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    Let your Voice be Heard: Stand up and Advocate for Peekskill City School District 

    In recent years, Peekskill City School District and other small city school districts have been challenged in their educational efforts because of decreasing school aid, rising costs, and increasing state mandates.  These fiscal constraints have directly impacted our district, which continues to grow in size and requires us to accommodate our learners in an equitable and competitive manner.  As noted in the January, 2014 report on Inequality in NY School Funding Report, “The quality of a child’s education should not be a function of where that child resides.”  

    It is the duty and mission of PCSD to provide students with the depth and breadth of educational programs and services so they have the skills and knowledge to be college and career-ready, whether their plans include higher education, the workplace, a trade or craft, family business or the military.

    Since 2007, the Peekskill City School District has lost over $79.9 million in Foundation Aid. Owed aid for the 2020-2021 school year is $10.6 million. This aid needs to be fully restored so our district can fund staff and programs that continue to create educational opportunities for our children.

    PCSD is proud of its schools, students and community, and is committed to moving forward as a place where people want to live while raising and educating their children. The district encourages the community to be a part of that process and help prepare students for the future.  It is our responsibility to provide educational opportunities that are equitable to our suburban counterparts so as our students are afforded parity as it relates to remaining competitive post high-school and within the global economy. 

    Our district deserves the right to an equivalent and sound education for all students. The following highlights solutions to the fiscal challenges placed upon our growing system over the years.

    1. Unfreeze/Reform Foundation Aid
    2. Fund unfunded mandates
    3. Fully fund full-time preschool for eligible children.
    4. Provide additional revenue for our increasing number of English Language Learners

    Advocacy takes many forms. It could be a formal letter to an elected official asking for change, an informal letter with an anecdote, a comment made during a public forum, a letter to a newspaper editor or formal testimony at public hearings.

    Convenient Ways to TAKE ACTION: 

    1. Click here to find Peekskill City School District’s State representatives by zip code. (Or see the list of representitive contact information to the left of this page).
    2. Call any or all of your elected officials and let your voice be heard. 
    3. Visit the Westchester / Putnam School Board Association's Advocacy webpage and participate in their campagins as well.  
    Additional Information and Resources: