-olds without access to full-day pre-K

7 in every region of the state. If I were an

8 upstate or suburban legislator, I would be

9 asking "Where's my pre-K?" We support the

10 Regents' recommendation, and we urge you to

11 add $125 million to expand high-quality,

12 full-day pre-K.

13 I want to conclude with remarks on the

14 2 percent state spending cap. The Governor

15 imposed a 2 percent spending cap on the

16 budget without any justification other than

17 his desire for the talking point of reining

18 in spending. But this cap has resulted in

19 cuts in many vital state programs. At a time

20 when New York State has record levels of

21 children in poverty and billions in a

22 recurring surplus, we urge you to disregard

23 this cap and create a budget that works for

24 all of us and, most importantly, our

456

1 children.

2 This is the year to make sure we get

3 back on track with the Campaign for Fiscal

4 Equity. This is the year to provide

5 $2.9 billion in state aid, with 72 percent of

6 it going to high-needs districts. This is

7 the year we can finally stand up for our

8 kids.

9 Thank you.

10 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

11 much.

12 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Great job.

13 Great testimony, great summary. We

14 appreciate -- we will make sure that everyone

15 knows that you also talked about the voucher

16 tax credit issue and the paid family leave

17 and DREAM Act and some of the others.

18 But thank you for condensing it. And,

19 you know, we love working with AQE, and we

20 love working with you, Jasmine.

21 MS. GRIPPER: Likewise.

22 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Thank you very,

23 very much. Thank you.

24 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

457

1 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

2 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Bernadette Kappen,

3 chairperson, 4201 Schools Association. Tim

4 Kelly also.

5 Next will be William Wolff, president.

6 And then after that, Julie Marlette.

7 MS. KAPPEN: May I please start?

8 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes.

9 MS. KAPPEN: Good afternoon. My name

10 is Bernadette Kappen. I'm the executive

11 director of the New York Institute for

12 Special Education in the Bronx. And I have

13 with me Vivian Higuita, a student at the

14 institute, and Tim Kelly, the superintendent

15 of St. Mary's School for the Deaf in Buffalo.

16 I'm here today as a co-chair of the

17 4201 Association. As you know, we're

18 11 schools made up of schools for deaf,

19 blind, and children with severe physical

20 disabilities, and we service the entire

21 state -- Buffalo, Rochester, the New York

22 City area, including Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens.

23 So we are not just located in one area. And

24 we're proud to serve the State of New York.

458

1 We submitted our testimony, and I'll

2 make a few comments. We are really pleased

3 and we thank each of you for supporting us

4 each year in our efforts. Last year we were

5 really pleased to be able to receive the 2.4

6 percent increase that was applied to our

7 budget, and this was the first increase that

8 we had received in six years. The addition

9 has helped us, but we're asking at this point

10 in the process that we would be considered to

11 be on par with the school districts. If

12 there's an increase -- we know there's a

13 slight increase for the districts -- that

14 that would also be shared with us.

15 We have exceptional needs for our

16 children. Many of the aids and devices that

17 children need to be successful in school are

18 quite expensive, and we want to make sure

19 that they are up to par and that they're also

20 being able to achieve at a high level. We

21 were very pleased and we thank so many of you

22 for supporting us in the Smart Schools Bond

23 Act several years ago, and this will really

24 help us provide the appropriate technology

459

1 that our children need.

2 So once again, we're really looking

3 that we're able to increase our funds to be

4 able to provide a high-quality education. We

5 can tell you that we have positive outcomes,

6 and we've been listening to that today. In

7 many of our schools, our children are on

8 academic par. In some of the schools the

9 children have more significant disabilities,

10 but they're achieving citizens. Our schools

11 are able to tell you that we have a 100

12 percent graduation rate at our schools and

13 many of the students are going on to higher

14 education and careers. So whatever you share

15 with us, we try to pass on to the students,

16 to be as successful as they can.

17 One issue that we have faced in our

18 schools -- one campus is celebrating its

19 200th anniversary this year, the New York

20 Institute is celebrating 125 years. We ask

21 you to consider a one-time investment of

22 $11 million for deferred capital

23 improvements. And this would be things like

24 roof repairs, plumbing, different audio

460

1 alerting devices in the schools for school

2 safety. This is not cosmetic, it's totally

3 to be able to provide appropriate health and

4 safety for the students in the schools.

5 I brought with me today Vivian, and I

6 think she's the best example of why we really

7 want you to consider increasing our amount

8 this year. Because our children -- someone

9 like Vivian is an individual who has been a

10 leader in school, she's been involved in many

11 different fundraisers at school for other

12 charitable organizations, she's an athlete

13 and an all-around scholar.

14 And she'll share with you a few

15 comments. So Vivian?

16 MS. HIGUITA: Thank you, Dr. Kappen.

17 And thank you, members of the

18 Legislature.

19 My name is Vivian Higuita. I go to

20 the New York Institute for Special Education.

21 I have been a student at the institute since

22 2003. And I live in College Point, Queens,

23 with my family. And we cheer for the Mets

24 and the Yankees.

461

1 (Laughter.)

2 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: All right.

3 MS. HIGUITA: My favorite subjects are

4 math as well as practical instruction that

5 readies me for the real world. I am visually

6 impaired. My vision is 20/250. And while

7 I'm not blind, my vision is severely limited.

8 And without the benefits of numerous

9 surgeries, technologies, and specialized

10 instruction, I would not be able to read,

11 write, or conduct the everyday activities you

12 may take for granted.

13 With my right eye I get to see, and

14 with the help of several specialized devices

15 I can write and read. These include my

16 handheld magnifier; a VisioBook to provide

17 mobile magnification of written material; a

18 Victor Stream to provide downloaded audio

19 content; a telescope for assistance with

20 long-distance vision, such as in an

21 auditorium or theatre; and my iPad. These

22 are essential devices for those who are

23 visually impaired or with low vision, such as

24 my classmates.

462

1 Many of my classmates reside on our

2 campus five days a week, while others, such

3 as myself, get up each morning to board a

4 school bus.

5 For each of us to succeed and to

6 accomplish our future goals, we need a school

7 such as the institute to accommodate our

8 needs. And the individualized instruction we

9 receive from our teachers also helps us

10 understand challenging materials.

11 When I graduate from the institute, it

12 is my goal to enroll at Queens College, where

13 I would like to study vocational education,

14 in the hope of providing the type of support

15 to others that I have received.

16 I am here today because I want to be a

17 participant in the process. Today is my 18th

18 birthday, and I am committed to lending my

19 voice to advocate for my classmates and

20 friends who are blind, deaf, or severely

21 disabled.

22 Thank you.

23 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Well, happy

24 birthday.

463

1 ALL: Happy Birthday.

2 MS. HIGUITA: Thank you.

3 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: We're thrilled

4 that you spent it doing something for others

5 and coming up to Albany and -- thank you so

6 much for being here today.

7 MS. KAPPEN: We say, in summary, then,

8 that we really hope that you support the

9 increase that's been listed in the Executive

10 Budget for us, to think about increased

11 parity with the school districts, and $11

12 million toward a one-time investment to

13 improve our schools.

14 I leave you with a quote from Helen

15 Keller, where she says "Life is either a

16 great adventure or nothing at all." And

17 that's what the 4201 schools are all about.

18 Each day is an adventure. For the students

19 we work with, they bring joy to us and they

20 will be outstanding citizens in the future.

21 So thanks for hearing us.

22 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: Are you going to

23 add a word, Mr. Kelly?

24 MR. KELLY: No, just thank you for

464

1 including us in the Smart Bond Act that you

2 did before. Thank you.

3 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: Just as you get up, I

4 want to say thank you. You guys are here

5 every year. And I think the reason we're

6 finally making progress with this is because

7 of the outreach that has been done by

8 advocates -- bringing your students out,

9 having legislators visit, and just growing

10 the understanding of what goes on in those

11 schools.

12 I happen to have, bordering on my

13 district, Mill Neck up on the north part and

14 the Henry Viscardi School in the middle part

15 of my district. And I've visited them both

16 several times. You're blown away every time,

17 and we know that the investments we make

18 there are, you know, going directly to

19 providing opportunities for those students.

20 So thank you for the work you do, and

21 I know you have a lot of support among those

22 of us sitting up here.

23 MS. KAPPEN: Thank you. We appreciate

24 everything you do.

465

1 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

2 MS. HIGUITA: Thank you.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Next, Mr. William

4 Wolff, president, New York State Coalition of

5 853 Schools.

6 After him will be Julie Marlette,

7 director of government relations.

8 MR. WOLFF: Good afternoon, everybody.

9 I'm Bill Wolff, the executive director of

10 Albany's LaSalle School and also the

11 president of the New York State Coalition of

12 853 Schools.

13 And from where I sat I could watch her

14 clock, and I was glad to give her my time, at

15 least part of it.

16 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: No, we'll take it.

17 MR. WOLFF: Yeah. We appreciate the

18 increasing awareness you all have for our

19 schools among members of the Legislature, and

20 your growing interest in understanding the

21 valuable services we offer and the challenges

22 we face.

23 In the last few years this has

24 resulted in critically important

466

1 consideration for growth in our funding that

2 is in line with state-supported school aid,

3 has assured our eligibility for important

4 initiatives like the Smart Schools Bond Act,

5 and more.

6 In the complete testimony we shared

7 you'll see that we're seeking your support to

8 build on this recent progress, first by

9 assisting our schools in the recruitment,

10 retention, and professional development of

11 the highly qualified and certified teachers

12 we employ. You will see that we are seeking

13 a continuation of the productive work

14 underway with the State Education Department

15 and the Division of Budget with respect to

16 the reform of the tuition methodology that

17 drives the funds for all of New York's 853

18 programs.

19 And you will see that we are seeking a

20 means to address growing deficiencies in the

21 facilities we own and operate, knowing that a

22 strategic approach to solving these issues

23 today will prove beneficial in the long run.

24 And additionally, in the days ahead,

467

1 you will hear of our interest to secure

2 resolution of the serious consequences for

3 our programs that too often develop at the

4 points where the policies and regulations of

5 one monitoring state agency intersect, or it

6 might be better to say collide, with those of

7 another state agency also charged with

8 similar responsibilities involving the

9 children served in our programs.

10 When we are all stuck, we need your

11 help to unravel these circumstances so our

12 programs are not unnecessarily placed at risk

13 and the overall needs of children we care for

14 remain our shared priority.

15 On the whole, you will see that we're

16 seeking investments by government and

17 opportunities to partner in order to ensure

18 that the children we serve benefit from our

19 state's long-standing commitment to education

20 for its youngest citizens.

21 The 853 schools throughout the state,

22 including the 44 or so that are members of

23 the 853 Coalition, serve about 15,000

24 school-age children and play a significant

468

1 role in New York's priority of offering all

2 of our children the opportunity to develop

3 intellectually, socially, and emotionally.

4 When we make these investments in

5 child and family well-being, of which

6 education is an absolutely essential

7 component, we are in fact making an

8 investment in the future prosperity of our

9 communities. Schools like mine and others in

10 the 853 Coalition work with seriously

11 traumatized children. Sometimes we are

12 described as their last chance or their only

13 hope. What I know is how seriously

14 wounded -- emotionally, intellectually, and

15 very often physically -- the young people are

16 that I see every day.

17 Emerging science tells us that the

18 future for many children can be seriously

19 undermined when prolonged toxic stress

20 damages the early architecture of the brain.

21 For a child, the stress can come from a

22 variety of sources, including physical abuse,

23 sexual abuse, fear of violence, neglect due

24 to caregiver substance abuse, and more.

