The Buffalo Public Schools District Parent Coordinating Council joined the growing coalition of parents and teachers across New York that are signing a resolution joining the Student Lobbyist Association. The Student Lobbyist Association is an advocacy platform for mobilizing students and parents across the state in support Governor Cuomo’s education reform agenda of implementing teacher evaluation systems in our schools and putting students first. As Parents, when we sign up for the Student Lobbyist Association we should make specific commitments to lobby for Governor Cuomo’s Education reforms by mobilizing other parents across the state through online and grassroots activities.
On February 7th, the District Parent Coordinating Council of Buffalo (DPCC), which represents parents from the Buffalo Public Schools, held a meeting with over 100 parents and passed a resolution to join the Student Lobbyist Association and take action on the Governor’s education agenda. In the Buffalo Public Schools, less than 50% of students graduate, and only 25% of Black and Hispanic males graduate and the parents of these students are demanding change through Governor Cuomo’s education reform agenda.
The following is a copy of the resolution which UNANIMOUSLY passed is now being signed by parents in Buffalo and other school districts around the state:
STUDENT LOBBYIST ASSOCIATION RESOLUTION
We are parents, teachers, business leaders and community members that believe that a high quality education system is the foundation for a better Buffalo.
We endorse Governor Andrew Cuomo’s education reform agenda because it will improve our schools by putting students first.
Governor Andrew Cuomo is our student’s lobbyist, and we are standing behind him by joining the Student Lobbyist Association of Buffalo. Members of the Buffalo Student Lobbyist Association are committed to improving our schools by demanding new teacher evaluation systems in our schools which hold teachers and principals accountable, and to realign our spending to improve student performance.
As members of the Student Lobbyist Association, we commit to take the following actions to support the Governor’s efforts to reform our education system:
· Call on our state and local elected officials to support Governor Cuomo’s education reform agenda to put students first. We will phone bank, write letters and emails, and meet with our elected officials to gain their support.
· Talk to our friends and neighbors about the importance of Governor Cuomo’s message and agenda to improve our schools, to grow support for the NY Students First campaign.
· Talk to our teachers and principals about the need for a real teacher evaluation system.
· Sign up at NYStudentsFirst.com and pass along to friends and family to sign up as well.
· Record a video on www.youtube.com discussing why we support Governor Cuomo’s agenda to improve our schools, include the link www.NYStudentsFirst.com in the description, and tweet a link to the video @nygovcuomo
· Tweet our support using @NYGovCuomo, #NYStudentsFirst, as well as tweet for others to join the fight at www.NYStudentsFirst.com
· Show our support on the Governor’s Facebook page and voice our support for his education policy on our wall or in a message to friends. Here are two posts that can be shared on your wall: General Reform and Video from “My Governor, My Lobbyist”
· Send an email to our contact lists and friends stressing the critical importance of Governor Cuomo’s proposed reforms to improve our schools. Ask them to join the fight to put NY Students.]]>
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This closed-door meeting is just hours before the Oct. 1 deadline. A White House official described this as a make-or-break moment. It's also the first time Trump will meet with the Democratic leaders since he took office eight months ago.
Thune argues that "Republicans are open to discussion and negotiation on a number of issues."
"But there’s a difference between careful discussion and negotiation during the appropriations process and taking government funding hostage to jam more than $1 trillion in big-government spending in a funding bill designed to last mere weeks," Thune writes. "Major decisions should not be made in haste. And they certainly shouldn’t be made because one party is threatening to shut down the government if it doesn’t get its way."
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Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire this year. And without an extension, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 4 million people will lose healthcare over the next 10 years.
Thune claims that "Democrats have decided to abandon the process."
