Despite the wind and rain, LINC staff and one of our dedicated Very Involved Parent volunteers joined a throng of people today to register their objections to the proposed November Budget Plan. The revised budget calls for sequential 5% cuts in November, January and May of the current fiscal year. Those gathered to protest understand that the impact of such cuts will extend across an array of human services at a time when multiple forces are generating unprecedented need and demand for those very programs.
The rally was organized by the New York City Council’s Progressive Caucus and timed to take place just before the Council’s Committee on Finance held a hearing on the budget plan. This is the Council Speaker’s statement on the difficult choices we face as a city.
As a nonprofit working with families and children under 6 years of age, we know that our programs are essential to providing some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers with the experiences that will prepare children to be ready to learn when they enter a classroom and their parents with the strategies to support those children. In the wake of the COVID shutdown - and it is important to remember that this year’s Kindergarten class was two when they were isolated for months, many without access to books, peers or resources - we need to increase support for early education, not reduce it.
Our testimony was presented from two perspectives; you can read them by clicking below
LINC will continue advocating to preserve early education programming and the services that benefit our youngest New Yorkers because we believe that investing in their future is the key to building a more equitable city.
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