469

1 We know that the damage inflicted by

2 adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, can

3 weaken the foundation of the neurological

4 system. We know that ACEs can also seriously

5 impair how the brain develops during

6 adolescence. The Centers for Disease Control

7 recently recognized ACEs as a public health

8 concern, citing correlations to low rates of

9 school completion, lack of adult

10 employability, and sustained household

11 poverty.

12 When we invest in family well-being,

13 which for children is anchored by education

14 and includes such things as early childhood

15 development and building resiliency in

16 adolescence, we help to ensure that a child's

17 neurological foundation will be more durable.

18 Such durability contributes to the long-term

19 opportunities a child has to fully

20 participate in and contribute to the

21 prosperity of his or her community.

22 Across New York, 853 programs are

23 among those on the leading edge of employing

24 brain science to inform practice. For the

470

1 children and families most at risk for

2 long-term complications due to ACEs and toxic

3 stress, we are helping them build resiliency,

4 learn relevant skills, benefit from rigorous

5 curriculum and instruction, and guide them

6 towards stability so they may open the door

7 to an independent and more prosperous life.

8 This is what 853 schools do. And as a

9 result of our continuing efforts and wise

10 investments, it is what we all together do

11 for our state's most vulnerable children.

12 Thank you very much for the

13 opportunity to speak today.

14 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes. Thank you.

15 Mr. Abinanti?

16 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you,

17 Mr. Chairman.

18 Just very briefly, just so -- first of

19 all, thank you for your efforts and what you

20 do.

21 MR. WOLFF: You're welcome.

22 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: I just want to

23 understand -- you're on a rate-based system?

24 MR. WOLFF: Yes, we're on a

471

1 tuition-funded system set by the State of New

2 York and the Division of the Budget.

3 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Are your rates

4 --

5 MR. WOLFF: Historical rates.

6 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: -- the same

7 thing as the Special Act schools? Is that

8 the same type of --

9 MR. WOLFF: Exactly. It's the same

10 rate system that we're working

11 collaboratively with State Ed and the

12 Division of Budget to -- we make good

13 progress with it; there's still more work to

14 do.

15 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Now, how many

16 years did you go without a rate increase?

17 MR. WOLFF: There is a -- there's

18 about five -- five to six, depending on

19 exactly how you look at it. And in the last

20 few years we've been catching back up.

21 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Okay.

22 MR. WOLFF: The system is running now,

23 but of course we had those years of zero,

24 which really put a lot of us behind --

472

1 behind, in trouble.

2 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Is there

3 anything in this budget in particular

4 referenced to the 853 schools?

5 MR. WOLFF: I'm not so sure so much in

6 the budget itself. It's often handled, some

7 of the funding -- the rate methodology is

8 actually handled outside of the budget

9 process. But there is -- on some cases,

10 we've put legislation or legislative language

11 in the budget. But, you know, that's one of

12 the opportunities for them.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Do you have any

14 language that you would like us to --

15 MR. WOLFF: I can see that it gets

16 here from -- yeah.

17 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: If you could.

18 MR. WOLFF: Mm-hmm. Sure.

19 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you very

20 much.

21 MR. WOLFF: Okay.

22 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

23 Julie Marlette, director of

24 governmental relations; Brian Fessler, senior

473

1 governmental relations representative,

2 New York State School Boards Association.

3 MS. MARLETTE: Good afternoon.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Good afternoon.

5 And we're going -- the next will be

6 Robert Lowry. Yes.

7 MS. MARLETTE: So thank you so much

8 for allowing us a few minutes to speak at the

9 end of the day. You've all kept a great

10 amount of energy given the lateness of the

11 hour. And so, in deference to that, I will

12 take my shortened remarks and further

13 truncate them, knowing that you have it in

14 writing in front of you.

15 My name is Julie Marlette. I'm the

16 director of governmental relations for the

17 New York State School Boards Association.

18 And we're here today to share with you what

19 we've shared with you in writing, which is a

20 request for a minimum increase of

21 $2.3 billion over what was provided in the

22 2015 budget.

23 Rather than break out a lot of numbers

24 at this time of the day and repeat things

474

1 you've heard before, I think I would start by

2 answering questions I imagine would have been

3 asked earlier and acknowledge that we

4 understand we're asking for a great deal.

5 But a great deal is what we believe is needed

6 to allow our districts to provide the

7 services and programs that our students need

8 to succeed.

9 There's been a great deal of

10 discussion today about what it takes to be a

11 successful school and the college and

12 career-ready programs, including CTE,

13 services for ELLs, and other specified

14 programs, especially in our most struggling

15 schools. And we agree that those additional

16 influxes of aid are needed for those

17 specified programs. We support the CTE

18 salary increase; we support special services

19 aid increases; we support directed funding to

20 our struggling schools and support the

21 building of community schools.

22 But at its base, unless we make a

23 significant investment in the general

24 Operating Aid for our districts, all of these

475

1 dedicated streams will continue to be a patch

2 rather than a solution. We would request

3 that there be $1.5 billion in additional

4 Foundation Aid this year and that we

5 eliminate the Gap Elimination Adjustment.

6 The blending of these two aids is critically

7 important to ensure that we provide aid to

8 all types and kinds of districts. And we

9 further hope to see, at a minimum, every

10 district be held harmless and receive at

11 least the funding they received in the 2015

12 budget.

13 State aid is more important than ever

14 this year because, as you've heard

15 ad nauseam, we have essentially a zero

16 percent tax cap. Zero-point-one-two percent

17 leaves little if any ability for our locals

18 to raise revenue at the local level through

19 their tax levies. While we certainly won't

20 have final numbers for a number of weeks, if

21 you simply look at that calculation against

22 the median tax levy in this state, you're

23 talking about a potential $18,000 increase.

24 I think when we look at the

476

1 inflationary costs and increases that we're

2 faced with, we can all realize that that's

3 not really going to cover our costs. And

4 that we further want to acknowledge that the

5 state has been incredibly thoughtful and

6 generous in trying to drive as much money as

7 possible towards education in recent years.

8 We also have to acknowledge that the

9 devastating cuts in the recent years going

10 back to the height of the financial crisis

11 put us at such a low funding level that those

12 increases have not been enough to keep pace

13 with the inflationary costs that we faced.

14 In addition, we would ask you to

15 consider the following. Each year when you

16 make an appropriation, we know that you put

17 forth a number that you hope to see go to

18 public education. But that, like so many

19 other things in the budget-making process, is

20 based partially on some estimates and

21 guessworks based on data that we provide,

22 based on what we expect to see in the coming

23 year.

24 However, if situations change, data

477

1 change, reporting changes, looking at our

2 reimbursable aid categories, there could be

3 some money left at the end of each year. We

4 would hope that this year you could consider

5 including language in the budget that would

6 direct any monies left that were appropriated

7 for the support of public schools to go

8 directly to public schools -- whether it's in

9 further paying down of prior-year claims,

10 whether it's further money for the GEA and

11 Foundation Aid, or towards any of the

12 dedicated programs that we've outlined in our

13 proposal for English language learners, for

14 districts dealing with enrollment spikes, for

15 expansion of pre-kindergarten, or anything

16 else that would really help our schools

17 succeed.

18 At that, I'll use just a few seconds

19 to say thank you again, I'm certainly happy

20 to answer any questions you may have, and to

21 give a closing message to one of our members,

22 the chancellor: We too are celebrating

23 College Recognition Day, as we do every

24 Wednesday, in honor of the excellent public

478

1 university education we received as both

2 undergraduates and graduates here at UAlbany.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

4 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

5 much.

6 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Assemblyman

7 Abinanti.

8 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you,

9 Mr. Chairman.

10 There's one topic I've been raising

11 over and over again, and that's special

12 education --

13 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: You are going to

14 stop at some point, right?

15 (Laughter.)

16 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Yes, I will.

17 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Try tonight.

18 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: But there's one

19 group of schools that has not been

20 represented here today. And they're about 10

21 Special Act schools in the state or so, and I

22 represent half of them.

23 And I'm understanding from them that

24 they're in desperate straits. Their funding

479

1 formula is similar to the 853 schools. Can

2 you discuss their situation? Are you -- do

3 you represent them?

4 MS. MARLETTE: I represent a number of

5 them. They are funded through the same rate

6 methodology as the 853 schools. As my

7 predecessor mentioned, there's been a great

8 deal of work and, much like all other public

9 schools, they have -- they were impacted

10 significantly by the recession and have just

11 started to come out of it now with increases

12 in the last several years.

13 We continue to work with them and the

14 department to refine the methodology to

15 ensure that it actually meets their needs.

16 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Just so we put

17 it on the record, very quickly, my

18 understanding is their methodology is such

19 that they get this year's rate based on their

20 costs of two years ago.

21 MS. MARLETTE: At the highest level,

22 that's correct.

23 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Okay. And

24 secondly, that they do not get -- in their

480

1 rates they do not receive what might be

2 called indirect costs, that costs that

3 include electricity and pensions and other

4 increases like that don't get factored in.

5 Are you familiar with that problem?

6 MS. MARLETTE: Direct and indirect

7 costs are both included. They are weighted,

8 and there's a balance that has to go on.

9 From there, it becomes a lot more complicated

10 a lot more quickly, but they -- there is a

11 balance that has to be considered between

12 those two cost categories.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Okay. Because

14 they're asking for special legislation to

15 correct that problem, because I'm

16 understanding that some of the Special Act

17 schools have actually borrowed monies to meet

18 operating costs and now can't pay back the

19 loans.

20 MS. MARLETTE: My understanding is

21 that both the Special Acts and the 853s

22 generally do have to operate under RANs,

23 revenue anticipation notes, so that they are

24 able to meet their costs due to cash-flow

481

1 issues throughout the year.

2 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Okay. Thank

3 you.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

5 much.

6 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

7 MS. MARLETTE: Thank you.

8 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Next, Robert Lowry,

9 deputy director, New York State Council of

10 School Superintendents.

11 After him will be Michael Borges,

12 executive director.

13 MR. LOWRY: Chairwoman Young, Chairman

14 Farrell, Chairwoman Nolan, and other members

15 of the Assembly and Senate, I'm Robert Lowry,

16 deputy director of the State Council of

17 School Superintendents.

18 I'll try to make seven points pretty

19 quickly.

20 First, thank you for your past

21 support, and please know that it makes a

22 difference. Every year since 2011 we've been

23 doing surveys of superintendents about the

24 financial conditions of their schools; this

482

1 was the first year we've ever had more

2 superintendents say their condition improved

3 rather than worsened. And the survey also

4 shows that they see improvements in specific

5 program areas, instruction at each of the

6 grade levels.

7 There are still worries. Sixty-nine

8 percent of school superintendents say they're

9 worried about their district's reliance on

10 reserves to pay recurring costs, and the

11 concerns are typically deepest among

12 superintendents leading the poorest school

13 districts.

14 Second, superintendents, their boards,

15 and business officials are still evaluating

16 how the new budget, the Governor's budget,

17 might affect the choices they have to present

18 to voters in May. But the primary reaction

19 we see so far is discouragement. They're

20 worried that positions and programs that they

21 were finally able to begin restoring this

22 year, they may have to turn around and cut

23 back next year.

24 Third, the allowable increase under

483

1 the property tax cap really permits only a

2 minuscule level of help to schools. It's

3 0.12 percent. With that, over half the

4 districts cannot raise $25,000 in additional

5 support, and less than a quarter of the

6 districts in the state could raise enough

7 money to save the job of an early career

8 teacher with typical compensation.

