Campaign for Children holds City Hall rally for pre-K funding parity
The ongoing dispute between community-based providers of pre-K and the Department of Education regarding inequitable funding within the city’s Pre-K for All program wound its way to the steps of City Hall on Thursday morning.
The core issue is that public schools are far more generously funded, per pupil, than their community-based counterparts.
Council Speaker Corey Johnson admitted during the rally, which was organized by Campaign for Children, that a DOE teacher with a Master’s degree who’s been in the system for eight years earns about $85,000 a year, while teachers with the same qualifications teaching at a CBO earn around $49,000 annually.
CBOs for Equity, which was founded by providers in Bay Ridge, participated in the rally. Also on hand were a host of elected officials from across the city including Borough President Eric Adams, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn City Councilmembers Mark Treyger, Mathieu Eugene, Laurie Cumbo and Antonio Reynoso.
“This rally is asking for parity,” said Adams. “You cannot talk about pre-K for all if you don’t have equity for all. Something is diabolically wrong.
