Mulgrew calls for more state school aid in budget testimony

In state budget testimony in Albany this Thursday, UFT President Michael Mulgrew said the governor's proposed change to how foundation aid is calculated will end up shortchanging city students. The smaller increase Gov. Hochul proposed for New York City schools, coupled with the expiration of COVID-19 federal aid, "will result in massive gaps for community schools, 3-K, preschool special education and mental health services unless the state provides additional support," he said. Mulgrew also called for changes to the mayoral control law to help restore necessary checks and balances to the system. Referring to the recent State Education Department public hearings on mayoral control, he told the state lawmakers, "The overwhelming sentiment of stakeholders at these hearings is the need to reform what has become one-man rule of the city's public schools." UFT members will speak to lawmakers about these and other union legislative priorities when they travel to Albany for Lobby Day on March 11.

Read the testimony

Fix Tier 6 webinars scheduled

If you have not yet given the Fix Tier 6 presentation at your chapter meeting and would prefer to have a pension expert deliver it to your members, we will present a Fix Tier 6 webinar on Feb. 13, 14, 26, and 27 at 4:30 p.m. for you and your members. At each webinar, a UFT Pension Department representative will make the Fix Tier 6 PowerPoint presentation delivered at the January Delegate Assembly and answer questions about the campaign. Please note: This webinar is to educate members and encourage them to get involved in the campaign to lobby state lawmakers to improve Tier 6 pension benefits. Members who want to learn about their pension benefits should sign up for one of the Pension Department's regular pension clinics.

To invite your members to sign up for this presentation, you can use this pre-populated email invitation.

Invite paraprofessionals to attend this year's awards luncheon

Encourage paraprofessionals from your school to attend the Paraprofessionals Annual Festival and Awards Luncheon and come with them! This year's event takes place at the New York Hilton Midtown on Saturday, March 23, from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The conference’s theme is "Superheroes of Education: Celebrating our Paraprofessional Powers." The keynote speaker, Dr. Gloria Boseman, a registered nurse and board member of the New Jersey Center for Collaborative Nursing, will deliver a powerful message on caring for underserved communities. In addition to the awards ceremony, the event offers breakfast, CTLE workshops on a range of relevant topics, a carnival with games and prizes, a bag full of wellness freebies, a chance to win raffle prizes and a luncheon. Plus, we'll feature a special performance by paraprofessional James Burris, aka Petawane, a three-time Showtime-at-the-Apollo winner. The registration fee is $25 per person. Paraprofessionals who want CTLE hours will pay an additional fee of $7.50 for each workshop attended. School Leadership Team members may use funds allocated to the team to pay for registration fees by using a school-generated event purchase order. For detailed instructions on how to pay by purchase order, see this UFT purchase order memo. Please place the event flier on your UFT bulletin board.

Register