We, the undersigned, support Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones in their campaign to be the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. We agree with Hawkins and Jones that New York needs to support, fund, and strengthen our public school system. The current Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has supported privatization in the form of charter schools and teacher evaluation based on standardized testing. Cuomo's policies are exacerbating the inequalities in our school system -- in fact, New York now has the most segregated schools in the nation. Rob Astorino, the Republican Party candidate for Governor, will further segregate our schools by resisting fair housing settlements, supporting even more cuts to the education budget, and trying to outdo Cuomo in his promotion of charter schools.



We support Hawkins and Jones because they are calling for New York to opt out of Race to the Top and the Common Core State Standards. They want to end the emphasis on testing in the curriculum, and on zero-tolerance discipline policies that are driving the school-to-prison pipeline. We support Hawkins and Jones because they want to eliminate the state-mandated local tax cap, provide equitable funding for all of our schools, reduce class sizes across the state, support programs that promote desegregation in our schools, and allow schools to develop methods of assessment that are organic to the learning process. Howie Hawkins and Brian Jones are both union members and union activists. They believe, and we agree, that unions are important to preserving the democratic voice of educators, parents and students in our schools.