This week, Leonie’s guest was NeQuan McLean, the President of Community Education Council District 16 in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and the Co-Chair of the Education Council Consortium, the association of all the parent-led district and citywide councils in the City. He explained that though it’s a real step forward that the City has agreed to fully fund the Fair Student Funding formula (FSF) in all schools next year, there are real problems with the formula, and the Mayor’s office suppressed the report and recommendations made by the Fair Student Formula Task Force because they didn’t agree with their conclusions. NeQuan also discussed how schools should do more to stem the recent increase in gun violence; how there needs to be enhanced transparency and parent input on how to spend the additional infusion of federal and state education funds next year; how schools and districts are not complying with state and DOE guidance on District and School Leadership Teams meetings; and how the City’s refusal to test students and staff at co-located charter schools for COVID, despite a court decision requiring this, puts all students in these buildings at risk.
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