CSA Carried Message to Washington
by Perre Lehmuller
A team of NYC Principals and CSA Director of Political Affairs Herman Merritt joined elementary and middle-level educators and leaders from across the country in the nation’s capital during the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ National Leaders Conference, July 13-15, to advocate for policies that will give them the tools they need to function as effective school leaders.
NYCESPA President Mitra Lutchman, President-elect Susan Barnes and Treasurer Laverne Nimmons were joined by upstate principals to press congressional leaders to act on behalf of our state’s children. Principals, who are the primary catalysts for shaping longterm school improvement, are the perfect advocates for these type of policies.
The team visited the offices of eight lawmakers representing districts across the city as well as on Long Island and upstate New York. Consultations with staff at Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand concluded the day.
The meetings were dispiriting in spite of the team’s efforts to focus on needed changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as reauthorization moves forward. In the meeting at Sen. Schumer’s office, Meghan Taira, senior legislative aide, joked that we could just pull out last year’s agenda because Congress has been paralyzed by bitter partisan differences that were exacerbated by the 2010 elections. The Republican-controlled House Committee on Education and the Workforce has written draft language that would have a negative impact on urban high-needs schools. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is writing revisions to ESEA that are far more favorable to New York State. Throughout discussions, loomed the possibility of default should Congress fail to reach agreement on raising the national debt. Meetings with Congressman Edolphus Towns (D/10th Dist) and Congresswoman Yvette Clark (D/11th Dist) were just as pessimistic. Rep. Clarke’s senior policy aide, Bridgett DeHart, provided the team with a clear, albeit totally hopeless, journey through the legislative morass that has caught not only revisions to ESEA but many other needed pieces of legislation. The best we can hope for, she said, was a “Continuing Resolution that would carry funding forward into FY 2012”, but even that was by no means a sure thing given the current “cut, cap and balance” movement in the House.
Pierre Lehmuller is the Executive Director of NYCESPA and the Conference Chair for CSA.
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