Last year, the State Legislature rose to the challenge and began to reverse decades of under-funding of the City University of New York. Encourage them to continue the effort this year, and augment Governor Spitzer's request.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Last year the NY State Legislature rose to the challenge and began to reverse decades of under-funding of the City University of New York. This year the Legislature has the opportunity to make a real difference by beginning a multi-year investment in CUNY. I am a member of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the union representing 20,000 instructional staff at CUNY. The PSC is asking the Legislature to add $76 million to the Executive Budget by fully funding CUNY's budget request ($24.3 million) and providing an additional $51.9 million for needed full-time faculty and professional lines, recruitment of minority faculty, basic health insurance for CUNY's graduate students, additional FTE support for the community colleges, and a student mentoring initiative. This relatively small investment will permit a transformation in CUNY's ability to serve its students. Governor Spitzer's 2007-08 Executive Budget is a welcome relief from years of short-sighted Executive Budget proposals. The Governor's funding of CUNY's mandatory cost increases, some additional FTE funding for the community colleges, and funding for modest programmatic initiatives is welcome. But his budget proposals would leave CUNY treading water and fall short of the investment made by the Legislature last year. As a legislator said at the Assembly Higher Education Committee hearings in January, "If you provide one meal to someone who has been starving for 20 years, it does not fix the problem." In recent years, the Legislature has endeavored to undo the damage done to CUNY from decades of budget cuts, and we are grateful for those efforts. Now, you have a new opportunity to revitalize the economic engine that CUNY represents for all of New York State by making a significant investment in CUNY. I call on you to make this year of education funding one that recognizes that education in the 21st Century means Kindergarten to Post Graduate education. Sincerely,

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
March 09, 2007