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Former county legislator leading crusade to 'keep the pressure on' state legislators to free up more state aid for schools

Posted 3/12/12

CANTON -- The Canton High School Parents Group is urging district residents and anyone else who is interested to email state legislators to “keep the pressure on” for more state aid for schools. …

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Former county legislator leading crusade to 'keep the pressure on' state legislators to free up more state aid for schools

Posted

CANTON -- The Canton High School Parents Group is urging district residents and anyone else who is interested to email state legislators to “keep the pressure on” for more state aid for schools.

Tedra Cobb, a parent of two Canton students and former county legislator, has sent out an email message asking people to send messages particularly to state Senate Education Committee members, who are meeting Tuesday.

“This is the week we MUST KEEP THE PRESSURE ON!”, Cobb said. “We must let them know that we are here and want them to change the formula and re-allocate the 250 million.”

The $250 million she refers to is the amount that had been set aside for allocation on a competitive basis, but a movement to reapply at least some of that to distressed school districts has been gaining attention.

“While the prospect of the $200 Million is a promising development, the most important goal is to FIX THE FORMULA!,” Cobb wrote. “Reallocating the $200 million and claiming victory is like giving a starving child a peanut-butter sandwich and saying ‘Run along now, . . . I gave you food so your problem is solved.’ IT IS NOT ENOUGH!”

Canton is one of several school districts in St. Lawrence County that face cuts to staff potentially in the dozens and the dropping of education and athletic programs.

The Canton High School Parents Group has been leading the effort, organizing a trip to Albany to lobby legislators face-to-face and meeting state legislators and community leaders as they attended a legislative breakfast at SUNY Canton this past weekend.