9 Fourth, end the Gap Elimination

10 Adjustment. It was born in the depths of the

11 Great Recession when the state faced huge

12 budget gaps. Those are gone, it's time for

13 the GEA to be gone. The chart on the bottom

14 of page 5 of my testimony indicates a couple

15 of things about the GEA and about school aid

16 in general. The gray bars show how much

17 districts are losing this year per pupil from

18 the GEA; the blue bars show how much they'd

19 still be losing if the Governor's budget were

20 enacted. It shows that average-need

21 districts, your typical upstate suburban

22 districts, are being hurt the most by what's

23 left of the GEA.

24 But the chart shows something else.

484

1 Look at the high-need rural districts. If we

2 fully eliminated the GEA, they'd only get $13

3 more per pupil and they'd only get $1 more

4 per pupil above what the Governor has

5 proposed in his budget. So we need increases

6 in Foundation Aid, and that's the next point

7 I would make.

8 With a restrictive property tax cap,

9 and with no further action on mandate relief,

10 schools will continue to need really strong

11 state support. The Foundation Aid formula

12 was an underappreciated accomplishment in

13 public policy -- it promised the neediest

14 districts the greatest aid per pupil and

15 promised all districts more predictable state

16 support going forward. Some of its

17 assumptions do need to be revisited.

18 We also urge revisiting the tax cap.

19 Everyone seems to think it's 2 percent; make

20 2 percent the threshold for requiring a

21 60 percent supermajority for voter approval.

22 The last thing I'll say is given the

23 need to prioritize funding concerns in

24 schools, we were encouraged that this budget

485

1 does not present new reform initiatives for

2 us to debate and potentially for our members

3 and other local leaders and teachers to

4 implement. I want to say we're also

5 encouraged by our interactions with

6 Commissioner Elia and the team she's

7 assembling at the State Education Department.

8 They need to be given the time and the

9 financial support to make the administrative

10 and regulatory changes that can improve our

11 state's education policies.

12 Thank you for your time, and I'd be

13 happy to try and answer any questions.

14 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

15 much.

16 ASSEMBLYWOMAN NOLAN: I just want to

17 say again to you, Bob, how much I

18 appreciate -- I said it to, I know, one or

19 two others today, but -- what it's meant to

20 me personally to have such a wonderful

21 cooperative relationship with you personally

22 and of course the superintendents. And the

23 give-and-take. You know, you're not afraid

24 to ask tough questions when we get together,

486

1 and I'm able to ask tough questions, so much

2 so that I know I've aggravated some of the

3 superintendents over the years. But I really

4 appreciate the dialog, and it makes a

5 difference to us in our analysis.

6 And I'm sorry we had such a rushed

7 time together but, you know, our door is

8 always open to you and your organization, and

9 we look forward to many, many more

10 conversations. Thank you.

11 MR. LOWRY: Thank you very much.

12 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

13 Michael Borges, executive director,

14 New York State Association of School Business

15 Officials.

16 And after that will be Fred Koelbel.

17 MR. BORGES: Good evening, everyone.

18 Thank you for allowing me to speak,

19 especially Chairman Farrell, Committee Chair

20 Nolan, and the rest of the panel here

21 tonight.

22 First of all, I just want to make sure

23 that everybody in the room has received their

24 school district fact books that we talked

487

1 earlier of doing. We hope you find it very

2 useful in determining what your school

3 districts are getting. If there's any

4 suggestions on making it better, please don't

5 hesitate to contact us.

6 Secondly, you should have gotten a

7 letter in the last week or so from me about

8 changes you made, the Legislature made, to

9 the tax cap last year which have not been

10 implemented by the Department of Tax and

11 Finance. The two changes that you made were

12 two technical changes that we have been

13 advocating for the last three years -- that

14 would allow BOCES capital expenditures to be

15 included as an exclusion, and also adding

16 PILOT properties to the tax base growth

17 factor that would actually allow school

18 districts, especially in the year where we're

19 facing basically a zero percent tax cap, will

20 allow us to raise more revenue locally than

21 we otherwise would.

22 So far we have not received any

23 responses from Tax and Finance. I know many

24 of you have contacted the department;

488

1 hopefully you've gotten a response. If

2 you've heard anything, that would be really

3 helpful. Because our school districts need

4 to develop their budgets and submit their

5 information to the State Comptroller's office

6 about our tax cap calculations by March 1st,

7 and we would really like to be able to find

8 out what is going on with the changes that

9 you agreed to that, so far, the Governor and

10 Tax and Finance has not implemented.

11 In brief -- again, the night is late,

12 and I just wanted to touch a few points.

13 We're all in agreement, whether it's ECB,

14 ASBO, superintendents of school boards, the

15 Regents: The GEA has got to go. The fiscal

16 rationale for having it no longer exists.

17 The Governor touts the fact that we're in

18 great fiscal shape. The $434 million in GEA

19 should be done away with, the Legislature

20 should really commit to a phasing in of the

21 Foundation Aid formula. It's high time

22 that -- you know, after 2007, here we are

23 eight years later, we're still not doing it.

24 We're proposing an $800 million down

489

1 payment this year and then phasing in the

2 rest over the next three more years after

3 that. The Executive proposal calls for

4 $991 million in additional school aid, but in

5 putting that into perspective, only

6 $266 million is actually new money. If you

7 look at our chart on page 2 of our

8 presentation, you can see that over the last

9 couple of years the increases have been

10 modest and increasing, but the fact that the

11 bulk of the money is really for restoring the

12 GEA, which is money that is already owed to

13 school districts, and reimbursable aids,

14 categorical aids, money that school districts

15 have already spent that they're getting

16 reimbursed for.

17 So the amount of actually new money is

18 in the blue, and so far the Governor's only

19 proposing 266 of that. And we think we can

20 do better.

21 Also, I wanted to point out that the

22 STAR -- no one's really talked about STAR

23 tonight, and I just want to point out that

24 the changes to STAR that the Governor is

490

1 proposing will have ramifications for school

2 districts. Supposedly they are

3 revenue-neutral, that they're just basically

4 reimbursing taxpayers through their income

5 taxes as opposed to their property taxes, but

6 it will have an impact on property taxes.

7 When the taxpayers get their bill,

8 they no longer see their rebate or their tax

9 deduction -- STAR -- on their property tax

10 bills, and they're going to look at their

11 school district and say, Why are my taxes

12 going up by $400 or $600 or whatever their

13 STAR rebate would have been. So we're kind

14 of alarmed by that, and we hope the

15 Legislature will address that as well.

16 No one has talked about the minimum

17 wage. We had done a survey of our members

18 over the summer, I think, or the fall, when

19 this first came out. We're not for or

20 against the minimum wage increase, we just

21 want to point out that there are fiscal

22 ramifications to school districts, to all

23 local governments about increasing the

24 minimum wage, and someone has to pick up the

491

1 tab for that.

2 And last but not least, we also wanted

3 to point out that even though school

4 districts are doing a better job at being

5 more efficient, our costs are still going up.

6 I think on page 4 or 5 of our presentation

7 you can see that costs for special education

8 continue to rise; costs for teacher

9 retirement have doubled since 2007, despite

10 contribution rates fluctuating and going

11 down; schools in New York State spend

12 $6 billion a year on healthcare, and it

13 continues to rise every single year. And our

14 revenues have sort of been remaining kind of

15 flat, and particularly this year, with the

16 zero percent tax cap, even flatter.

17 So we are doing a better job of being

18 more efficient, we just need more assistance,

19 more help from the Legislature and state to

20 reduce our mandates, make us even more

21 efficient, particularly in a year where we're

22 having a zero percent tax cap, and hopefully

23 we can make up some for that difference in

24 higher state aid from the state and

492

1 recognizing that.

2 So with that, I'll end, and if there's

3 any questions.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

5 much.

6 MR. BORGES: Thank you.

7 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

8 ASSEMBLYMAN OAKS: Just thank you very

9 much for those charts. They're great, thank

10 you.

11 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: New York School

12 Facilities Association, Fred Koelbel, chair,

13 legislative committee.

14 The next person after him will be Dave

15 Little.

16 MR. KOELBEL: Good evening.

17 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Good evening.

18 MR. KOELBEL: New York State School

19 Facilities Association represents -- we have

20 600 members representing over 700 of

21 New York's public school districts. We

22 dedicate ourselves to providing a clean,

23 adequate, well-ventilated, well-lit space

24 that says to the students and staff that what

493

1 you do here is important.

2 Just very quickly, we're asking for

3 support for the New York State Facilities'

4 office of facilities planning. We thank you

5 for the funding you gave last year, which

6 helped increase their staff and get it back

7 to {inaudible} level.

8 This year in particular, we're looking

9 at -- the software system that they run the

10 whole office on, they purchased in 1987, it

11 runs on DOS. I don't think I need to say

12 anything more than that. Some of you might

13 be old enough to remember DOS, you know. So

14 they're looking -- we encourage you to

15 provide the funding to replace that system.

16 I know, literally to communicate from the

17 facilities planning office to the state aid

18 office, somebody copies it onto a disk and

19 walks it down to the other office. So enough

20 said.

21 Okay. School safety funds, we thank

22 you and appreciate that the NYSAFE Act in the

23 Executive Budget will be extended this year.

24 One thing we'd like you to look at and work

494

1 on is how can we get that funding to BOCES

2 schools. You know, it's time to really look

3 at a lot of things, the ways BOCES is

4 funded -- but to say that those students,

5 some of our neediest students, don't get the

6 same funding for safe schools, for cameras

7 and other things, that's kind of hard.

8 Also, we're looking for maintenance

9 funding, asking for support for

10 Assemblymember Englebright's, Senator

11 Valesky's bill which establishes minimum

12 levels of maintenance for schools and makes

13 that funding outside the cap. We're the

14 stepchild -- I mean, we've heard a lot of

15 school districts today talk about the

16 condition of their facilities. We struggle

17 many days when we look for solutions, we look

18 for something that gets us by. There are a

19 lot of things that, if districts had the

20 right funding, they could do that would

21 reduce the annual operating budget -- things

22 like energy performance and things like that.

23 Speaking of BOCES one last time,

24 capital projects within BOCES, it's

495

1 impossible to get them funded, because how

2 many school districts are going to say, Yeah,

3 let's go for that, I got a .15 or .12 cap

4 myself, let me give you some more money?

5 We need to find a way to fund the

6 capital projects for BOCES. I know Senator

7 Marcellino and others worked on that this

8 year, but it doesn't seem like it's moved

9 along.

10 Lastly, we're back again this year

11 with an energy reserve fund which is

12 sponsored by Assemblymember Cahill and

13 Senator Funke. What we're looking to do is

14 establish another reserve fund for school

15 districts to allow them to create a reserve

16 fund for energy. If any of you sitting up

17 here could tell me that a year ago you

18 thought -- like I gassed up before I left

19 Long Island last night; I paid $1.89 a

20 gallon. You know, if anyone could tell me

21 they thought they were going to pay that a

22 year ago today, none of you would be here,

23 you would have been speculating long ago.

24 But we know the prices are going to go

496

1 back up. I can tell you I budgeted a lot

2 more money for energy this year than I'm

3 going to need. It's then a perfect

4 opportunity to take sort of that surplus this

5 year, put it in a fund for when it comes

6 back. It allows us to be a little more

7 liberal in budgeting -- but, you know, we're

8 going to put fuel in the buses, we're going

9 to heat the buildings, so when those spikes

10 come, something else is suffering. We're

11 just looking to get that cushion.

