While some families are occupying Wall Street Friday night (Oct. 21) with a sleepover, other public school parents are looking ahead to  a Nov. 8 election day occupation of Governor Cuomo's office where they will rally in favor of the millionaire's tax and against school cutbacks. Parents from a half dozen public schools in brownstone Brooklyn and Manhattan are planning the event and are inviting others to sign on.

The initiative is not sponsored by schools or PTAs but is being organized by one or more parent at the participating schools

Here's the information we got via email from the organizers:

"Fellow parents and educators:

As the 2011 school year gets under way, have you noticed that class sizes are up, schools are short on supplies, and arts and afterschool programs are being cut?

How do you feel about the fact that, if New York State's "millionaire's" tax is allowed to expire on December 31st  NYC schools will suffer another $1.4 billion in cuts next year? This at a time when the City is already experiencing the most overcrowded classrooms in a decade.

Despite the devastating effects of losing this revenue,  Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo has refused to back the extension of the millionaire's tax.

What are you doing this Election Day?

Join us on Election Day, Tuesday November 8th , in sending a message to the Governor: don't shortchange our kids so millionaires can get another tax break. 

Occupy Wall Street has it right: ordinary people should not be losing out in order for millionaires and billionaires to hold onto ever increasing shares of the nation's wealth. Certainly, our children's education should not be compromised toward this end. In the millionaire's tax, there exists a concrete political route to more equal distribution of wealth towards the public good. This is not even a new tax - it would be keeping an existing tax in place. But it needs our publicly elected officials to stand up for it, to stand up for our children.

If we want to save our schools from further cuts, extension of the millionaire's tax is the most obvious and pressing place for action this fall. And the Occupy Wall Street movement has shown us that ordinary people, showing up for something that matters, just might make our politicians sit up and listen.

So, this Election Day, we're thinking that it's time to vote with our voices, and do a bit of occupying of our own.

We will be protesting/marching in front of Governor Cuomo's office [at 633 3rd Ave., between 40th and 41st Street] on Tuesday, November 8 at 3:30 p.m.

Help us bring the occupation to the door of Governor 1%:

Bring your children!

Bring your students!

Bring your fellow educators!

Bring posters, bring sidewalk chalk, bring permanent markers to create a moveable mural.

Bring your chants, bring your musical instruments, bring your stories of how these cuts have affected your schools.

Pass this along to your friends and colleagues. 

And finally, if you can, let us know that you are coming: http://governor1percent.eventbrite.com/

From,

*Parents of children at:

PS 10

Brooklyn New School

PS 107

PS 230

PS 261

The Neighborhood School

The Ella Baker School

PS 39

Brooklyn School for Inquiry

PS 321

Urban Assembly of Arts and Letters

______ (add your school here)

* This event is being planned by one or more parents of children at these schools, not by the schools or their PTAs."