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At least 4 killed in Oklahoma tornado outbreak; 10 shot outside Florida bar; AZ receives millions of dollars for solar investments; Maine prepares young people for climate change-related jobs, activism; Feds: Grocery chain profits soared during and after a pandemic.

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Ukraine receives much-needed U.S. aid, though it's just getting started. Protesting college students are up in arms about pro-Israel stances. And, end-of-life care advocates stand up for minors' gender-affirming care in Montana.

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More rural working-age people are dying young compared to their urban counterparts, the internet was a lifesaver for rural students during the pandemic but the connection has been broken for many, and conservationists believe a new rule governing public lands will protect them for future generations.

Study: Poor NY Schools Hit Hardest by Budget Cuts

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011   

ALBANY, N.Y. - The state's neediest school districts were hit hardest in the 2011 budget that cut $1.3 billion from classrooms, according to research released today.

The study, using data from the state Department of Education, found that the cutbacks in poor districts were up to three times as large as those in wealthy districts. The ax fell on such things as music and sports programs, teachers and support staff.

Lekia Hill of Yonkers, whose 11-year-old son lost a teacher, a bus monitor and a band music instructor, had a strong reaction.

"It's disgusting and it's a disgrace, if you don't mind me saying. It really is. It's very unfortunate."

The Alliance for Quality Education, which conducted the study, continues to call for a renewal of the tax on the state's wealthiest earners. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who rejects the so-called "millionaires' tax," says the education cuts were unavoidable given the state's economic situation.

Hill says she resents the inequality of cuts between the poorest and wealthiest school districts and says she was moved to become an activist because of the impact in her district.

"My son would come home crying on two different occasions when we had the cuts, because he lost his bus monitor and his fifth-grade teacher was leaving."

While cuts in the state's high-wealth districts averaged $269 per pupil, says Billy Easton, the alliance's executive director, cuts in poor districts averaged $843 per pupil - more than three times as much.

"What this means is that school kids in the poorest districts in the state are losing more in their classrooms in terms of teachers and programs when they actually need more than anybody else, and they're losing the most."

In 2009, Easton says, Cuomo committed to redistributing state school aid from wealthy, influential suburbs to high-need urban and rural schools. However, says Easton, Cuomo has achieved the reverse.

"He is on record as saying that he was going to be 'the great equalizer,' but unfortunately our study found that the school cuts take us back to more inequality, not more equality of opportunity."

The study examined the cuts in all 684 districts. New York City schools were considered separately, as the high numbers of students had the potential to distort the data.


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