Despite threats to its federal funding, Say Yes to Education will survive in Syracuse, say local officials.
“Budget cuts will not change anything. We will adjust our fundraising strategies and continue moving forward,” said Susan Dutch, director of marketing and communications.
Say Yes is a non-profit organization working to raise graduation rates in high school and college for urban area students. Say Yes is a national organization, but Syracuse is one of its strongest divisions. The Syracuse program started in 2008 year with Corcoran High School. It includes after-school programs, family support groups, summer camps and workshops, health and wellness education, and legal clinics. This year, 4,100 students are participating in the program. The Syracuse chapter is the first Say Yes location to work with an entire city school district.
Syracuse University has been part of Say Yes and has been expecting a $400,000 federal grant for it. That grant is at risk, say some supporters of Say Yes. But SU has begun lobbying to save it as Congress continues its budget deliberations.
In the face of the federal deficit, Congress and the Obama Administration are looking to cut federal spending. The Republican-controlled House voted on Feb. 20 to cut $60 billion from the federal budget. The Democratic-controlled Senate was still debating its own version of budget cuts as of Feb. 26. The two chambers would have to reconcile their differences on the budget and President Barack Obama would also need to agree to the budget eventually approved by Congress.
All of that legislative action, say supporters of Say Yes, gives them time and opportunities to save funding for the program.
“The federal budget is just a proposal right now. There is no point in worrying about it until it’s a done deal,” says Richard Strong, president of Syracuse City School District’s school board.
Say Yes also has other sources of funding, Strong and other education officials say. Those include $15 million from the national foundation, $15 million from fundraising and recently $5 million from a private donor, SRC Inc. SRC Inc. is a non-profit, research and development group founded at Syracuse University in 1957. The corporation works to develop programs facing national defense, environment and intelligence issues.
The university is in contact with local members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, and Sen. Sen. Kristin Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Buerkle, who was elected to the House in the November mid-term elections, voted for the budget cuts that Say Yes supporters say could affect the program. Gillibrand has said she will work to preserve the federal funding for Say Yes in Syracuse.
Kevin Quinn, spokesman for the university, expressed optimism about saving the grant. “We have never had federal money rescinded. We have made clear to Gillibrand and Buerkle how important these funds are to the city, university and community,” said Quinn, SU’s senior vice president for public affairs.
(Chelsea Damberg is a junior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and policy studies.)
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