James Davis, PSC CUNY President has the following statement about the NYC budget deal just announced:
“The Professional Staff Congress and its members are immensely appreciative of the Council’s restoration of $32.4 million in CUNY funding, the majority of the Mayor’s recent cuts to community college funding. We also celebrate additional restorations for CUNY programs like Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE) and Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) and the new investment in desperately needed academic advisors put forward by the Council.
“Without the Council’s intervention, the Mayor’s budget would have dramatically compounded years of City cuts to community colleges. Even with these much needed restorations, the Mayor’s Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) cuts over the last two years have left CUNY on a dangerous financial path and undermined students’ success. Since 2020, city-funded community colleges have lost over 300 full-time faculty and staff.
“It is well documented that CUNY lifts the economic prospects of thousands of New Yorkers, including two-time CUNY graduate Mayor Adams. Thankfully, the Council was able to stop the Mayor pulling the ladder of opportunity up behind him in this budget. Because these restorations were not baselined by the Mayor in this budget, the Mayor will have to decide again if he will continue to target CUNY students for cuts.
“PSC and the 30,000 workers we represent will never stop fighting for our students, our members, or the working class of New York City.”
Published: June 29, 2023
