UFT Wants School Stimulus Aid Used for Construction

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James A DUAL BENEFIT: Central Labor Council President Jack Ahern says that use of Federal stimulus aid to education for school construction would have the added benefit of providing employment for thousands of building trades workers who are already suffering the effects of the recession. Looking on at right is United Federation of Teachers Chief Operating Officer Michael Mulgrew.

The United Federation of Teachers was joined by elected officials Jan. 28 in urging that Federal stimulus money for education be directed to building new schools here, saying that the Department of Education's existing capital plan was not sufficient.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the national stimulus package later that day, including $150 billion for education funding, with $3.4 billion of it going to New York City after lobbying efforts by U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Charles Rangel.

'Can't Cut Infrastructure'

"We cannot deal with the fiscal crisis by just cutting services to the community, to the schools, to the infrastructure of the City of New York," said UFT Chief Operating Officer Michael Mulgrew. "This would be the greatest mistake, and we should have all learned from that mistake," referring to the DOE's new five-year capital plan for the years 2010 to 2014, which would reduce spending by $2.5 billion as compared to its previous plan.

"It just makes good common sense economically, that if you invest in your infrastructure, you are moving the economy, you are creating jobs, and at the same time you are making this a better city for the children of New York," he added.

City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. agreed, noting that "at this last moment, we can't lose sight that we need new schools. Construction is like a win-win-win; it creates additional jobs, it helps education, it helps our communities, it helps our children."

He said that school overcrowding was an issue of growing concern, with 38 percent of students in overflowing classes. "One hundred seventy thousand new seats are needed to be able

to do what is necessary," he said. "We can't forget our capital needs. New schools, upgraded schools, more class space for our students, that's what's important."

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said that during her seven-plus years in office, she had "been to many schools that are seriously overcrowded, where the kids are virtually sitting on top of each other." With the passage of the stimulus bill, she said, "we need to make sure in New York City the pressure is kept on all of us to make sure that all of that money goes into refurbishing the schools that need fixing, and building new schools that need to be built."

A Reason to Leave City

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer warned that a lack of school construction would lead many city residents to flee to the suburbs. "Where the parents have the expectation that their child will go to local public school, we must meet that expectation, or those parents will take their child and their families, and move out of New York City, and take their tax dollars with them. That's what this fight is all about," he said. "We didn't plan for growth in boom times, so now we're going to have to make sure we plan for growth in some difficult times."

AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council President John T. Ahern said that a boost in school construction would help offset job losses New York faces due to the recession. "New York State is slated to lose 300,000 jobs," he said. "A lot of them are construction jobs. We need this economic stimulus package to get us back on line. Putting shovels in the ground to build new schools is a winwin situation; it's what we need for the city."

City Council Members Robert Jackson of Manhattan and Bill De Blasio of Brooklyn warned that the stimulus money being approved by Congress was only the first step.

"The hard part begins now," said Mr. De Blasio. "There's a very brief window to get this done in…if that money gets by us, shame on all of us. We have to be vigilant."