Despite the heat that radiated early Friday morning, community leaders, clergy, constituents, public education advocates and parents, united to support Assembly Member Latrice Walker, in her efforts to oppose Governor Andrew Cuomo’s private school tax giveaway.
Due to construction, the rally was held outside of the new 55th Assembly District office, 400 Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville.
Brought together following Cuomo’s Parental Choice in Education Act (PCEA), spirited host, Dr. Raymond Rufen-Blanchette, Executive Chairman of The Clergy Campaign for Social and Economic Justice, and several other guests, cheered, chanted and sang together to express their support for Walker.
Cuomo has been holding events at various churches and yeshivas promoting PCEA, which gives parents with children in private schools, businesses that donate to nonprofits and award scholarships to students, the privilege of a tax credit. While private school parents have only dreamt of such a tax break, Walker along with her supporters question Cuomo’s agenda.
“This Tax Credit is just another roundabout way for Cuomo to give back to hedge fund investors that have given to him. We need more assembly members like Walker who will stand up for the public schools in her community and not cater to the big money of hedge fund bullies,” said Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director of Alliance for Quality Education.
Cuomo himself says public schools are failing and parents should have the choice to turn to private education is they wish. He believes this choice should allow for a tax break. But Walker argues that money could be used to help the public school’s 2.7 million students who need access to resources.
“Our children come first. That’s why I’m standing here today, to make sure that our public schools have the resources they need to give our children a first class education and every opportunity,“ said Walker. “We must continue the fight to make sure our public school receive the resources they deserve.”
Walker, whose three-year-old daughter is enrolled in a religious school, represents the exact type of person Cuomo’s PSEA seeks to credit. But with a $150 million dollar budget, she asks how she would get back just $500 and being that it is such a small portion of the millions, why the money can’t be shared with public school districts who actually need it.
“This bill is not about choice and will not benefit the low to middle income parents that it is falsely claiming it will,” argued Natasha Capers, Coordinator for Coalition for Educational Justice. “Cuomo can’t get away with attempting to hand out political favors in the form of public dollars that are supposed to go to our children.”
