Privatizing Public Education
by Renee McGarry
On March 4 at 4 p.m., the Adjunct Project and a large group of students will march on Governor David Paterson’s Manhattan office. This will be a part of our effort to participate in the National Day of Action to Defend Education. We want you to join us in both the protest outside of the Graduate Center and the action at the governor’s office.
Why are our protests aimed at Governor Paterson? In an effort to end what the governor calls an “era of irresponsibility,” Paterson has called for $400 million in budget cuts to New York City public schools, $95 million in cuts to SUNY schools, and $48 million in cuts to CUNY. This attack on public education is the largest part of his attempt to close a $7.4 billion budget deficit.
These proposals come alongside a less frequently discussed initiative called the Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act. According to Paterson’s office, this would “take the politics out of tuition setting,” ostensibly by allowing each school to set its own tuition. The governor’s office heralds the proposal as a way to create more jobs (2,200 faculty positions on SUNY campuses alone — but it is not mentioned whether these would be tenure-track or contingent hires) and end overregulation of the schools by the state and create more accountability. Both the SUNY and CUNY chancellors are in favor of this proposal.
The formula as presented by proponents of the plan is simple: tuition goes up, and quality of education follows.
But what will the real effects be? Coupled with vast cuts to the school system’s budgets, this plan allows colleges to raise tuition themselves. Without the state’s supposed “overregulation” there will be no caps on tuition — meaning that colleges and universities can institute steep tuition hikes, essentially pricing out lower-income students.
The real formula is equally as simple: tuition goes up, and public education becomes unaffordable.
I grew up in Illinois and am very familiar with each university in the state setting its own tuition. Chancellors praise this model because of the autonomy it affords each campus. But here’s a reality check: base rate undergraduate tuition varies among Illinois state institutions from $7,017 to $14,500 for the 2009 – 2010 academic year. The tuition rate has no apparent connection with the academic standing of the school — with the most prestigious university center charging a middling tuition rate. Additionally, a complicated system of grandfathering students under old tuition rates and prepaying tuition has been instituted. It’s no surprise, then, that one institution is raising its base tuition from $8,448 in 2009 – 2010 to $11,020 in 2010 – 2011.
As tuition becomes less affordable with this plan, the Professional Staff Congress has pointed out that the state’s funding for full-time students has decreased from $14,000 in 1990 to $9,000. Enrollment has gone up, funding has gone down, and the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) is being cut by $93 million. All student aid will be reduced because of this.
This constitutes nothing short of privatizing public education. Though it sounds almost idyllic for state schools not to funnel money through the state government, the governor’s plan is nothing more than a fantasy. There is no legislative oversight and no accountability to the public. Each school functions free of any strings attached. Is that what public education is?
Both chancellors argue that the most common use of this system will be in graduate programs. In other words, we will be the most likely to fall
victim to it.
To break down the funding problems at the Graduate Center is easy: there’s just not enough money, and there’s going to be even less of it starting
in 2011 – 2012.
There will be more money for more incoming students, that’s for certain, but that’s only because the schools will be taking money away from advanced students. Even if you receive an Enhanced Chancellor’s Fellowship (which, remember, only covers in-state tuition) you are only funded through year five — with an incredibly heavy workload. Second-chance funding in the form of Writing Fellowships and Instructional Technology Fellowships will be folded into the ECFs.
Sadly, there are few students who go from a bachelor’s degree to a PhD in five years. The time-to-degree is even longer at the Graduate Center, where students are often required to work far more than students in other institutions. After year five, though, CUNY tells us we’re on our own. There’s no tuition remission for teaching at CUNY after ten semesters. Level III tuition might seem like nothing, but when it’s half your salary for teaching one course at a CUNY college, it’s a lot.
Arbitrary and unregulated tuition hikes will impact you, even if it seems unlikely.
We’re asking you to join us on March 4 at Governor Paterson’s office — to leave or miss class to take a stand — not only because of the direct impact that these cuts will have on you, or even your students, but because of the impact they have on the city and the country as a whole.
The New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced in January its plan to close twenty public schools, one of which is located just blocks from the Graduate Center (Norman Thomas High School, located on 33rd Street and Park Avenue.)
In its decision about closings, the DOE cites high drop-out and low graduate rates at these schools, poor performance on standardized tests, and a failure to hit a number of other, rather arbitrary, academic markers. The DOE does not recognize — as NYCORE, Class Size Matters and other advocacy groups correctly point out — that it is neither the students nor these schools are failing. The system is failing them.
New York City public high school students go on to become CUNY students — and the system continues to fail them. It begins in elementary and high school with overcrowded classes. In more extreme cases (becoming less extreme these days) schools close, which according to Class Size Matters leads to higher drop-out rates, more push-out rates, and higher discharge rates. These are much more common with at-risk students.
Additionally, there is little evidence that the DOE has done anything to try to improve performance in these schools. Rather the schools attempt to do so autonomously and are often punished for setting higher academic and safety standards. The DOE is also largely responsible for a school’s success through admissions rates, a policy they set. Not surprisingly, the more higher-risk students that are admitted, the less “success” a school has. Higher-risk students are less likely to be accommodated at small schools, and therefore the success rate of these schools will skyrocket.
Beyond all this troubling evidence, it is worth pointing out that, in a time of budget cuts, the DOE’s moves are fiscally stupid. Teachers cannot (thankfully) be laid off from their positions due to school closures, and therefore they will be added to what is called the Absent Teacher Reserve. Teachers in this reserve earn a full salary while essentially functioning as substitute teachers. The financial impact is obvious, but what is perhaps more insidious is the disrespect for teaching as a profession. Teachers are not pegs that can be used to fill in holes wherever they are needed; they are trained professionals and should be treated as such.
On March 4 at 4 p.m. the Adjunct Project and a large group of students will walk up to Governor Paterson’s office to demand that students and teachers be treated with respect throughout New York State. We will demand that the cuts to all public schools in the state be restored. We will demand that the governor end his attacks on education. We hope you will join us.
If you would like to help organize or join protests, contact the Adjunct Project Co-Chairs Renee McGarry and Alison Powell at theadjunctproject@gmail.com. Updates can be accessed at:
http://opencuny.org/adjunctproject.
- Film a documentary about inequalities at your school
- Action Tips: Host a Movie Screening of Chops
- Action Tips: Organize an Awareness Campaign
