Yonkers Teachers Rally Against Cuts Outside Gala

YONKERS, N.Y. – While hundreds were celebrating the accomplishments of an educational group high atop the Cross County Shopping Center on Thursday, the Yonkers teachers union was along the street below, rallying against district cuts.

A couple dozen members of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers protested bruising cuts to pupil support services outside the fifth annual Yonkers Partners in Education’s private gala.

Carrying signs that said things like “guidance counselors are not a luxury,” the teachers’ union quietly demonstrated along Central Park Avenue shortly before the 6 p.m. gala was set to begin.

Union leader Patricia Puleo said she was not targeting the YPIE, but wanted to use the occasion to send a message to politicians, business leaders and community members in attendance.  That message, she said, was Yonkers is sorely missing the various school psychologists, social workers and guidance counselors that have been laid off.

“I really want the parents to know their children are missing out on services,” Puleo said. “That’s what this is about.”

Last year, as the result of the district’s budget woes, more than 70 positions were cut, Puleo said, or roughly 75 percent of the district’s support staff. As a result, student-to-staff ratios are growing to almost unmanageable numbers, she said.

“It is not acceptable to have 15 guidance counselors,” Puleo said. “That’s a 1 to 1,700 ratio. That’s ridiculous.”

Jayme Downes, a special education teacher at Riverside High School, said students depended on the staff for a wide range of social, emotional and academic issues.

“Now, who can they really rely on when something happens?” she wondered.

Still, Superintendent of Schools Bernard Pierorazio said he was disappointed the union decided to rally outside an event celebrating a group that contributes a great deal to Yonkers schools.

“My thought is that our teachers would be on board supporting a program such as this, not picketing,” he said during the gala. “I’m not sure what purpose was or the motivation, but it sends the wrong message to individuals that are here to support us.”

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