Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Student at High School for Health Professions and Human Services
5:22:39
·
163 sec
A sophomore at the High School for Health Professions and Human Services, testifies about the inadequate budget for New York City schools and its impact on student experiences and education quality. She highlights various issues stemming from underfunding and calls for increased investment in school resources and safety.
- Criticizes the current $40 billion budget, with only 6.7% allocated to utilities and facilities
- Describes shortages in basic supplies like ink, printers, calculators, and pencils, affecting student performance
- Highlights poor physical conditions of school facilities, including broken water fountains, laptops, and gym ceilings
- Expresses concerns about student safety and the school's surrounding environment
High School Student
5:22:39
Good afternoon members of city council.
5:22:41
My name is Samantha Jimenez Bravo.
5:22:43
Thank you for allowing me to have this opportunity to testify at today's hearing.
5:22:47
I'm currently a sophomore at health professions and human services.
5:22:51
I believe New York City schools have the potential to set students up for success.
5:22:55
However, the budget is one of the biggest things preventing this.
5:22:59
Recently, I found out the total budget for New York City schools is approximately $40,000,000,000.
5:23:05
Only 6.7% of that money goes to utilities and facilities.
5:23:09
This simply isn't enough.
5:23:11
I'm currently running for future junior president and I've come to a realization that the complaints throughout my grade are the same.
5:23:17
They want the quality of the school to improve.
5:23:19
The schools can only afford trips for two grades, freshmen and seniors.
5:23:24
Sophomores and juniors are left out of the fun.
5:23:27
No rewarding events can make students lose motivation to stop trying in their classes and attending school overall.
5:23:33
The plans I have for my school, making it more safe, exciting, and a welcoming environment cannot be achieved if the New York City school funding remains so low.
5:23:42
The shortage of ink, printers, calculators, and pencils are small details of my school that can really impact a student's performance.
5:23:50
Students have come to me complaining about the shortage of school equipment and the little amount of calculators they have in their classrooms.
5:23:57
They want something to look forward to every day, even if it's something as small as throwing a football to each other.
5:24:03
They want to be able to solve their own equation without waiting for another calculator to be available.
5:24:08
The budget impact on the school's physical condition speaks for itself.
5:24:13
Water fountains that don't even work, laptops that have been broken for months, the gym ceiling has towels that sometimes fall apart, food on the stairs, the food we refuse to eat since it's poor quality in our eyes.
5:24:24
This issue extends to the environment my school is located in.
5:24:28
The vulgar graffiti makes me question, why hasn't the school done anything about this?
5:24:34
Every day I walk to school in fear.
5:24:36
Fear of the homeless who are under the influence of drugs, fear of random men catcalling me, yet nothing is being done about student safety.
5:24:45
By speaking here today, I'm not only speaking for my school, but for the thousands of school across New York City.
5:24:51
The budget has more of an impact on students than one may think.
5:24:55
Although I could go into more detail about it, I fear the time, the amount of time I have to speak today is not enough.
5:25:02
The budget the city provides public schools not only has the potential to open more doors for students with new programs and interests, but it can also change the way students perceive school.
5:25:12
School should be viewed as an opportunity to succeed, not as a place to worry if your classroom has the supplies it needs.
5:25:19
Only the budget New York City provides can change that.
5:25:21
Thank you.