12 A lot of what we've heard in the past,

13 though, is: Oh, a reserve fund. Try and get

14 that past the Executive. When we talk to the

15 Executive, it's like, Oh, a reserve fund, try

16 and get that past the Comptroller. We talk

17 to the Comptroller -- everybody's pointing

18 fingers.

19 I think this is the year to get it

20 done and establish it.

21 Thank you.

22 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

23 much.

24 ASSEMBLYMAN OAKS: Thank you.

497

1 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: David Little.

2 And after that will be the New York

3 State Congress of Parents and Teachers.

4 Good evening.

5 MR. LITTLE: Good evening. Thank you,

6 Mr. Chairman, legislators, and esteemed staff

7 behind them. I've been there.

8 We're not facing an economic crisis

9 this year, we're not facing a programmatic

10 crisis this year. The barrage of all of that

11 has stopped, at least for now, but we're

12 facing a legislative crisis this year.

13 The signature law of the tax cap has

14 created a circumstance for rural schools in

15 particular that has taken the 2 percent

16 increase that the Governor has proposed,

17 eliminated the funds at the local level so

18 that in effect we have a tax freeze for the

19 over half of the school districts that are

20 rural schools in New York State. They have a

21 teacher shortage because they can't attract

22 quality personnel after the years of

23 underfunding and the rhetoric, quite frankly,

24 around the teaching profession. And it's

498

1 very difficult to get young people to

2 relocate to rural areas to begin with, and

3 now we're -- I'm at least hearing every day

4 of school districts that are having trouble

5 trying to staff the subject matter that we

6 need.

7 The greatest crisis facing rural

8 schools -- because we do what we do well,

9 very well, we have a very high graduation

10 rate. But the breadth of curriculum that's

11 allowed to be offered in rural schools,

12 because of the greatly restricted finances,

13 has made our students non-competitive with

14 their suburban neighbors.

15 And the other thing that I don't think

16 that's generally recognized is that our rural

17 schools have many of the same social problems

18 that face our most dramatic urban areas.

19 High teen pregnancy, high drug use for

20 teenagers, high alcoholism rates and alcohol

21 use for teenagers, and largely all for the

22 same reasons. Because we have nothing for

23 them to do and no place for them to go after

24 the last bell rings of the day. There's no

499

1 funding left for that.

2 This circumstance of the tax cap has

3 left us dramatically underfunded to simply

4 roll over our budget from last year to the

5 present year. Education is a steady kind of

6 cumulative process from year to year, and we

7 can ill afford to have a funding stream that

8 looks like an EKG chart. It goes up or down

9 from year to year: We have local funds, we

10 don't have local funds; we have a big

11 increase, we have a big decrease.

12 You can't systematically build a

13 child's education from year to year using a

14 funding stream like that, and rural schools

15 have little to no ability to try and adjust

16 for that because they raise so little at the

17 local level to begin with.

18 And there have been times in our

19 state's history when it's been left up to our

20 rural areas to try and bail out the rest of

21 the state. We're at a point now both

22 legally, with the Campaign for Educational

23 Equity {sic} lawsuit, and legislatively where

24 we're in a fiscal position now where we don't

500

1 have a gap. We don't have a state budget.

2 We're growing steadily, and I think all we

3 would ask is that we allow our educational

4 system to grow steadily as well.

5 Because I think if you look, you'll

6 see that virtually every other state in the

7 union, the state pays for roughly two-thirds

8 of what it costs to educate their children.

9 And despite the fact that we're very fond of

10 saying that we pay the most per child, we do

11 pay the most per child, because some of our

12 districts can afford to pay astronomical

13 amounts per child. But we have the worst

14 distribution system in the nation for how we

15 distribute that funding.

16 And so we leave many of our children,

17 a dramatic number of our children, in the

18 lurch. If Brown v. Board of Education was

19 our forefather's great shame, then our

20 funding system is ours. And until we address

21 that, until we get the rates for places like

22 Rochester and Buffalo and, quite frankly, for

23 the educational breadth that we are not

24 currently providing to our rural students,

501

1 we're going to continue to face an uncertain

2 future where people are exiting our state to

3 the rate of 150,000 a year. That's dramatic.

4 The State of New York right now is

5 exactly flipped from what every other state

6 does. We're paying a little over one-third,

7 and we leave two-thirds to the local

8 taxpayer. So if you're going to leave

9 two-thirds to the local taxpayer, you'd

10 better let them raise the money if you want

11 your children to be competitive. Because

12 right now we've kept -- we've frozen what

13 they're allowed to raise at that level, which

14 means that even our wealthy districts are

15 going to have to compete for that little

16 amount of state funding that's out there with

17 our more most needy districts. That's

18 inequitable.

19 And so I would ask you to consider

20 those things as you go forward. The

21 Governor's proposals have always been

22 financially light in their initial proposal,

23 it's always up to you to fix it, I ask you to

24 do it again this year.

502

1 Thanks so much.

2 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

3 much.

4 Yes, Mr. Abinanti.

5 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you.

6 I think you raise something that

7 hasn't been really emphasized before. You're

8 stating here, and I think it should be made

9 very clear to people what the implications

10 are, that even in your schools that pay

11 little towards their educational cost

12 locally, increasing the amount that has to

13 get paid up front through this STAR rebate

14 program change could mean the defeat of your

15 local budgets. Is that true?

16 MR. LITTLE: There are a couple of

17 places within the Governor's proposal where

18 that's expected. Pre-K is an area of that

19 where schools are expected to pay the money

20 up front and then get the money later on.

21 In this budget there's an opportunity,

22 because of the banking funding, the banking

23 fines, to be able to allocate a non-recurring

24 revenue towards that so that school districts

503

1 can participate in that.

2 And the one that you mentioned, the

3 STAR rebate program, is the other. Yes, they

4 can wait to get their rebate check off of

5 their income taxes, but when they get their

6 initial tax bill where they used to see that

7 being mitigated by the STAR rebate amount,

8 they'll no longer see that. And so the

9 amount that they'll look at to be paid up

10 front is going to be greater, and they will

11 of course be less supportive of that.

12 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Well, in simple

13 terms, people are going to think that you've

14 imposed a 10 percent tax increase when in

15 fact you're collecting the same amount of

16 money, and they're going to come out and vote

17 against budgets even though it's the same

18 budget they approved the year before, because

19 they're not going to know the details of all

20 of this stuff.

21 MR. LITTLE: And because all politics

22 is local, they'll call their local school

23 board members and administrators liars

24 because what's on their bill is not what they

504

1 were promised.

2 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

4 SENATOR KRUEGER: I'm sorry, I do have

5 one question, Mr. Little.

6 I appreciate your testimony. We hear

7 quite a bit from the larger urban areas --

8 and I represent one in New York City -- about

9 the problems they have and the poverty rates

10 and the continuous struggle to make sure

11 students complete high school and are

12 college-ready or employment-ready. And I

13 think one of the disadvantages you face in

14 taking your pleas here to Albany is that we

15 don't necessarily get the same kind of data

16 because it's so many small rural high-needs

17 districts.

18 Can you help me understand what -- if

19 somebody's done some research about the price

20 your students are paying because we've been

21 underfunding your schools.

22 MR. LITTLE: I'm sorry, the what?

23 SENATOR KRUEGER: The price your

24 students are paying because we've been

505

1 underfunding the small schools. Are you

2 seeing an increased dropout rate, a decreased

3 rate of ability to graduate and be

4 college-ready or employable? Do you have

5 anybody doing that kind of statistics?

6 MR. LITTLE: First of all, as a

7 resource I would direct you to the Center for

8 Rural Schools, which is actually a center for

9 educational statistics for all schools. It

10 can do remarkable things like predict your

11 own district's performance, predict your

12 future finances, things like that -- predict

13 and compare how you rate versus other

14 districts demographically similar to your

15 own. So that might be a good resource for

16 you.

17 The dropout rate for us is not as

18 significant an issue as it is that the people

19 that we do graduate don't have a degree

20 that's worth nearly as much as their

21 neighbors.

22 I'll give you the perfect example. My

23 son had over a 90 average and was rejected

24 from a college specifically saying, Danny,

506

1 you're okay, but -- I won't name the school

2 district, because I was school board

3 president for 10 years there, and I thought

4 we were doing well. But because of the lack

5 of a breadth of curriculum, they said that

6 the school district was not okay and that he

7 would not fare well in trying to compete with

8 the other people that they were admitting,

9 simply because he didn't have any context to

10 put the information they wanted to give him

11 into.

12 And they were right, because the

13 school that finally did admit him, he had a

14 difficult time. He graduated, but for four

15 years he had a very difficult time trying to

16 use the information in a realistic way

17 because he had no context to put it in. It

18 was rote memorization for its own sake.

19 And so I really think that the

20 challenges for rural schools is not so many

21 in staffing, because everybody in a rural

22 area in the entire community is involved in

23 the child's education -- they know everybody,

24 right, and care about everybody, that's the

507

1 beauty of being there -- but they can't help

2 when there's not enough resources to be able

3 to provide a competitive curriculum to go

4 forward. And so they're being rejected for

5 jobs and rejected for college applications.

6 And so when that happens, it's a spiral for

7 that rural community that's struggling, quite

8 honestly, to keep its kids.

9 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very much.

10 And I'll follow through with that center.

11 MR. LITTLE: Certainly.

12 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

13 MR. LITTLE: Thank you.

14 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

15 New York State Congress of Parents and

16 Teachers, Mark Eagan, Capital Region Chamber.

17 Is that it?

18 ASSEMBLYMAN OAKS: Richard Longhurst.

19 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Which one are you,

20 sir? We have a little confusion. You are?

21 MR. LONGHURST: I am Rick Longhurst.

22 I'm the executive administrator of New York

23 State Congress of Parents and Teachers, or

24 PTA.

508

1 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Okay.

2 MR. LONGHURST: I was announced next,

3 so here I am.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes, you are next.

5 MR. LONGHURST: Good evening.

6 Many of my colleagues have spoken very

7 eloquently about the inadequacies of state

8 aid support in the Executive proposal. I'm

9 going to skip right over that; we share

10 exactly the same concerns that they have

11 stated. But I'm going to focus on just three

12 things, and I'm going to begin by focusing on

13 just what I see as a change in tone from a

14 year ago or two years ago.

15 I've been here since 9:30 in the

16 morning, and I've seen some very good

17 examples of improvements in schools, I've

18 seen some very probing and interesting

19 questions that you have directed to the

20 people who have sat at this table, and we see

21 something different than what we've seen in

22 the past. School districts this year, unlike

23 last year, have access to state aid runs,

24 which is very important for their planning

509

1 process. The Governor has accepted the

2 recommendations of his Common Core Task Force

3 that are positive and that came together in a

4 very short amount of time, so my compliments

5 to those of you who participated in that

6 process.

7 The Regents responded to those

8 recommendations with their own regulations

9 very quickly, promptly, and with some options

10 that offer some real possibilities, and the

11 state now has overall flexibility that they

12 haven't had in the past to work with schools,

13 with teachers, and parents as a result of the

14 reauthorization of ESSA, the federal Every

15 Student Succeeds Act.

16 The next thing that I would like to

17 address is two things that I haven't heard

18 too much about today. But one is the area of

19 family and community engagement.

