1982
Dr. Macchiarola testified numerous times before Congress. On this occasion he delivered a statement regarding the Impacts of the President's Fiscal Year 1983 Budget Proposals on New York City before the House of Representatives.
His statement opens with a grim warning: "I have come to indicate to you that all of the proposed cuts in funding envisaged in Mr. Reagan's 1983 Federal budget will have a devastating impact on both the effec tiveness and the equity of public education in New York City."
Dr. Macchiarola goes on to point out that federal budget cuts will results in New York City receiving $51 million less towards education funding which would translate into 1,600 fewer teachers and paraprofessionals in compensatory education programs.
He explains that "continued reduction in this program can only lead to a return to frustration for those youngsters who begin school the least ready. It is a break with the commitment the Federal Government has made to us and to these children."
He also testifies that the reduction of federal assistance towards special education from $14 million to $10.5 million will represent the loss of 200 special education teachers.
Dr. Macchiarola goes on to lament the loss of the "sense of partnership, of shared responsibility and problem solving" between the levels of Federal, State and local government. He details the recent successes of school programs that focus on improving the reading level of children then deplores the prospect of trying to continue to fund and develop those programs with depleted federal support.
He states, "Mr. Reagan was among those who would criticize the ineffectiveness of the Nation's public schools. Now that there is a greater degree of effectiveness here in New York, we suddenly find the ground moving below our feet. Success, it seems, is not to be rewarded. To me, the tone in Washington is one of mean spiritedness these days; social Darwinism with a smiling face. Somehow, a hardness has entered our national political discussions. People are acting as if there were a tradeoff between equity and access on the one side, and efficiency and cost effectiveness on the other. That is false and profoundly so. Every dollar we save through managerial reforms becomes one additional dollar that can be used to give our Nation's young people better preparation for life. In New York at least, the public school system is committed to equity and access. We recognize that they can go hand in hand with fiscal responsibility."