YONKERS – Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said Monday that he will be traveling to Albany times between now and state budget time at the end of March to advocate for additional aid for the city.
This week, the mayor will meet with state representatives to lobby for more money to be earmarked for Yonkers Public Schools.
“We’ve come to the limit of what our city and our residents can afford,” Spano said. “Now, we are faced with a situation where the money is running out. I don’t want our taxpayers to shoulder the entire burden for this. We are respectfully requesting New York State help fill the void left behind by the elimination of aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Local government cannot fill these inadequacies, and as a result, we will have many difficult decisions to make.”
The mayor said Yonkers’ growing population over the last 10 years has meant the need for more equitable and inclusive funding to support new families. He says jobs were put in place to navigate student learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result, there has been a staggering increase in services including mental health and transportation.
Spano also said there has been a 14 percent increase in special education enrollment over the last two years. However, much of that federal funding to support these services has dried up and the State could help supplement it.
Mayor Spano is encouraging parents, teachers, PTA members, and Labor Unions to focus their attention on rallying for the necessary funding.
