Almost 76 percent of students in Yonkers are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches and almost 11 percent of students are English-language learners.

Yonkers is launching an advocacy campaign aimed at persuading state officials to pass a $2 billion construction plan for the city’s 39 public schools.

The average age of the Yonkers school buildings is 75 and Yonkers schools are currently 4,100 students over capacity.

Yonkers’ mayors and school superintendents have long complained about the unequal funding that Yonkers receives compared with other big-five New York districts.

Although Westchester County is wealthier than most counties in New York, Yonkers officials have argued that most of their students are low-income or poor.

Almost 76 percent of students in Yonkers are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches and almost 11 percent of students are English-language learners.

Yonkers officials say that the state has withheld more than $110 million from the city’s public schools since the 2010 implementation of the New York State Gap Elimination Adjustment, which was adopted to help the state balance its budget.

On Tuesday night the City Council was expected to adopt two education-related resolutions. One addresses calls for a restoration of funding cut in the Gap Elimination Adjustment and the other supports a tax credit for people or businesses that donate to public schools or private scholarships.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2016/01/27/yonkers-advocacy-campaign/79349996/