new yorkers for smaller classes

Class size coalition launches petition drive

New Yorkers for Smaller Class Sizes – a broad coalition of groups representing parents, civic organizations, labor unions and educators – today launched a petition drive to change the City Charter to require that at least 25% of money from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case be spent to reduce the size of public school classes.

In a press conference on the steps of the Department of Education headquarters in the Tweed Courthouse, coalition leaders said they plan to submit at least 30,000 valid signatures by early July to get the city council to adopt the charter change.

The change would require that city class sizes be no larger than the statewide average, excluding New York City’s higher class size count. Classes in New York City public schools can run 10% to 60% larger than in the rest of the state, depending on the grade and subject. If the council doesn’t enact the change there is a second process to put the charter amendment on the November ballot.

Lillian Rodriguez Lopez, President of the Hispanic Federation and Chair of New Yorkers for Smaller Class Sizes, said, “If we are ever going to narrow the achievement gap and reduce our unconscionably high drop out rates – which are among the most urgent problems we face as a city– we will have to reduce class size. The only way to address the continuing crisis of oversized classes in New York City public schools is to make smaller classes a matter of law, rather than an annual budget negotiation.”

Randi Weingarten, President of the United Federation of Teachers, who joined the coalition’s kick-off drive, said, “Small class sizes, qualified teachers, safe schools and a laser-like focus on the lowest performing schools are the key ingredients to improving student performance.

“The CFE ruling, the independent commission appointed by city council speaker Gifford Miller, headed by Anthony Alvarado, and other recent studies have stressed the importance of class size in education. And to ensure that we must make sure the court-ordered resources are not surrendered. They must go to reducing class sizes.”

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, a non-profit org of parents and activists throughout the city, said, “What parents and teachers have long known, and what the Court of Appeals found, is that New York City children are being deprived of an adequate education because of their overly large classes. And yet this Mayor intends to spend only 2% of the CFE funds to reduce class size. This proposition will ensure that whoever leads this city in the future, our children will have the right to a smaller class, as students in the rest of the state already receive.”

Haimson said at least 10 studies link smaller classes in grades 4 to 12 to higher student achievement. She also said statistics compiled by the Independent Budget Office, the UFT and the state Department of Education show:

Bertha Lewis, Executive Director of ACORN, said, “We put propositions on the ballot all the time – why can’t New Yorkers vote for our kids for a change? We can’t afford to lose another generation of kids in overcrowded classrooms. A vote for smaller classes is a vote for kids!”

Hazel Dukes, President of the New York State Conference of NAACP Branches, said, "We know that there are academic benefits that take place when education is provided to students in smaller classes. The Tennessee Star Report verified that smaller class size indeed provides the educational learning environment for achievement."

The petition drive kick-off comes just hours before the coalition holds a class size forum at 4 p.m. at the UFT’s headquarters at 52 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.

Despite some state and city increases in funds to lower class size, many city children still must learn in overcrowded classrooms, where it is difficult to get the attention they need to learn.

In September 2004, the UFT filed more than 11,000 grievances for classes that exceeded limits of 34 in a class. More than 10,000 of those classes were in high schools. At least 20 states have class size mandates, including California, Florida, Texas and Kentucky.

Because New York City is governed by its charter, the coalition wants to change the charter to mandate class sizes that are similar to those in the rest of the state and make sure that at least one-fourth of the $5 billion in court-mandated CFE money goes toward smaller classes.

To amend the charter, the coalition must gather at least 30,000 valid signatures, which would be presented to the City Council in early July. The Council then has two months to act. If it does not, the coalition must raise another 15,000 signatures to put the question on the ballot in November.

At that time, the mayor, who has created an ongoing Charter Revision Commission, could try to “bump” the class size question off the ballot. If he does, under charter rules, the class size question would automatically go on the ballot in 2006.

There have been several successful petition efforts in the city in the last 12 years, most notably the 1993 referendum on term limits and the 1998 drive that result in major changes in campaign finance laws.