Hi John,

We’re gearing up for an unprecedented battle.

With days left before the budget deadline, we’re preparing to fight for not one but three of our priority issues. 

This is not normal. In fact, this will be the first time in our history that we’ve had to engage on so many issues so late in the budget season. But Governor Hochul’s insistence on expanding charters, diluting our imminent Foundation Aid victory, and wildly underfunding child care have forced our hands. You can help us fight back. 

Creating a truly equitable school system requires investment in public schools, not private hedge-fund dominated charters. Hochul’s proposed expansion not only diverts crucial energy, funding, and attention to the private sector, it would also siphon funding from Foundation Aid, the essential school aid increase we have worked so hard for over the last decade. 

We also know that true education justice requires winning quality child care access for all parents and guardians, regardless of their immigration status. Hochul, despite calling herself a child care champion, has proposed a budget that comes nowhere close to providing the funding our parents and providers deserve.

That’s why, on March 30, we’re going to Albany to fight with everything we’ve got. We’re going to fight the charter expansion, fight for full funding of year three of Foundation Aid, and fight for child care that our parents and providers deserve. We’re going to make sure Governor Hochul hears our parents' voices loud and clear. 

So please: come with us to Albany. And if you can’t (even if you can) make it, please consider donating to our cause. 

Your contribution will help us ensure we transport and feed all parents, students and community members attending:

• $25 will provide a lunch
• $50 will pay for one seat on the bus
• $100 will cover the total cost for one person to come to Albany for the day

This is an unprecedented moment, and unprecedented moments call for unprecedented action. Now, more than ever, we need folks to donate and turn out. Your support can help us make sure our parents' voices are heard and make sure our demands are met. You can help us achieve true education justice.

In solidarity,