TC President Arthur Levine is co-chairing a special Commission appointed by the New York City Council to determine the best uses for a projected court-ordered budget increase of several billion dollars to the New York City school system.  

The commission held a hearing this past Thursday, Nov. 18th, on teacher retention and recruitment. The hearing included testimony from Randi Weingarten, President of the United Federation of Teachers; Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford University; Hamilton Lankford, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Albany University; Raymond Domanico, Education Consultant, Metro NY Industrial Areas Foundation; and Theodore Hershberg, Director, Center for Greater Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania.

The hearing was the third of seven being conducted by the Commission on the Implementation of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. Subsequent hearings will address the issues of class and school size, pre-K and after-school programs, school facilities, and accountability for use of the additional funds.

The independent, non-partisan Commission on the Implementation of CFE is directed by Anthony Alvarado, former Chancellor of New York City Schools. It was created by the City Council to determine the best use of money that could soon be awarded as a result of a lawsuit brought in 1993 by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.  In so doing, the City Council is exercising its historic right to review all spending decisions made by the city.

"The infusion of additional funds gives us a chance to revolutionize a troubled system and provide an equal education for every child," said Levine in a joint statement with Commission Co-Chair David Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society. "If we do this right, New York City can be a model for America's school system. These hearings are meant to gather the opinions of those most affected by and involved in the public schools." 

The CFE suit, brought by a coalition of parents, community school boards and advocates, is the most prominent school finance suit among the more than 45 ongoing nationwide. In June 2003, New York State's highest court found for CFE and ordered state lawmakers to fix New York's school funding system. When the state legislature missed the deadline for determining a specific increase in education funding, Judge Leland DeGrasse appointed a panel of Special Masters to do so. Their decision is expected at the end of November.

For a full schedule of subsequent public hearings that will be held by the Commission, as well as for a full list of Commission members, visit the Commission's web site.

Published Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004