NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: June 3, 2015
MEDIA CONTACT: Dan O’Connor, 518-703-2355, danielforonnoc04@gmail.com
TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND PARENTS RALLY TO URGE ASSEMBLY MEMBER CATHERINE NOLAN TO SUPPORT EDUCATION TAX CREDIT
Queens, NY – Dozens of students, parents and faculty from St. Sebastian School joined parishioners from St. Sebastian Church, both located in Assembly District 37, to hold a peaceful and respectful rally Tuesday outside Assembly Member Catherine Nolan’s Sunnyside office to call on her to support the Education Investment Tax Credit bill, currently up for passage in the Assembly.
The bill, which would benefit children by expanding private K-12 scholarship opportunities and increasing resources for public school programming, has the wholehearted endorsement of Governor Cuomo. The State Senate version has already been passed, but the legislation remains stalled in the State Assembly. Despite widespread support for the Education Tax Credit, Assembly Member Nolan has actively opposed the legislation. Even more concerning is that Assembly Member Nolan’s opposition to a bill that stands to improve the educational options of so many children in her district and throughout the state, comes not just as the Assembly representative of the 37th district, but as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Education. That is why on Tuesday, more than 40 people representing the parochial school communities of Woodside and Sunnyside took to the sidewalks in front of her office to urge her to support their schools and their families.
JoAnn Dolan, the veteran principal of St. Sebastian School, located on 58th St. in Woodside, Queens, said: “A great many of our families are working families and our children need scholarships to attend. We serve the children of Queens, who are elite in their desire to learn but not in their economic status. This bill will help them and thousands of children just like them who want a better future but cannot afford it.”
According to a Siena Poll released last week, the Education Tax Credit is a rare issue that has very strong support among African-American/Black voters (55-32), Latinos (53-37), Jews (53-42) and Catholics (52-43).