Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
THE NEWSPAPER OF FLUSHING, AUBURNDALE, KEW GARDENS HILLS & FRESH MEADOWS
75 cents
GET THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
‘You should reward excellence’
Bayside High School PTA urges the community to join fi ght for funding equity
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Parents of students at Bayside High
School are calling on the community
in their fight for fair school funding.
In July, reports surfaced that the
top-performing Bayside institution
only received 83 to 90 percent of
the funding amount determined by
the Department of Education Fair
Student Funding (FSF) formula.
Instead of receiving approximately
$17.47 million for the upcoming school
year, the PTA said DOE shortchanged
the school by $3 million.
Since then, the school’s PTA called
out the injustice and have contacted
3,000 parents and 12,000 community
members to inform them of the lack
of funding. The mailers encouraged
locals to contact Mayor de Blasio,
Chancellor Richard Carranza and
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson
concerning the issue.
“Call or email these decision
makers to tell them to fully fund
Bayside High School 2019-2020!
Students, families and your
community are worth your tax
money,” read the mailer.
PTA President Paul DiBenedetto
told QNS that the school’s graduation
rate rose from 60 percent to
98.7 percent in recent years.
The school has the city’s thirdhighest
graduation rate, including
SHSAT schools.
“The city should be rewarding
excellence, not punishing it,”
said DiBenedetto.
But due to the state’s failure
to direct more money toward city
schools per the Campaign for Fiscal
Equity settlement, there is a $750
million shortfall in FSF. Politico
reported that DOE has invested over
$800 million in FSF, which raised the
floor from 81 percent to 90 percent for
all schools.
“This administration has added
$4 billion in education funding,
including raising the Fair Student
Funding percentage at Bayside High
School from 84 percent to 90 percent
and adding dedicated Career and
Technical Education and College
Access funding at the school. We’ll be
able to fund all schools at 100 percent
Fair Student Funding when the state
pays the $1.2 billion it owes the city,”
DOE spokesperson Danielle Filson.
Most FSF money is unrestricted
and can be used at the school’s
discretion. But DiBenedetto said
that the current funding they receive
is not enough to match the school’s
budget and has resulted in larger
class sizes, fewer teachers, guidance
counselors and security and cuts to
their career and technical education
program (CTE).
DiBenedetto, whose son is in the
program at school said that DOE did
not provide enough funds to run the
CTE program. The program allows
each student to take an elective
and gain work-based experience
through job shadowing, mentorships
and internships.
DOE said that they currently
supplement the program
through $500,000 in grants and
additional funding.
DiBenedetto encourages parents
of students and community members
to reach out to De Blasio, Carranza
and Johnson via phone or email.
Mayor Bill de Blasio: 212-788-2958
or visit www1.nyc.gov
Chancellor Richard
Carranza: 212-374-0200 or
Rcarranza@schools.nyc.gov.
Speaker Corey Johnson: 212-564-
7757 or District3@council.nyc.gov.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by email at jbagcal@qns.com
or by phone at (718) 260-2583.
SERVING UP TENNIS FUN
Fans across the “World’s Borough” enjoyed a free day of tennis-related fun
during “Queens Day at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Aug. 20
Photo by Dominick Totino Photography
Vol. 28 No. 35 48 total pages
GREAT TIME TO SWITCH TO AT&T WIRELESS-BAYSIDE
BUY ONE
GET ONE FREE
(see store for details)
SPECIALS
iphone 8 64GB-$10/mo
iphone 6S 32GB - $1/30mos.
Samsung A6 - $5/mo
38-27 BELL BLVD.BAYSIDE ( NEXT TO AVLI ) • (718) 819-8883
link
link
link
/QNS.COM
/www1.nyc.gov
link
link
link