20 As we've listened to some of the

21 people who have spoken, the need for

22 collaboration between families and

23 communities and their schools is threaded

24 through a great deal of the reform efforts

510

1 that you see described by everyone here, from

2 struggling schools to the issues that are

3 related to men and boys of color. The

4 importance of family engagement and community

5 engagement is critical. The Regents have

6 proposed programs that would address some of

7 these issues, and we would urge your support

8 for the creation of an Office of Family and

9 Community Engagement within the Education

10 Department.

11 The inadequacy of family and community

12 engagement over the past couple of years, in

13 our view, may be partially responsible for

14 the dissatisfaction that many parents have

15 expressed through the lack of participation

16 in federally mandated student testing for

17 their students.

18 The last thing that I would like to

19 address is the area of fiscal support for the

20 New York State State Education Department.

21 We believe that it's inadequate. We've

22 looked at studies that in at least one case

23 would suggest that the state support for the

24 New York State Education Department on a

511

1 per-pupil basis is 46th out of 51 in this

2 country.

3 Over the past 30 years -- and my

4 career goes back into the very early '70s --

5 the state support for the State Education

6 Department has been reduced, and the program

7 assistance for schools is now almost nothing

8 as compared to what it was 30-some years ago.

9 As the diversity in the performance of our

10 student population increases, we believe that

11 the leadership on the part of the Education

12 Department is critical. And we further

13 believe that the money that you give to

14 schools in the form of state aid is going to

15 be more efficiently and effectively spent if

16 you have quality leadership at the top to

17 provide both support and monitoring from the

18 State Education Department itself.

19 Those are my comments. I can respond

20 to questions if you have them.

21 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Questions?

22 Yes, Mr. Ra.

23 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: Thank you. I see you

24 mentioned something that a few others have

512

1 but many have not, and that's that regulatory

2 work alone is not going to be enough to

3 respond to some of the issues that were

4 created by last year's, you know, policy

5 initiatives in the budget.

6 I was wondering, can you at all

7 elaborate on what you would like to see from

8 the legislative side to enable -- basically,

9 to enable State Ed to go and implement a lot

10 of the recommendations of the task force?

11 MR. LONGHURST: Sure. You heard Jim

12 Viola indicate a little while ago that the

13 regulatory steps that the Regents have taken

14 were a patch, or what we would view as a

15 work-around. At the same time, you've heard

16 others -- you will have heard others say that

17 the provisions of the reform act that was

18 adopted a year ago, 3012-d, need to be

19 repealed.

20 What is going to take some time is the

21 process to involve the people and do the

22 right thinking that gets the process more

23 correct than it was the last time, the last

24 time out. So we don't believe that the

513

1 regulatory reform that is proposed by the

2 Regents is the long-term solution --

3 ultimately, the law will need to be

4 changed -- but it's a start and it will give

5 us the time to do the process the way it

6 needs to be done.

7 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: I fully agree. And I

8 think that the four-year moratorium on the

9 test scores should be treated as an

10 opportunity to once and for all get a teacher

11 evaluation system right so we're not

12 revisiting it time and time again every few

13 years.

14 MR. LONGHURST: We need to take full

15 advantage of that opportunity.

16 ASSEMBLYMAN RA: Absolutely. Look

17 forward to working with you and many other

18 groups on that. Thank you.

19 MR. LONGHURST: Thank you.

20 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

21 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very much.

22 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Kyle Rosenkrans,

23 Northeast Charter School Network.

24 Then after him would be Randi Levine.

514

1 MR. ROSENKRANS: Thank you, Chairman

2 Farrell, distinguished Senators and

3 Assemblypersons. Thank you for your stamina,

4 number one, but thanks for the chance to

5 speak before you here today.

6 My name is Kyle Rosenkrans, and I am

7 the CEO of the Northeast Charter Schools

8 Network. We're the statewide membership

9 organization for charter schools. Across the

10 state we represent 8,000 teachers and over

11 120,000 students now in over 250 schools,

12 schools from Suffolk County, Long Island, out

13 to Niagara Falls and everywhere in between --

14 small, large, independent and networked,

15 union and non-union.

16 And I'm here to testify in support of

17 the Governor's budget proposal as it relates

18 to charter schools, but also to highlight one

19 critically missing piece to that proposal

20 that we think is essential to completing the

21 package.

22 First, we support unfreezing the

23 funding formula for students in New York City

24 charter schools and the rest of the state in

515

1 the following year. We support the proposal

2 in the Aid to Localities budget that would

3 distribute equally, to all charter school

4 students in the state, an additional

5 $27 million. And we support making permanent

6 the rental aid calculation for students who

7 attend charter schools, new or growing

8 charter schools in New York City.

9 But I'm also here to ask for your

10 support in making this proposal better and

11 solving the single biggest policy problem

12 that's still facing charter school educators

13 around the state, and that's finding and

14 affording school buildings.

15 Under the current law, a charter

16 student from, let's say, Buffalo receives no

17 help from the state to ensure that they have

18 an adequate school facility. So they can be

19 equally poor, equally disadvantaged to a

20 charter school student in New York City, but

21 they get no state help for their school

22 buildings. And all because of where that

23 student happened to live and where that

24 school happened to be located.

516

1 And moreover, in some of our oldest

2 charter schools in the state -- schools that

3 have been with us 17 years, in many cases, in

4 New York City -- aren't getting help either,

5 solely because they're no longer growing.

6 The state law only supports the facility

7 needs of schools that are new or growing. So

8 a school like Harriet Tubman Charter School,

9 performing well, students enjoy the school,

10 but solely because their school is not

11 growing, they don't have a guarantee of state

12 support for a building or funding to pay for

13 that building.

14 Other states have found a way to fix

15 this problem. And honestly, I think if we

16 were drawing the Charter Schools Act up again

17 from scratch, we would find a solution to

18 make sure that every kid who attends a

19 charter school has an adequate school

20 facility of some sort. So we're asking for

21 your help in bringing greater equity to the

22 way we fund and provide school buildings to

23 students in charter schools across the state

24 this year.

517

1 And then, in closing, I'd like to talk

2 about the issue of charter school enrollment.

3 It's been in the news lately, and I'd like to

4 offer three things that I think are important

5 to know.

6 The first is study after study -- and

7 as recently as just a couple of days ago --

8 have found that, much to the contrary to our

9 friends at UFT and Mr. Mulgrew's comments

10 earlier to you today, charter students

11 actually do a better job of retaining

12 high-needs students. That is, at a higher

13 rate. This is numerous years' studies by

14 both Marcus Winters and by the New York City

15 IBO have found that high-needs students

16 actually stay in charter schools at a higher

17 rate. And so the myth that as a movement we

18 are pushing out high-needs kids, pushing out

19 kids just because they're hard to educate,

20 doesn't hold up to the data or the evidence.

21 Now, to the extent that there are

22 allegations that individual charter schools

23 are breaking the rules, they should be

24 investigated. And if those claims are

518

1 substantiated, there should be consequences.

2 That's how we should treat any school in this

3 state. But it is a myth to suggest that this

4 is a sort of statewide or citywide problem.

5 The second thing that's important to

6 know is that the UFT's own data -- we

7 reviewed their report they released earlier

8 this week, and they have a legislative

9 proposal before you all -- that data showed

10 that we've actually doubled the amount of ELL

11 students who are attending charter schools in

12 New York City, and we increased the amount of

13 special education students by 40 percent.

14 Those are their numbers.

15 And lastly, I think the policy

16 prescription that they propose is just wrong.

17 It's doubling down in what we think is a

18 broken system for policing enrollment numbers

19 at charter schools. Just to illustrate that

20 example, we took a look at the same standards

21 that are intended to apply to charter schools

22 for enrollment of high-needs students. If

23 you applied those to district schools in the

24 state, for example in Rochester, 46 district

519

1 schools, only seven of those 46 would meet

2 all three of the targets we're asking charter

3 schools to make. And nowhere in the UFT's

4 proposals do they propose that those schools

5 be penalized. Nor would I, but I ask why

6 we're applying those standards to charter

7 schools if our district schools can't even

8 meet them.

9 The same is true if you look at CSD 5

10 in Harlem and other school districts across

11 the state, that there's something wrong with

12 the standards, so now is not the time to

13 double down on enforcement. It means to give

14 authorizers greater flexibility, to make more

15 fine-tuned comparisons between schools. And

16 we think that's the proper solution.

17 So again, thank you for the chance to

18 speak before you. If you have any questions,

19 I'm happy to answer them. Otherwise, I hope

20 you get home safe.

21 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes, Mr. Abinanti.

22 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Yes. I just

23 would like to ask you -- do you think it's

24 fair to a person who lives in a suburban

520

1 community, who pays $15,000 to $25,000 a year

2 in property taxes, who gets $1,800 back from

3 the state to subsidize the kids' education --

4 that's per-pupil expenditure in much of

5 Westchester County; some get $950, some get

6 $4,000, but in general it's probably about

7 $2,000 -- and who pays high income taxes to

8 the State of New York, do you think it's fair

9 to tell them that they can't get any more

10 money back from the state because we don't

11 have the money, because we're giving it to

12 private schools that masquerade as charter

13 schools in the City of New York?

14 MR. ROSENKRANS: Well, I think --

15 thank you for the question -- I think I have

16 a little bit of a different view on the

17 topic. To me, and I'm a civil rights lawyer

18 by trade, I look at the fact that public

19 education is a constitutional right that

20 belongs to the students, and in my view that

21 funding belongs to the students, not to

22 adults or school districts.

23 So in a charter school, when a student

24 attends a charter school, that funding for

521

1 them, a portion of it -- I would argue not

2 enough of it, but a proportion of it goes to

3 that charter school. So I think that funding

4 actually belongs to the student, not to the

5 school district or to the adults who work

6 there. That belongs to the students, to

7 ensure they get a constitutionally adequate

8 education.

9 And as to the question as to private

10 schools masquerading as charter schools, I

11 mean, it's written into our law that we're

12 public schools, and we take that obligation

13 very seriously. So that's just what state

14 law is, we're a public school.

15 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: And you're

16 saying that there's a constitutional right --

17 does that mean that the kids in my school

18 district have a constitutional right to get

19 $8,500 back -- or I think the average number

20 for the State of New York is $9,500 -- are

21 you ready to go with me to the Governor and

22 say he should add $5 billion to the budget so

23 that every kid in the state can get $9,500

24 paid to their school district for their

522

1 education?

2 MR. ROSENKRANS: Well, I can't speak

3 to the specifics of your particular district.

4 What I will say is that I have no objection

5 to everyone here who's been speaking all day,

6 fighting to ensure that the children they

7 were speaking about get the resources they

8 need. I'm not going to stand in your way in

9 any way, shape, or form. I'm here

10 representing the charter schools that are our

11 members.

12 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Well, do you

13 think we would meet our constitutional

14 obligation if we had public school systems

15 that met the needs of the kids?

16 MR. ROSENKRANS: Look, I think that

17 the state's highest court has weighed on this

18 issue many times. And, you know, I'm not an

19 expert in the constitutional obligations as

20 they apply to school districts. What I can

21 say is that as they apply to students, there

22 is a minimally adequate obligation of the

23 state to provide the funding that's

24 necessary.

523

1 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Correct. But

2 we can meet that minimum obligation by

3 providing a sound, basic education in a

4 public school building; correct?

5 MR. ROSENKRANS: Absolutely.

6 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Okay. So we

7 disagree as to how and where we should

8 provide that education. But I, for one, say

9 public schools first. And when my kids in my

10 school districts get a sufficient amount of

11 support from the state, then maybe I'll take

12 a look at other alternatively competing

13 school systems.

14 Thank you.

15 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you. Thank

16 you very much.

