PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Nicholas Tishuk, Executive Director of Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter Schools, on School Security Funding
3:58:39
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112 sec
Nicholas Tishuk, Executive Director of Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter Schools, testifies in support of expanding school security funding to all types of schools, regardless of their governance model. He argues that access to this funding should be based on the needs of students, not the type of school they attend.
- Emphasizes that charter schools, like his, serving low-income and homeless students, deserve equal access to security funding.
- Calls for amending the bill to include charter schools and smaller schools in the funding program.
- Stresses that the governance model (charter, district, private, or religious) should not determine access to security funding.
Nicholas Tishuk
3:58:39
Hey, everybody.
3:58:40
Good afternoon.
3:58:40
My name is Nicholas Tashuk.
3:58:42
I'm the executive director at bedside in the beginning of this charter school in Brooklyn.
3:58:45
We serve over 700 students and families in our community and as a neighborhood resident.
3:58:50
It's a great school.
3:58:51
Come visit anytime.
3:58:52
No matter who you represent.
3:58:54
I did submit testimony, so I just wanna kinda summarize my thoughts and a simple message and to echo my colleagues here and also echo the colleagues who spoke earlier from the other types of schools the governance model that the parents choose to send their children to should not determine whether they access this funding, whether it's a public school and district space or a charter school collocated in district space, whether it's a private school, whether they're religious, whether they have a specific vision or model, whether they're charter school of private space.
3:59:25
That's just mine.
3:59:26
My colleagues here, it really shouldn't matter.
3:59:30
We have our students' best interest in mine as educators.
3:59:34
And that should really be what demonstrate the needs.
3:59:37
And I also think the smaller schools should also access that funding too, by the way.
3:59:40
I think that the idea that anyone in the city has a disproportionate access or lessen access due to any of these factors is really unfair.
3:59:50
I think it's great that their schools, the New York City, that you pay $40,000 a year, and they're amazing.
3:59:55
They're phenomenal.
3:59:56
Get access to this funding.
3:59:58
But we should too.
3:59:59
It shouldn't be about governance.
4:00:01
It shouldn't be it's charter versus district, versus private, versus religious.
4:00:05
It should really come down to the needs of our kids in our school.
4:00:09
96% of our kids are eligible for free reduced lunch.
4:00:12
And 20% are McKinney Vento eligible, meaning they're homeless, and transitional housing, and the shelter system are doubled up.
4:00:20
They deserve the same opportunities that everyone else is getting through this program.
4:00:24
I think it's a great program.
4:00:25
Please expand it.
4:00:26
Please amend this bill so we can access these funding.
4:00:29
If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.
