Intro 065 Strikes Outrage; the Bill Would, For the First Time, Allow an Investment of Public Dollars in Private Institutions
(Long Island, NY) Today New York City Council will pass Intro 065, a bill investing nearly 20 Million taxpayer dollars into security guards for private and parochial schools across the city. The bill is met with protest from groups with a variety of interests including the Alliance for Quality Education, New York Civil Liberties Union, Urban Youth Collaborative, Coalition for Educational Justice, Dignity in Schools Collaborative, Teachers Unite, Desis Rising Up and Moving, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, Make the Road New York, and New York Communities for Change, all of whom have signed on to a letter calling out City Council Members for this decision.
New York City Public Schools continue to be underfunded. With this decision, council members have prioritized private institutions over public schools, which serve all of the city’s children. Beyond this lapse in judgment, there is a question of the bill’s constitutionality, considering that the New York State Constitution prohibits public funding to private institutions where religious tenets are taught.
All in all, the advocacy groups believe that this is a gross misuse of public dollars and provides for a slippery slope of abusing authority to invest taxpayer money into private investment groups.
The letter can be read here.
