D 15 CEC resolution Re: Planned Sale of P.S. 109 Building

WHEREAS many New York City schools, including many in District 15, are at or above capacity; and

WHEREAS New York City high schools are particularly overcrowded; and

WHEREAS classes in New York City are larger in every grade than elsewhere in New York State; and

WHEREAS the Department of Education is constantly looking for space for new small schools, so much so that it had to remove City Hall Academy from its home in the Tweed Courthouse in order to provide a home for a charter school; and

WHEREAS the landmarked P.S. 109 building, in Manhattan's District 4, could accommodate 1,200 students if renovated; and

WHEREAS the Department of Education proposes instead to sell this building for $1 to a private organization that would turn it into housing for artists; and

WHEREAS a number of public schools in District 15 and around the city were sold for private housing in decades past, only to be needed again when the school-age population grew; now therefore,

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the District 15 Community Education Council ("CEC") calls upon the Department of Education to retain ownership of the P.S. 109 building and to renovate it for use as a school, whether elementary, middle, or high school;

AND IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that before any New York City school building is sold or given away, the Department of Education should be required to file an "educational impact statement," which must address issues including but not limited to the impact of the proposed divestment on the need to reduce classroom overcrowding and class size systemwide.

Resolved this 2nd day of November, 2006

Mary-Powel Thomas, president