Westchester United Organizes for Broad and Lasting Commitments to Children in New York State
PORT CHESTER, N.Y., July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Westchester United:
When: Thursday, July 26th, 2012
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Where: Holy Rosary School
18 Central Avenue
Port Chester, NY
What: 300 Community leaders from throughout Westchester will launch a campaign demanding guaranteed access to kindergarten for all New York children.
Background: The Port Chester school board this year seriously considered cutting back to half day kindergarten, with the threat of eliminating it the following year. While the board did, in the end, save it this year, the years to come remain in question. Westchester United asks: why is cutting kindergarten even an option?
New York is one of only eight states that does not require districts to offer kindergarten. It's not surprising, therefore, in a world of budget cuts and tax caps, to read that districts throughout New York State are considered cutting back on kindergarten this year. Indeed, because of limits in revenue and constantly growing costs, school boards across the state have had to cut, and those in low income districts have had to cut quite deeply.
We will call on New York to prohibit kindergarten from ever being on the chopping block and for broad and enduring commitments to preserve the basic support systems that make a decent life in our state possible.
Who: Founded in November, 2011, Westchester United is a new and growing network of 19 synagogues, churches, mosques and other community organizations working to build a non-partisan power base of citizens in Westchester County.
For more info see: www.westchester-united.org
SOURCE Westchester United
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