One Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, NY, May 23, 2018: Yesterday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams joined representatives from independent charter schools, parochial schools, and yeshivas, as well as educators, parents, and students from across Brooklyn, at a rally in the Rotunda of Brooklyn Borough Hall to demand the City provide equitable security guard funding for every school across the five boroughs. Joined by elected officials such as Council Members Robert Cornegy, Jr. and Antonio Reynoso, Borough President Adams spoke about the need for passage of this legislation so that all schools in the city receive adequate security, particularly in the wake of a school shooting massacre last Friday in Santa Fe, Texas that claimed the lives of eight students and two teachers.
“All of our children deserve to be safe,” said Borough President Adams. “Students should be learning math, not massacre. Our tax dollars should support all of our children. A crazed gunman doesn’t care how big a school is before they attack. I ask the City Council to pass an expanded law that ensures all schools in our city can cover the cost of security to keep their facilities safe.”
“New York City can no longer afford to play favorites with our students’ security,” said Council Member Cornegy. “By rallying with charter parents and educators today, I’m proud to take a stand for student safety and great public education.”
“The nearly 1,000 students at Northside and Williamsburg charter high schools should receive the same funding for security that the rest of my district enjoys,” said Council Member Reynoso. “They are all our kids.”
Intro 70, which was introduced earlier this year by Council Member Chaim Deutsch, amends Local Law 2 of 2016 in relation to reimbursing small nonpublic schools for the cost of security guard services. These schools, serving more than 75,000 students citywide, are currently forced to choose between funding basic security services and classroom resources such as staff and supplies. Parochial schools with fewer than 300 students and public charter schools in private spaces are the only types of schools in the city that do not get taxpayer funding for security. Borough President Adams thanked Council Member Deutsch for his leadership in introducing the legislation and asked that it be expanded to ensure security support for every school, regardless of its size.
“I appreciate Borough President Adams’ and Council Members Cornegy and Reynoso’s support of Intro 70, and their commitment to the safety and security of every New York City child,” said Council Member Deutsch. “Intro 70 is a work in progress, and I’m in the process of ongoing conversations to determine the figures for including charter schools within this particular piece of legislation. The bottom line is that every child deserves to be able to attend school in a safe environment, and I remain wholly committed to pursuing that.”
Borough President Adams expressed his gratitude to the broad citywide coalition advocating for equitable security guard funding for every school in New York City, including those who fought hard for the passage of Local Law 2 of 2016.
“When it comes to the safety of the children of our city, there should not be a preference for one population of students over any other,” said Bishop James Massa, moderator of the Curia and vicar for evangelization and higher education for the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. “In these uncertain times all schools, public and nonpublic, require the degree of security that would be provided by school safety agents. Passage of Intro 70 would expand this essential and crucial protection to all nonpublic schools in New York City. We thank Borough President Adams for his leadership on this issue and his strong support of this legislation.”
“As a parent, and in my role as community and family engagement coordinator at Growing Up Green Charter School, I ask all Council Members to support Intro. 70 so every New York City student, regardless of the type of school they attend, are protected and kept safe while at school,” said Erin Acosta, community and family engagement coordinator at Growing Up Green Charter School. “Charter school students in private space are already underfunded. It is unfair to ask schools to use their general education dollars to pay for school safety agents when so many other schools have separate funding for this purpose. My daughter, a 5th grader at Growing Up Green, deserves the same funding as her friends that attend other local public schools. Thank you to Borough President Adams for hosting today’s event and for standing up for the safety of ALL New York City students.”
“There are no students whose safety is worth more or less than another,” said Oma S. Holloway, chair of the education and youth committee of Brooklyn Community Board 3 (CB 3). “Amending Intro 70 to cover charter schools in private space is the right thing to do.”
“There are no ‘others’ when it comes to the security of students,” said NeQuan McLean, president of Community Education Council (CEC) 16. “No school should have to choose between safety and instruction.”
“Every child deserves to feel safe at school,” said James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center. “I’m proud to stand with parents, educators, and elected officials today to demand a new direction for our city — one that gives every school the tools it needs to protect our city’s students.”
“As a global human rights advocate, UNITED SIKHS stand with Borough President Adams in demanding equitable security guard funding for every school across all five boroughs,” said Jatinder Singh, national director of Sikh aid programs for UNITED SIKHS. “All New Yorkers, including the youngest among us, deserve to feel safe in our schools and in our city. Through our network of disaster and emergency relief programs affiliated with the United Nations, our organization has worked in the region of Texas where the tragic shooting took place. Our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We thank Borough President Adams, Council Members Reynoso and Cornegy, and our local community of faith leaders and schools for bringing light to this issue, which has affected so many.”
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