In the nation's largest school system, more than 7000 school children are learning in portable, temporary spaces. Ms. Farina acknowledges the tough budget situation in NY, and all the challenges that accompany her new job.
A snip from the article:
Shortly after he took office, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg vowed that New York City would get rid of all “transportable classroom units” by 2012. But today, 7,158 students, most of them in the beginning grades, are still learning in them, a testament to the struggle to keep up with rapid neighborhood growth, as well as to the magical powers of Liquid Nails and duct tape.
Undaunted by the city’s failures, the new schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, has vowed to rid the schools of trailers within five years, though, at the same time, she is also trying to find space for thousands more students expected to enter the system as Mayor Bill de Blasio expands prekindergarten. And the state budget deal reached last week is quite likely to make the task even harder, since it compels the city to find room in public school buildings for new charter schools, or help pay for their space costs.
You can read more here.
The [then] mayor is behind the effort to get kids out of trailers? And the school system is BUYING more land?
Amazing.
Even if the space shortage isn't totally solved, at least in NYC they are really trying.
Hey Ike and Josh - can you make the same commitment to the students of Montgomery County Maryland?
Bloomberg said the same thing something like 10 years ago--it's just part of the litany of promises that each new NYC administration makes. I think I prefer MCPS saying nothing to NYC's approach of just making a new unfulfillable promise once a decade.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you are talking about some other MCPS? But, here in Montgomery County we've had a "plan" to eliminate portables for years. Like the achievement gap he closed, Jerry Weast got rid of portables.
Deletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011101832.html