This past Thursday, October 25th, the PJSTA hosted an Educate NY Now! rally at JFK Middle School.  The rally, one of 14 that were held across Long Island on Thursday, featured an estimated 300 people who rallied against the tax cap, unfunded mandates, and excessive standardized testing.  The audience was made up of teachers, administrators, parents, and students from not just Comsewogue, but many surrounding school districts as well.  Locals from Miller Place, Port Jefferson, Rocky Point, Mount Sinai, and Half Hollow Hills joined the PJSTA at the rally.  Port Jefferson alone had 50 members show up, nearly half of their local’s total membership.  The rally’s speakers were:

• Richard Haas, organizer for Educate NY Now!
• Dr. Joseph Rella, Comsewogue School District superintendent
• Dr. Ken Bossert, Port Jefferson School District superintendent
• Joseph Gordon, 6th grader, JFK Middle School
• Maria Navarro, President of CSEA Local 870
• Ali Gordon, Trustee, Comsewogue Board of Education
• Roger Clayman, Executive Director, Long Island Federation of Labor

Thank you to all PJSTA members who showed up.  A lot of people made a big effort, staying several hours later than normal, coming back to work after being home, or coming back to work with their own children.  The effort of those members is deeply appreciated.  If you were unable to make it, surely you are pondering how you can help in the following months.

To read more about the rallies across the Island that day, check out Betsy Sandberg’s blog here.

On December 5th there will be a bus to Albany to stand up for our schools and demand quality education from our elected officials.  The bus will be sponsored by Educate NY Now! To reserve your seat on the bus please contact Beth Dimino.

A special thank you to PJSTA’s first vice president Beth Shapiro for putting together the slide show below…