17 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: I'd like to thank

18 you for being here today.

19 MR. ROSENKRANS: Thank you.

20 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Advocates for

21 Children of New York, Randi Levine, policy

22 coordinator.

23 And after that will be Alexis Henry,

24 for the Citizens Committee for Children.

524

1 Yes.

2 MS. LEVINE: Good evening. Thank you

3 for the opportunity to speak with you and

4 thank you for staying and being so engaged

5 during this long day.

6 My name is Randi Levine, and I am

7 policy coordinator at Advocates for Children

8 of New York. For more than 40 years,

9 Advocates for Children has worked to promote

10 access to the best education New York can

11 provide for all students, especially students

12 of color and students from low-income

13 backgrounds. And every year, we help

14 thousands of individual families navigate the

15 education system.

16 You have our written testimony. I am

17 just going to highlight a few issues that are

18 in it. Our written testimony discusses our

19 position on a wide variety of education

20 issues within the budget. In addition to

21 echoing the call for a greater overall

22 investment in education funding, I want to

23 highlight just a few issues.

24 First, CTE, Career and Technical

525

1 Education programs. We were very encouraged

2 by the questions and the discussion that took

3 place today about the need for increased

4 investments in CTE. Given that more than

5 20 percent of students in New York State do

6 not graduate in four years, CTE really has

7 the potential to help those students, promote

8 student engagement and advancement toward

9 college and career readiness. The Board of

10 Regents, recognizing the importance of these

11 programs, recommends an additional

12 $65 million for CTE.

13 Given the disproportionately low

14 graduation rates for English language

15 learners and students with disabilities, CTE

16 programs have the potential to be

17 particularly beneficial for these students.

18 However, we have identified barriers to

19 accessing CTE programs for ELLs and students

20 with disabilities.

21 The Executive Budget includes

22 $1 million in new CTE funding specifically to

23 eliminate barriers that prevent students with

24 disabilities and ELLs from participating in

526

1 CTE programs. We are pleased that the

2 Governor recognized the need for this

3 designated funding. However, a significantly

4 higher investment is needed to expand CTE.

5 We urge you to invest at least an additional

6 $65 million for CTE, including at least an

7 additional $1 million to make CTE programs

8 accessible to students with disabilities and

9 ELLS.

10 We're grateful to you and the Governor

11 for the increased investment in pre-K over

12 the years, but we know that our job is not

13 done and that the proposed $22 million for

14 pre-K for 3-year-olds only is not going to

15 get the job done. We support the Board of

16 Regents recommendation for providing an

17 additional $125 million to expand full-day

18 pre-K. We want to fulfill the promise of

19 universal pre-K, full-day, throughout the

20 State of New York.

21 We're also very concerned about the

22 Executive Budget's proposed Empire State

23 Pre-Kindergarten Grant Board, which would

24 take the pre-kindergarten RFP and selection

527

1 process out of the hands of the State

2 Education Department and place it in the

3 hands of a three-member politically appointed

4 board, creating another level of bureaucracy

5 in an already complicated pre-kindergarten

6 system. You've heard concerns about that

7 today, and we recommend having the State

8 Education Department continue to oversee the

9 RFP and selection process for all pre-K

10 programs.

11 You've heard today about the need for

12 increased investments for English language

13 learners. The Board of Regents recommended

14 an additional $75 million to support ELLs,

15 and we support that as well.

16 And finally, one issue that I don't

17 think we've discussed yet today. The

18 Executive Budget includes a proposal that

19 would allow school districts to seek a broad

20 waiver from special education protections for

21 students. We've seen it before. The

22 Legislature wisely has rejected it in prior

23 years, and we just want to make sure that

24 you're aware and ask you to reject that again

528

1 this year.

2 Thank you for your time, and I would

3 be happy to answer any questions that you

4 have.

5 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

6 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you very

7 much.

8 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Questions?

9 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: A quick question

10 from Senator Krueger.

11 SENATOR KRUEGER: Actually, it's just

12 a statement.

13 There are many groups who come and

14 testify, and coming from New York City I just

15 want to recognize and thank your organization

16 for the tremendous work they do. We refer

17 parents who are lost and confused and don't

18 know what to be doing next, particularly for

19 their special-needs children, to you all the

20 time and to the materials you have available.

21 And the information that you provide really

22 is invaluable to parents. So thank you.

23 MS. LEVINE: Well, we're very happy to

24 help families as well as professionals and

529

1 your staff, both with individual cases as

2 well as on a policy level. Thank you.

3 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

4 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Next is Citizens'

5 Committee for Children, Alexis Henry, policy

6 associate, early childhood.

7 After that, AfterSchool Works!

8 New York: New York State Afterschool Network.

9 MS. HENRY: Good afternoon.

10 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Good afternoon.

11 MS. HENRY: Or good evening.

12 My name is Alexis Henry, and I am the

13 policy associate at Citizens' Committee for

14 Children, which is a 72-year-old independent

15 multi-issue child advocacy organization.

16 Thank you to the chair and to the members of

17 the Legislature for holding today's hearing.

18 I hope to be very brief.

19 CCC is extremely concerned that cost

20 shifts included in the Governor's Executive

21 Budget will have extreme impacts on New York

22 City, especially services important to all of

23 New York's children. We urge the Legislature

24 to negotiate a budget with the Governor that

530

1 eliminates the cost shifts and invests

2 significantly more in the programs and

3 services that will produce outcomes for the

4 children and families throughout New York.

5 We are pleased that the Executive

6 Budget proposes investments to improve

7 quality and access to education. However,

8 funding is still not sufficient to meet the

9 needs of New York's schoolchildren. The

10 budget, as you know, has a 4.3 percent

11 increase but still is woefully short of the

12 Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision. This is

13 actually the 10th anniversary, and current

14 estimates of the shortfall, when taking into

15 account inflation, are at approximately

16 $4.8 billion. We urge the Legislature and

17 the Governor to work together to enact the

18 budget that makes significant increases in

19 education aid.

20 Pre-K. High-quality early childhood

21 education has been proven to be critical for

22 school readiness and long-term academic

23 careers and economic outcomes. We appreciate

24 the $22 million that Governor Cuomo has

531

1 proposed to expand access to pre-K for

2 3-year-olds. However, this still leaves over

3 80,000 4-year-olds unserved. We urge the

4 Legislature and the Governor to invest at

5 least $150 million to expand pre-K seats for

6 high-needs 3- and 4-year-olds.

7 We also oppose the creation of the

8 Empire State Pre-Kindergarten Grant Board.

9 We support the Governor's proposal for

10 $100 million to transform the state's

11 struggling schools into community schools.

12 Community schools not only have positive

13 impacts on academic achievement, attendance,

14 and post-secondary outcomes, but are also

15 well positioned to address the nonacademic

16 needs a child may bring to school.

17 The special education waiver, we urge

18 the Legislature to oppose the proposal.

19 New York State law affords important

20 protections for children and families

21 receiving special education services, and

22 this waiver would erode important safeguards

23 for children.

24 We also, around mayoral control, urge

532

1 you to extend mayoral control for seven years

2 as part of its original authorization in

3 2002.

4 And finally, we support the Governor's

5 proposal to enact the DREAM Act, and we urge

6 the Legislature to prioritize passing the

7 bill this session. Texas, New Mexico,

8 California, Illinois, and Minnesota have

9 already extended financial assistance to

10 undocumented students, and itís time for

11 New York to do the same.

12 Thank you for the opportunity to

13 testify.

14 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

15 much. Questions?

16 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

17 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you so much.

18 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

19 Chris Neitzey, AfterSchool Works! New

20 York: New York State Afterschool Network.

21 MR. NEITZEY: Good evening. Thank you

22 for the opportunity to provide my testimony.

23 My name is Chris Neitzey. I'm the

24 information and communications manager with

533

1 AfterSchool Works! New York: The New York

2 State Afterschool Network.

3 I'm testifying here today because we

4 believe that all New York students deserve

5 the chance to reach their full potential,

6 much like many of you probably believe as

7 well. After-school, summer, extended

8 learning opportunities, community schools,

9 and other expanded learning opportunities

10 play a crucial role in supporting success for

11 many New York families and students.

12 We've heard a lot today about the

13 $100 million in community schools aid. I

14 want to echo previous comments that this is

15 not sufficient to support high-quality

16 community schools.

17 I would also like to focus on

18 something we haven't discussed much today.

19 Over the last year and a half, we have hosted

20 a learning community of state education

21 associations, many of whom have testified

22 here today, and the practitioners and experts

23 on expanded learning through school/community

24 partnerships. Your invitation to this actual

534

1 white paper release, which is going to be

2 held next week, is in the written testimony,

3 and we hope that you will join us for the

4 opportunity to see what the results of that

5 learning community are.

6 From the work of this group, we

7 learned that it is crucial that the state not

8 only equate the strategy of community schools

9 as a model for school turnaround -- many

10 schools of all types actually benefit from

11 the community school strategy and similar

12 models of partnership between schools and

13 CBOs.

14 Additionally, nationally 90 percent of

15 community schools incorporate after-school or

16 expanded learning time, which may actually be

17 higher in New York. Also, while we are

18 grateful that the Executive Budget maintains

19 funding for the Extended School Day/School

20 Violence Prevention Program, we are also

21 disappointed that there was no new proposal

22 for additional statewide after-school and

23 summer programming.

24 To that end, we are also very

535

1 concerned that the Executive Budget provides

2 no new funding to continue the Community

3 Schools Grant Initiative, which is different

4 than the community schools aid. The first

5 round of grants for this funding stream ends

6 this year, leaving 30 grantees without

7 funding to sustain the community schools they

8 have worked to develop over the last three

9 years. These schools have structures and

10 programs in place that students and families

11 have come to rely on, and that support

12 teachers by ensuring students come to class

13 ready to learn.

14 If these programs are allowed to close

15 without the opportunity to seek another round

16 of funding, the loss will impact the

17 teachers, students, families, and communities

18 they serve. The Legislature should not allow

19 for this loss, and it is urgent that the

20 funding be restored in this year's budget to

21 allow for continuity.

22 We hope that the Legislature will

23 provide at least $15 million this year to

24 continue the Community Schools Grant

536

1 Initiative, and will support increased

2 funding for after-school and summer programs

3 as well, including an additional

4 $49.9 million for the Advantage After School

5 funding stream, which is also in the human

6 services budget.

7 To that end, I'd also like to just

8 highlight a few of those community school

9 programs that are actually receiving funding

10 through the Community Schools Grant

11 Initiative.

12 PS 154 was able to expand its

13 partnership with the YMCA of Greater New York

14 to become a YSchool Community School. As a

15 direct result, PS 154 is able to reduce

16 ratios by placing YSchool staff members in

17 each kindergarten, first-, and second-grade

18 classroom for the entire school day. In just

19 one year, the percentage of kindergartners

20 reading on or above grade level increased by

21 28 percent.

22 Another one in upstate. Wellsville

23 Central School District as well as Auburn

24 School District have both implemented mobile

537

1 dental clinics that provide dental services

2 to students and families. These are programs

3 that have their funding running out this

4 year, and if we do not restore the Community

5 Schools Grant Initiative funding, those are

6 likely to lose all those services.

