PSC to NYC Council: All students should have access to ASAP-like investment
As a political battle heats up about the success of Mayor Bloomberg’s much-celebrated initiative to transform the public school system, critics have pointed out that fewer than one in four students who graduate from NYC schools are ready for college. On Thursday, January 19, PSC Secretary Arthurine DeSola submitted testimony before a joint hearing of the City Council’s Committees on Education and Higher Education concerning the “college-readiness” of public high school graduates coming to CUNY. In the union’s testimony, DeSola called for a dramatic increase in per-student funding and contrasted the funding available for “intrusive” counseling and other enhancements provided to students in the Accelerated Study in Associate Program, a pilot program that currently serves about 1,300 community college students, with the chronically underfunded resources and services available to the general student body at CUNY community colleges. Read her testimony online.
Advocate With Colleagues and Alongside CUNY Students
On March 5-6, PSC members will join their NYSUT colleagues from across the state to urge elected officials in Albany to reinvest in public higher education. The following week, on March 14, we will rally and lobby in Albany again, this time with students and SUNY colleagues at a statewide Student/Faculty/Staff Action Day. Other NYSUT-sponsored advocacy days in Albany are scheduled for March 19-20 and May 21-22. PSC activists also continue to meet with lawmakers in their districts. Tax fairness and restoration of CUNY funding will be on the agenda at most of these meetings, along with a demand for the Legislature to reject the Governor’s call for a new pension tier (PSC’s full Platform). We need you there! Transportation, food and housing costs for the Albany trips are covered by NYSUT. Please contact Amanda Magalhaes to learn more and sign up to participate.
Adjunct Pay Dates
Visit the PSC website here for spring 2012 adjunct pay dates.
Health and Safety Watchdogs Meeting—Save the Date: Feb 8
Updates on workplace violence prevention, recent victories and campus reports will be on the agenda at the first health and safety meeting of the spring semester. The committee will also set priorities for the coming year. The meeting will begin with a light dinner at 5:30 in the PSC union hall. Learn more here and RSVP here.
