Judge rules against class-size referendum

A State Supreme Court judge ruled against New Yorkers for Smaller Classes May 19 in its bid to put a referendum on class size on the November ballot. His decision rested on his judgment that the city schools budget is not a proper matter for a voter referendum.

State Supreme Court Justice Lewis Bart Stone ruled that New York City voters did not have the right under state law to force Mayor Bloomberg to allocate 25 percent of any money from a Campaign for Fiscal Equity settlement to reduce class size because “education is a state responsibility and function under the [state] constitution.”

Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez of New Yorkers for Smaller Classes issued the following statement:

“We are disappointed with the result and are confident in the coalition's chances on appeal. We don't believe the city truly appreciates the import of the court's ruling. Basically, the court has said the state sets educational policy and the city has no control over education except for administering that policy - and therefore, has no right to budget for class size.

“This decision, if left standing, means that only the Regents or State Legislature could determine New York City's class size, even though every other school district makes its own decision on class size. The simple fact remains: If the mayor and chancellor don't want to voluntarily reduce class size to the levels existing in the rest of the state, we want voters to make that decision. We are confident the appellate courts will let democracy prevail.”