7 As New York seeks to ensure that all

8 students graduate high school ready for

9 college and career, it must invest in

10 community schools and in after-school and

11 summer programs as partners to schools in

12 achieving that goal. ASW/NYSAN, my

13 organization, recommends that the Legislature

14 provide at least $15 million this year to

15 continue the Community Schools Grant

16 Initiative and support increased funding for

17 after-school and summer programs, including

18 the addition of $49.9 million for the

19 Advantage After School program.

20 We hope that the Legislature and the

21 Governor will take this opportunity to not

22 just meet the immediate need, but also create

23 a plan for future investments that will work

24 towards serving the estimated 1.1 million

538

1 children who are in need of after-school

2 programming and the 500,000 that are in need

3 of summer programming, so that those benefits

4 of after-school and summer programs can be

5 made available to all of the students and

6 families across New York who actually need

7 them.

8 That concludes my testimony. I will

9 gladly take any questions.

10 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

11 much. We'll gladly not give any.

12 (Laughter.)

13 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you for

14 waiting so long.

15 MR. NEITZEY: Excellent. Thank you.

16 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

17 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: New York School Bus

18 Contractors Association, Michael Martucci,

19 president, and Jimmy Hedge, vice president.

20 Was I close?

21 MR. MARTUCCI: Good evening, members

22 of the committee. Thank you for staying so

23 late to listen to us tonight.

24 Just very briefly, my name is Michael

539

1 Martucci, I'm the owner of Quality Bus

2 Service located in Orange County, New York.

3 I'm also the president of the New York Bus

4 Contractors Association.

5 Here with me to jointly testify is

6 James Hedge. James is the vice president of

7 the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1181.

8 So we're here with our partners in labor

9 today to discuss some -- we believe some

10 reforms that would make a big difference in

11 the pupil transportation industry here in

12 New York.

13 So as I said, we're here with our

14 partners in labor to talk about some

15 important reforms. Really the first is one

16 that will help school districts manage their

17 budgets better, protect the hardworking men

18 and women who transport our kids to school

19 each day, and most importantly keep our kids

20 safe.

21 For decades since 1976 the CPI, the

22 Consumer Price Index, has been used to extend

23 pupil transportation contracts here in

24 New York. That index is a failing index in

540

1 our industry, as you know: CPI has been zero

2 for more years than we can bear. And relying

3 on CPI 20 years ago made sense when that cap

4 was 3 percent.

5 So today what we come to you with is

6 an idea or a suggestion that we would ask

7 that you consider to use ECI, the Employment

8 Cost Index, to extend pupil transportation

9 contracts. We believe this is really

10 important because 65 percent, 70 percent of

11 our costs are labor costs, most commonly.

12 And we believe that ECI is a much better

13 reflection of the costs associated with

14 operating pupil transportation contracts.

15 The second item that we bring to you

16 today is an item that we've come to you

17 before and asked for assistance on. It's

18 around the sales tax on school buses. Here

19 in New York, almost every form of public

20 transportation is tax-exempt, and the sales

21 tax on school buses really is a useless tax

22 because it's a tax that we pass along to our

23 school districts in our service contracts.

24 So we ask that you also consider that item

541

1 because that would be one way that we could

2 certainly pass along savings to school

3 districts.

4 Third -- and Mr. Hedge will speak more

5 on this -- is a very important issue to our

6 industry, the inclusion of employee

7 protection provisions in school

8 transportation contracts for New York City

9 pupil transportation workers. We believe

10 this is an important initiative because it

11 will protect workers and provide students

12 with a stable and reliable safety-conscious

13 workforce.

14 So I'll turn over the floor to

15 Mr. Hedge.

16 MR. HEDGE: Hi. Thank you for staying

17 here this evening; I know you guys have had a

18 long day.

19 We're here in support of the

20 contractors with the tax on the school buses

21 as well as the CPI bill. We're asking for

22 inclusion of the EPP bill, which is the

23 employee protection provision. And simply

24 stated, all it is is it allows a laid-off

542

1 driver, escort, or mechanic to be placed on a

2 master hiring list. It doesn't take into

3 account if they're in a union, it doesn't

4 matter if they're non-union. The Board of

5 Education keeps the actual records on the

6 drivers and the escorts, and they become able

7 to be placed in the next available opening,

8 which allows for a pool of experienced,

9 well-trained people to transport the children

10 and who also are very skilled at taking care

11 of handicapped children.

12 They are trained, they take classes,

13 and it eliminates some of the problems that I

14 understand were asked about today with a

15 driver who had become lost and refused to

16 take other kinds of precautions. When you

17 have well-trained people, these kinds of

18 problems disappear.

19 If you have any questions, I'd be more

20 than happy to answer them.

21 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you. Any

22 questions?

23 SENATOR KRUEGER: One quick one.

24 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes, Senator.

543

1 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

2 So the price of oil is plummeting -- I

3 think a previous testifier pointed out he

4 paid, I think he said, $1.89 a gallon this

5 morning. And I'm just curious how that

6 impacts your costs.

7 MR. MARTUCCI: That's an excellent

8 question.

9 As I had said before, approximately

10 70 percent of our costs are labor costs. So

11 while certainly it is helpful that the cost

12 of oil is down, that represents a very small

13 portion of our cost of doing business.

14 Second, here in New York oftentimes

15 school bus contractors don't purchase the

16 fuel that's utilized to transport students.

17 Many districts, as part of a contractual

18 agreement with their operator, purchase the

19 fuel, and that's done because the district

20 can oftentimes -- more times than not --

21 purchase that fuel at better rates and

22 without paying a tax on that fuel.

23 So oftentimes the savings that we see

24 in fuel and energy aren't savings that are

544

1 retained by a private business or a school

2 bus contractor, but rather is something that

3 the school district realizes.

4 SENATOR KRUEGER: Do you know what the

5 arrangement is in New York City, where I'm

6 from?

7 MR. MARTUCCI: I'm sorry, I don't know

8 the particulars on the contracts themselves.

9 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

10 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

11 much.

12 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, we

13 appreciate it.

14 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: New York

15 Association of Pupil Transportation, Peter

16 Mannella, executive director.

17 MR. MANNELLA: Good evening, all of

18 you with more stamina than I have. I'm ready

19 for a nap.

20 If this were another day and age I'd

21 share with you that someone slipped me a note

22 but a colleague in the back, Jim Carr, who

23 many of you know, shared with me a Twitter

24 note saying that today in 1780 our New York

545

1 State Legislature met for the first time in

2 the City of Albany at what was then the old

3 City Hall. So I share that with you,

4 compliments of our colleague in the back of

5 the room.

6 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: It seems like we've

7 been going since 1780.

8 (Laughter.)

9 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: I know. We've been

10 here a long time.

11 MR. MANNELLA: Chairman Farrell,

12 Chairwoman Young --

13 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Yes, Denny was here

14 for that first hearing.

15 (Laughter.)

16 MR. MANNELLA: All right. All

17 seriousness aside.

18 Chairman Farrell, Chairwoman Young --

19 and particularly a note to Chairwoman Young

20 on your assumption of the Finance Committee

21 chair; I look forward to working with you in

22 that capacity and hopefully passing our

23 stop-arm camera bill together with you this

24 year -- I'm pleased to share with you

546

1 recommendations of the New York Association

2 for Pupil Transportation regarding the

3 Governor's 2016-2017 budget proposal.

4 Our more than 600 members are

5 responsible, with our colleagues in the

6 contractor's association, for the safe and

7 efficient transportation of more than

8 2.3 million children to and from school every

9 day. It is vital that our state continue its

10 investment in school transportation to

11 continue our state's unmatched record of

12 safety for our kids. We're here to discuss

13 some of those investments with you today.

14 I'd like to highlight several key

15 issues or areas from our full statement for

16 you, but before I do that I want to join our

17 voice with the other education lobbies who

18 have called on you to work to eliminate the

19 Gap Elimination Adjustment, restore the

20 money. In many school districts, while it

21 doesn't directly affect transportation,

22 they've looked at transportation to help ease

23 some of the costs that they've had to deal

24 with in the GEA. We've seen safety training

547

1 programs cut, routes changed, and cutbacks in

2 training for drivers, administrative and

3 dispatch personnel. A lot of things that we

4 use to keep kids safe have been cut as a

5 result of the GEA, and it's time to restore

6 those monies.

7 In the specific area of school

8 transportation, very briefly on a couple

9 points, we're pleased to see that

10 transportation aid is continued to be

11 recognized as expense-based and that the

12 Governor's budget includes $1.783 billion to

13 accommodate the costs that were incurred by

14 school districts last year, and we support

15 continuation of that into the adopted budget.

16 We appreciate the continued funding of

17 $400,000 for the Comprehensive School Bus

18 Driver Training Program which this

19 Legislature enacted back in 1997. We're sad

20 to say that it has not been increased from

21 the $400,000 since 1997, and we've got a lot

22 of new needs that school bus drivers are

23 facing out in their school buses.

24 And we're asking for an increase from

548

1 $400,000 to $500,000 to allow us to do

2 training in special needs transportation and

3 the increased transportation of kids who are

4 in pre-K programs. We've got a lot of

5 violent incidents happening on buses, and we

6 want to be able to train the drivers in how

7 to respond to intrusions on the bus and

8 violent incidents, and some of those things

9 are described further in our testimony.

10 A key part of what we're asking you

11 for is to recognize that pre-K transportation

12 is a cost to school districts. When

13 universal pre-K was created back in the late

14 '90s, transportation was not considered. In

15 2012, there was legislation passed that

16 allowed school districts to provide the

17 transportation, but a gift to you from us,

18 the legislation said no transportation aid

19 would follow if you did transportation for

20 pre-K kids.

21 We're here to say that transportation

22 is a necessity for pre-K programs. Many

23 districts are not doing as much as they might

24 with pre-K because they don't have

549

1 transportation to get the kids from home to

2 the program and back, and we think that the

3 program would succeed and grow larger and

4 reach its potential if transportation could

5 be addressed.

6 So we're asking that that law passed

7 in 2012 be reconsidered, repealed, and that

8 funding be made available in the

9 transportation aid formula for transportation

10 of pre-K students.

11 Two final points in terms of budget.

12 You just heard from the after-school and

13 community school programs. We've been part

14 of some of the work they're doing. Programs

15 like after-school programs, community

16 schooling, regional high schools and those

17 kinds of initiatives we're doing are all good

18 ideas educationally -- they cost money on

19 transportation end. So as those things move

20 forward, we're going to be looking to you and

21 the Education Department to work with us on

22 ensuring that there's transportation aid

23 available to help us provide those services

24 to the kids.

550

1 Lastly, in our statement we talk about

2 mandates. We've enumerated about eight

3 mandates that are placed on school

4 transportation programs that cost money, that

5 with some modifications, or in some cases

6 elimination, we could save $100 million or

7 more by eliminating those and moderating them

8 across the state.

9 We're very proud of the record of

10 safety that we've accomplished in New York

11 State, with the training funds particularly.

12 We've gone from dozens of fatalities back in

13 the 70s, 80s, and 90s to having no fatalities

14 over the past couple of years, and that's a

15 record to be proud of. We're keeping our

16 kids safe. We need to continue to partner

17 with you and ask you for your support in

18 terms of appropriation of political support

19 for the work that the men and women do to

20 keep our children safe every day.

21 And I can take any questions.

22 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

23 much.

24 Any questions?

551

1 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Just one

2 comment, Mr. Chairman.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Yes.

4 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: I want to thank

5 you for highlighting one of the impediments

6 as to why all school districts have not

7 adopted the pre-K programs. We've been

8 trying -- many of us have been trying to say

9 that the money that's been put in the budget

10 for that purpose is not sufficient because

11 there are so many other costs involved.

