PRESS RELEASE: Yonkers City Council Questions Yonkers School Construction Bill

YONKERS, NY – With a call to “Rebuild our Schools,” they asked to be treated like other cities, but what Yonkers school children received was something different entirely.

The state legislature passed legislation this week to create the Yonkers Joint Schools Construction Board, which pays Yonkers less than two-thirds of what other upstate cities receive. 

Council President Liam McLaughlin said, “Our state delegations spent months tweaking the language to give themselves more oversight and control and completely missed the boat on the most important aspect of the legislation, the reimbursement rate for the city. We agree with the Mayor that it is a nice first step, but the rate that was passed is woefully inadequate. The parents, teachers, administrators, students and their families that have stood with us to rebuild our aging schools are to be commended.”

Under the legislation that was passed, Yonkers will receive less than a 70% reimbursement from the state for its capital construction, far short of the overall goal for the city of 98% reimbursement that was requested. That amount is on par with what Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, who have undertaken similar school reconstructions, receive from state government.

Majority Leader John Larkin said, “Albany took $110 million from us with the Gap Elimination Adjustment, they left a $28 million hole after the IMA, and then another $11 million hole next year at the expiration of the mortgage fund transfer to the schools. Albany’s efforts to rebuild our schools have once again left us holding the bill. As the parent of four children who graduated from the Yonkers Public Schools I say enough is enough.”

Yonkers, the first municipality to successfully join a Campaign for Fiscal Equity case, New Yorkers’ for Students Education Rights v. State of New York following a vote by the City Council Majority, is currently litigating with Albany to recover the $110 taken by the Gap Elimination Adjustment, or GEA, created as a budget balancing gimmick by Senate Democrats in 2010. Senate Republicans fully restored the GEA this year.

Council member Mike Breen said, “As education chairman I was pleased that the City was able to provide yet another an increase for Board of Education’s budget to $539 million, an increase of $15 million, plus an additional $35 million for school improvements and $5 million for textbooks and equipment. Albany has not done its share, though, and the budget could have been far less painful to taxpayers if we received the additional funding we are entitled to.”

Council member Dennis Shepherd said, “Why has our delegation supported school funding for Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester, while shortchanging the people they are supposed to represent?”|

A new public authority created by the legislation would be authorized to borrow up to $2 billion to cover the costs of refurbishing 37 schools and building 3 new schools, making the City’s local share almost $600,000,000, a price tag the Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent has said is unaffordable.

Even though Yonkers is considered to be one of the “big five” school districts, the state requires the City to fund forty-five percent of the cost of education. Meanwhile, the other districts pay no more than twenty percent.

Union Officials Who Conspired To Cover-Up Child Abuse Must Go, Council Says

YONKERS, NY – An undercover investigation by journalists from Project Veritas has gone viral.

Pat Puleo and Paul Diamond, president and vice-president of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers, were caught on tape explaining how to sweep allegations of child abuse under the rug.

City Council President Liam McLaughlin said, “There is much good that happens in our schools and many fine teachers and employees. We cannot let the actions of a few outshine the hard work and dedication of so many, but we also cannot allow a situation where a cover-up could be directed by City employees to hide allegations of child abuse, use of racial epithets, fraud and theft of honest services in the school system. We feel those responsible should resign immediately.”

A New York Post editorial from June 8, ‘A Teachers Union at Work’ makes it clear that City employees, in their capacity as President and Vice-President of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers, advised “fraud and violations of workplace rules to a man they thought was a teacher who’d hit a student.”

“Beyond the growing national embarrassment this situation has caused, we worry for both the safety of our children and the integrity of the personnel and time & attendance systems and procedures in place at the Yonkers Public Schools,” Majority Leader John Larkin said. “What kind of people would conspire to conceal child abuse and assist in covering up a teacher going AWOL for two weeks without permission?”

A subsequent Facebook live-streamed interview on June 8th by the same investigative journalists with the same individuals has only confirmed that the “theoretical” situation played out in the original video may be a regular occurrence.

“Fraud is a very serious accusation that this City Council will not abide,” Council member Mike Breen said. “Especially in light of the City’s recent budget crises caused by misassumption of funds at the Board of Education, we owe a fiduciary duty to the people of the City of Yonkers to see corrective action taken. The Inspector General must be directed to look into this right away.”

“These tapes reflects very poorly on our beloved City and its employees and they are difficult to watch,” Council member Dennis Shepherd said. “The two City employees depicted therein display blatant disregard for the integrity of our school system and do not appear to be overly concerned at the prospect of defrauding the City and manipulating the system for personal gain. This unethical and amoral behavior has now been rebroadcast to tens of millions of viewers throughout the nation. What a sad day for Yonkers.”

The YFT officials have allegedly submitted an apology letter to the Board of Education and could face inquiry from the Yonkers Inspector General. The four City Council members today said that nothing short of their resignations would suffice and vowed not to support a new contract until those responsible had stepped down.