An appeal, that is. On February 25th Lydia Bellahcene and John Battis, two P.S. 15 parents, joined with lawyers from Advocates for Children to file a petition to the State Commissioner of Education. They asked for a stay in regards to the extension of the co-location with PAVE Academy Charter School that was approved during the PEP vote January 26th. This appeal details the actions of the DOE leading up to this vote and how they violated New York State Education Law, failing to follow procedural requirements in regards to significant changes in school utilization! In short, the appeal stated that our Educational Impact Statement failed to describe any impact the co-location would have on P.S. students, and how the proposal passed by the Panel for Education policy on January 26th differed from the resolution published on the 27th, which extended PAVE Academy’s stay to an arbitrary timeframe. It states that PAVE Academy may co-locate “until a new facility is finished”. Debra Kurshan of the Office of Portfolio Planning submitted an affidavit within the required five day time period in response to the appeal admitting a discrepancy in the proposal thus resulting in a revised EIS and a re-vote at the April 20th PEP meeting. Her affidavit is merely a response to our request for a stay, and we await the response to our full petition, which is due in 15 days! Schools currently slated for closure or co-locations should examine their EIS carefully, check the state education laws and visit the State Education Department website for information on how to file an appeal to the State Commissioner.
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June 4th City-Wide School-Community Based Protests: No School-Based Budget Cuts or School Layoffs
Parents, Students, and School Workers at PS 15 Demand Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein Prioritize Spending for Public Education!
Public Education in NYC has faced over 500 million in cuts since 2009. The Mayor must seek other revenues instead of cutting our schools and other important services that are the lifeblood of our communities!
Bailouts for Banks and Wall Street but NOT FOR OUR KIDS? SAVE OUR SCHOOLS... STOP THE FORCES WHO SEEK TO DISMANTLE AND DESTROY PUBLIC EDUCATION!
A revote? Is that even legal? So the Bloomberg/Klein and the DOE screw up and they change the laws and rules to what ever suits them? This is like playing a game with a bully. PS 15 had a few rooms to use as lab and art space. A few rooms do not mean 15 to 20 rooms for a school to expand until whenever. Pave has hurt the honorable PS 15 Community and to give them one day past June 2010 is an outrage! They made an agreement, they lied to the world and now what to screw the PS 15 Community even more? Since mayoral control, I believe NOTHING from Pave, Bloomberg, Klein & the DOE. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. They are the biggest bunch of liars in town!
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