12 There's structures that are needed,

13 classrooms that are needed. And I personally

14 never even thought of the issue of

15 transportation, but that's another cost to

16 these school districts as to why they're not

17 adopting the pre-K, they're not just jumping

18 into it.

19 Thank you very much.

20 MR. MANNELLA: And I think you've

21 heard the Syracuse superintendent talk about

22 that for pre-K kids, there and in Rochester,

23 little children having to walk to the pre-K

24 programs. It's not going to happen.

552

1 And it's a similar problem in the

2 rural areas, where the children have to go

3 long distances to get to the program. They

4 just can't.

5 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you very

6 much.

7 MR. MANNELLA: Thank you, Assemblyman.

8 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you, Peter,

9 for being here. And just pass along to your

10 members, please, how much we appreciate all

11 of their efforts to keep students safe and

12 sometimes in difficult conditions. And so

13 thank you again.

14 MR. MANNELLA: Thank you, Senator.

15 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

16 League of Women Voters, legislative

17 director, Marian Bott.

18 MS. BOTT: Good evening, Chairman

19 Farrell. I am actually not our legislative

20 director; that's Barbara Bartoletti, who's

21 not here this evening.

22 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Oh. Oh, I see.

23 MS. BOTT: It's okay. I am our

24 education and finance specialist, thank you

553

1 very much.

2 I have to say I feel as though the

3 ghost of John Flanagan is in the room,

4 because a year ago, at about this hour, when

5 we were again at the end of the testimony

6 list, I started talking about the education

7 tax credit and our objections to it, et

8 cetera. And I've known John Flanagan for a

9 long time. And as I was speaking -- within

10 my time limit -- he interrupted me and said,

11 "Marian, we get it, we get it, you don't like

12 it. Is there anything we can do to fix it?"

13 At which time I basically said no.

14 But I was -- because I've known him

15 for a long time, I basically did not refer to

16 him as Senator Flanagan, as I should have. I

17 should have said "Senator Flanagan," but I

18 said "John." So I want to correct the

19 record.

20 I have great respect for the work that

21 all of you do, and I know it's a tough fight

22 on ETC and we will once again be opposing it,

23 and we this year plan to present some more

24 specific reasons at the tax hearings next

554

1 week. So that, I think, covers that part of

2 our testimony.

3 I spent a lot more time this year on

4 the computer runs, because the other major

5 issue is the tradeoff between eliminating the

6 gap and increasing Foundation Aid and all the

7 issues surrounding CFE. So I wanted to

8 actually see what the Governor had done. And

9 so the reason you have been given this rather

10 lengthy Attachment 2 -- which I would like

11 you to just take a quick glance at, if you

12 don't mind -- what I did is I dug into, on a

13 county-by-county basis, another look at the

14 computer runs that are delivered to us

15 through the DOB in such a form that they're

16 pretty condensed unless you go and get the

17 detailed ones.

18 What I did was I teased out high tax

19 aid, $223 million of high tax aid, to show

20 where that is distributed throughout the

21 state. And then I teased out the new

22 proposed community schools aid. And I was

23 home watching you all here until 8 o'clock

24 last night at Barbara's house, and so I --

555

1 you will have to accept the fact that I'm

2 going to have to resubmit that attachment

3 because I was too bleary-eyed, I was

4 literally -- if you type every single school

5 district in the state -- you know we have too

6 many, number one. Number two, these small,

7 rather inadequate amounts to proposed

8 community schools throughout the state look

9 more like an attempt to balance shares,

10 because the high tax aid is going

11 disproportionately, of course, to Suffolk and

12 Nassau and Westchester, whereas the community

13 schools aid, basically, in addition to the

14 struggling schools -- what the Governor's

15 budget appears to do is to take a wide swath

16 of high-needs schools and scatter some money

17 at them based on a new formula.

18 I worked in community schools. In

19 fact, I was working in New York City public

20 schools as a tutor and a volunteer for about

21 12 years through the New York Junior League.

22 I think it's fair to say that to do it right,

23 it takes a long time. You have to have solid

24 partnerships, you certainly can't just

556

1 appropriate $17,000 and expect something

2 miraculous to happen, it has to come from a

3 solid partner.

4 So we would not favor using community

5 schools as a budget line to balance shares.

6 We don't agree with shares to begin with, but

7 you certainly shouldn't -- in other words,

8 look at the high tax aid. I noticed that

9 East Hampton gets high tax aid. Look at the

10 formula, we put it in here as our first

11 attachment. It's complicated and it has

12 nothing to do with student need. Perhaps

13 Chairman Farrell remembers -- didn't we get

14 rid of that at one point, high tax aid?

15 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: I don't remember.

16 MS. BOTT: I think we got rid of it

17 and then it came back. I think about 10,

18 12 years ago, we actually got rid of it and

19 maybe it got melded into regional cost. One

20 of the other formulas that we were doing a

21 better job at, actually being on formula --

22 I'm sorry to see that it's $223 million,

23 which could probably be used more efficiently

24 because there are a lot of hold-harmless

557

1 districts in it, as you can see.

2 Okay, I think -- I shouldn't keep

3 talking ,because I'm out of time and we will

4 testify in Tax to go through the STAR thing.

5 The STAR thing looks fishy. I think it looks

6 a little fishy, but maybe for good reasons.

7 You have people who are double dipping, and

8 then you have people who maybe will not owe

9 state income tax. And what I'd be interested

10 to know is whether some of those people who

11 don't owe state income tax are people who are

12 retired state workers who therefore -- they

13 wouldn't need a state income tax refund.

14 So we have to make sure that what's

15 not happening is that certain classes of

16 individuals are not being picked out to get

17 out of the STAR pool. I don't think that's

18 what he's trying to do, but I've asked the

19 STAR unit for data and I haven't received it

20 yet. So that's next week.

21 Thank you so much for staying. It's

22 nice to see at least the hard core of you who

23 are the most important leaders of this

24 committee, and their loyal staffs, sitting

558

1 there. I do appreciate it.

2 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you.

3 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

4 much.

5 MS. BOTT: The League of Women Voters

6 appreciates it.

7 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Hopefully you're

8 not watching us at 8 o'clock tomorrow night.

9 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: New York Library

10 Association, Mike Neppl, director of

11 government relations and advocacy.

12 MR. NEPPL: Congratulations, everyone.

13 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: We made it.

14 MR. NEPPL: You made it. I believed

15 in you all along.

16 So I'm last, but certainly not least.

17 And I will end up being the most memorable

18 person today by giving the shortest testimony

19 in respect of how long you've been here.

20 First of all, I'm Mike Neppl, I'm the

21 general counsel and the director of

22 government relations for the New York Library

23 Association. I first want to thank our

24 partners and advocates on the committee and

559

1 in the Legislature for including the extra

2 $5 million of funding in last year's enacted

3 budget.

4 Library funding is a core component of

5 our state's educational infrastructure.

6 Libraries are education. Libraries should be

7 fully funded under the law; absent of that,

8 state library aid must increase every year in

9 direct proportion to increases in school aid.

10 It just makes sense.

11 These are three things that we know.

12 Our state's library program is woefully

13 underfunded even at full funding, which would

14 be $102.6 million. It's millions of dollars

15 less than what is actually needed to

16 effectively run our state's library systems.

17 It is a formula that was devised 30 years ago

18 when people were using libraries much

19 differently than they are now.

20 Library use is surging across the

21 state. It's up 10 percent in the last three

22 years -- 15 percent among women, 15 percent

23 among communities of color, 20 percent among

24 households making less than $50,000 a year.

560

1 So libraries are education. I think

2 an important and interesting thing to point

3 out is that according to statistics provided

4 by the New York Public Library, a GED

5 equivalence study guide was the most

6 circulated book in the Bronx for all of 2015.

7 I think that's very exemplary of how people

8 use libraries.

9 For nearly 33 percent of

10 African-American and Latinos and 25 percent

11 of households making less than $50,000 a

12 year, the public library is their primary

13 point of internet access. For those

14 individuals that responded to a 2015 Siena

15 poll that went to the library to seek job

16 training and career programs, 53 percent were

17 African-American, 40 percent were households

18 making less than $50,000 annually.

19 I ask you to really take a hard look

20 at the state library aid funding this year,

21 and I'm asking you to consider fully funding

22 under the law.

23 The only other thing I want to bring

24 up is the State Library Construction Aid

561

1 program has received flat funding for a

2 decade at $14 million a year. The State

3 Education Department documents a $2.2 billion

4 need statewide for library capital

5 construction projects.

6 It is far beyond time to increase

7 funding available to local libraries. This

8 is an economic development initiative. The

9 recent New York City enacted budget provided

10 a 10-year, $300 million capital commitment.

11 We're asking our partners in the Legislature

12 to also take a look at that.

13 I wasn't quite as short as I had hoped

14 to be, but I thank you so much for staying

15 and taking my testimony today. I really

16 appreciate all the work you do on behalf of

17 the library community.

18 I'm happy to take any questions.

19 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you.

20 Mr. Abinanti to close it.

21 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Thank you,

22 Mr. Speaker.

23 Yes. The high point of library aid

24 was, what, 2008?

562

1 MR. NEPPL: That's correct, 2007-2008.

2 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: And how much

3 was it at that point?

4 MR. NEPPL: It was $102.7 million.

5 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: One hundred

6 two. So if we applied inflation to the 102

7 in 2008, what would be this year's number?

8 MR. NEPPL: I believe, considering

9 inflation, it would be somewhere in the

10 $129 million.

11 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: One hundred

12 twenty-nine.

13 And how much did we give the libraries

14 last year?

15 MR. NEPPL: Ninety-one-point-six in

16 last year's --

17 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI:

18 Ninety-one-point-six. Thank you.

19 And you said the unmet needs as

20 estimated by the New York State Education

21 Department, the unmet needs -- the unmet

22 capital needs for libraries is $2.2 billion?

23 MR. NEPPL: That's correct. And

24 that's --

563

1 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: And how much

2 money -- go ahead.

3 MR. NEPPL: I'm sorry. That's largely

4 the result of more than half of local public

5 libraries in New York are more than 60 years

6 old, and another third are more than 30 years

7 old.

8 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: And how much

9 money do we put in capital every year?

10 MR. NEPPL: Fourteen million dollars a

11 year, of which we're very grateful for, but

12 we're certainly asking for an increase.

13 ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI: Okay. Thank

14 you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

15 MR. NEPPL: Thank you.

16 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: Thank you very

17 much.

18 We are adjourned.

19 MR. NEPPL: Have a good night.

20 CHAIRWOMAN YOUNG: Thank you. We love

21 libraries, so thank you so much.

22 MR. NEPPL: Thank you, Senator.

23 CHAIRMAN FARRELL: We will adjourn

24 until tomorrow at 9:30, Environmental

564

1 Conservation.

2 (Whereupon, the budget hearing concluded

3 at 7:13 p.m.)

Print as PDF

Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2016-2017 Executive Budget Proposal: Topic "Elementary & Secondary Education" - Testimonies

Newsroom

Statement from NYS Senator Catharine M. Young (R,C,I-57th District)

Town of Mansfield Slated to Receive $300,000 State Grant

Senator Young Secures $125,000 for Town of Ripley

Senator Young Secures $350,000 for Town of Hinsdale to Replace Equipment Lost to Fire

Share this Article or Press Release

Newsroom

Statement from NYS Senator Catharine M. Young (R,C,I-57th District)

Town of Mansfield Slated to Receive $300,000 State Grant

Senator Young Secures $125,000 for Town of Ripley

Senator Young Secures $350,000 for Town of Hinsdale to Replace Equipment Lost to Fire