Call Day-Care Kindergarten Shutdown 'Ill-Conceived'

The Chief-Leader/Tommy Hallissey 'A BAD IDEA': City Comptroller William C. Thompson, who is seeking to unseat Mayor Bloomberg in November, says that in eliminating kindergarten classes in day-care centers and risking overcrowding in some public schools as a result, the Mayor has 'chosen to turn his back on the struggles of working families.'

Union and elected officials April 22 re-stated their objections to the city's plans to eliminate kindergarten and cut back pre-kindergarten classes in day-care centers, with City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. saying that Mayor Bloomberg had "chosen to turn his back on the struggles of working families."

'Bad Idea, Bad Effort'

"This ill-conceived proposal ignores the most basic responsibility we have as a city—to ensure that every child is protected," said Mr. Thompson, who is running for Mayor, in front of City Hall.

He slammed the Administration for Children's Services' plan to move all five-year-old children out of daycare centers and into Department of Education classrooms for kindergarten. "Not only is the plan...a bad idea, but it also has been a poorly administered effort," he said. The move is expected to save ACS $15 million as it moves to close a $62-million budget gap.

The Chief-Leader/Tommy Hallissey A DUBIOUS BATTLE: United Federation of Teachers Vice President Karen Alford questions the wisdom of the budget-based shift of kindergarten responsibilities.

Mayoral spokesman Marc LaVorgna countered in a phone interview, "On one hand they're saying make sure ACS doesn't save $15 million, but on the other hand they're saying ACS needs more funding [on universal prekindergarten]."

He said that the move of five-yearolds would "save ACS a whole bunch of money, which they obviously need," and that the DOE would be able to handle the influx of children, which is estimated at more than 3,400. "There's been some erroneous reporting about how much it's going to cost DOE, using a weird formula. If you have an existing classroom, you're not adding a tremendous cost, you don't have to hire a new Teacher, the numbers are not that high," Mr. LaVorgna said.

In March, Mr. Thompson wrote a letter to the Mayor asking him to address growing concerns over the shift, saying it would "create vacancies that, if not filled, could cause centers to close their doors." He added, "the addition of just one kindergarten class could push a school that is currently straining just below capacity into an overcrowded school."

Pushing Class-Size Envelope

The DOE released a plan on April 9 to the City Council detailing that many classrooms could be pushed to the legal limit of 25 students by the arrival of five-year-olds from day-care centers.

Mr. Thompson also noted that in 2007, the Mayor's office had discussed expanding pre-kindergarten slots with his office. "It is unfortunate that the city's efforts to achieve this important goal have fallen far short of what is needed," Mr. Thompson said.

ACS has notified day-care centers with universal pre-kindergarten contracts that it is cutting back its share of their budgets retroactive to February. District Council 1707, which represents day-care workers and Teachers, said that the move "is contrary to UPK expansion initiatives by the New York City Council and New York State Legislature."

"I told my membership earlier, if they walked out on the city, the daycare workers, the Head Start workers, the home-care workers, the directcare workers, the city would cease to tick and move," said DC 1707 President Kim Medina. "There would be no one here to take care of their parents, their children, the mentally disabled."

UFT: Move Threatens 'Safety Net'

United Federation of Teachers Vice President Karen Alford said that it was vital to "protect the safety net" of day-care centers. "It's hard to understand why we're even having to fight this battle," she said. "After all, everyone knows that early childhood education is critical to a child's success. We will save money in the long run if we invest in a child's life during the first years."

Councilman Miguel Martinez of Manhattan, who chairs the Civil Service and Labor Committee, charged that ACS's budget moves would not even save the city money. "It actually costs more money to put our kids in public schools," he said. "The real reason is, either the Mayor doesn't like unions or the Mayor doesn't like day-care."

Other Council members agreed that the cuts were slighting DC 1707. "This is another attempt to break the backs of the union movement in the City of New York," said Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn. "[The Mayor] wants to reverse the historic struggle of working families in the city."

"This administration has not been respectful of DC 1707," agreed Councilman Leroy Comrie of Queens. "I'm fed up with an administration that's trying to save a lousy $15 million without giving you the raises you deserve." The contracts with DC 1707 Locals 95 and 205, who represent Head Start and day-care workers, expired in 2007.