For immediate release: July 24, 2018

Notice of News Conference
Date: Wednesday, July 25 2018
Location:  LCA press room, Legislative Office Bldg., Albany (State and Swan Sts)
Time: 11:30 AM
Who: Howie Hawkins for Governor, Jia Lee for Lt. Governor

Green Party to Call for Increased School Funding, Desegregation

Oppose High-Stakes Testing, Privatization, Charter Schools

Howie Hawkins and Jia Lee, the Green Party’s gubernatorial ticket, will hold a news conference in the LCA press room of the Legislative Office Building to discuss their education policies. The Greens will also respond to the recent Janus court decision on union dues.

Lee, a NYC public school teacher and recent candidate for UFT president, will call to end the racial, class, and academic segregation in public schools. The Green Party candidates advocate the scrapping of standardized tests to evaluate, rank, and allocate or deny resources to students, teachers, and schools.

The Greens will call for increased state funding for education to comply with the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision.

Lee will discuss her upcoming trip to Puerto Rico to meet with and support local teachers dealing with the working and school conditions there in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. 

The Green Party has long opposed charter schools as undercutting public education. Charter schools have often been used as cash cows by hedge funds and other investors taking advantage of favorable tax provisions.