Education Bus Tour Stops in Binghamton

12/5/2012 (Updated 11:06:26 PM)

Over 700 people hit the road to Albany Wednesday, part of a bus tour to save education funding during the upcoming state budget negotiations.

Members of "Educate NY Now" rallied in front of the Christopher Columbus School in Binghamton Wednesday morning before boarding the bus. The group is calling on the Governor and Legislature to, among other things, reform the local property tax cap to allow more money for education.

"There's not as many teachers where we need them to be. There's not as much funding for the afterschool programs. A lot of the Binghamton school districts have lost a lot of funding for afterschool programs. And some kids will be left to be latch key kids," said Binghamton parent Lawanna Augustine.

According to the New York State Union of Teachers, state cuts in education funding have led to the loss of more that 35,000 education jobs since 2008.