Page 5 - Work Force May 2025

During presidential and gubernatorial elections,
New Yorkers vote at a rate of 70% and 52%,
respectively.
CSEA members, however, consistently turn out
at even higher rates, often 15 percentage points
more than the general public. That kind of turnout
demonstrates our union’s power to shape the
GET
OUT
THE
VOTE cseany.org/vote
May 2025 5 5
The Work Force
Turnout is important in school elections Turnout is important in school elections
CLARENCE — What was supposed to be a routine
week of New York state standardized testing
recently turned into confusion and frustration for
many students and school district staff across the
state.
At Clarence Central School District, system-wide
failure derailed assessments for students in third
through fifth grade.
The delays were caused by technical issues
from third-party vendor Questar Assessment,
Inc. This left students and staff, including CSEA
represented employees, scrambling to adapt
and the entire school’s routine disrupted. Our
union represents thousands of dedicated school
employees across New York state.
CSEA Clarence Central Schools Unit Recording
Secretary and teaching assistant Christine
Rich-Reese was assigned to monitor the hallways
during testing.
“I was at my post making sure students
were following the rules when we heard the
announcement from the principal,” said
Rich-Reese. “They told us there were issues
logging into the system and the tests would be
paused until we received further instructions.”
The problem was inconsistent across
classrooms.
“Some kids were able to log in and start; others
weren’t,” said Rich-Reese. “Then the ones who
started, couldn’t get it to work after being paused.
It was chaos.”
As the tests were postponed until early May,
students and staff were asked to carry the stress
of the high stakes testing through their spring
break, something Rich-Reese said is unfair.
“Post-COVID, we emphasize emotional
well-being,” said Rich-Reese. “But this was
stressful. One student was upset because they had
started the test, saw the question and now felt like
they had to keep a secret.”
She also noted the disruption also impacted
younger students.
“The whole building’s schedule was off,” said
Rich-Reese. “Kindergarten through second grade
was affected even though they weren’t testing.”
Despite the chaos, Rich-Reese praised the
district’s communication. “Our principal and
building administrators were fantastic,” said
Rich-Reese.
But they were waiting on direction from the
district, and district officials were waiting on the
state. The major issue, she said, was the lack of a
backup plan.
“Where was the option for pen and paper?” said
Rich-Reese. “As teachers, we’re told to always
have a backup plan when a lesson doesn’t work,
Statewide testing delays leave
students, staff frustrated
CSEA Clarence Central School District Unit
Recording Secretary Christine Rich-Reese was
among the many school employees across the
state who had to act quickly due to testing
delays.
that school district showed up to vote, we could
make up nearly half of the total electorate.
Strong voter turnout can determine the
outcome of electing labor-friendly school board
members and passing budgets that protect
and support our union members. Having board
members who stand with working people help
CSEA members have a voice to ensure safe
working conditions and strong contracts.
Get involved
While CSEA doesn’t endorse in every local race,
our union does support candidates and budgets
that stand with CSEA working families.
Contact your region’s political action
coordinator or visit cseany.org/vote for a list of
CSEA-endorsed candidates and budgets in your
area.
Don’t forget to vote! When we vote, we win!
outcomes of elections that directly impact our
wages, benefits and working conditions.
Nowhere is that power more critical than in
school board and budget elections, held every
third Tuesday in May.
These elections determine who governs
our public schools and whether budgets that
fund critical services, including the jobs and
workplaces of CSEA members, are approved.
Yet, despite their importance, these elections
often see very low turnout.
The power of our vote
For example, let's examine a medium sized
school district in Erie County.
Out of about 24,000 potential voters, only 2,553
people voted in the most recent school election, a
turnout of just under 11%.
In that same district, there are 1,227 CSEA
members and retirees. If every member residing in
but the state didn’t have one for thousands of
tests?”
As someone who works in direct behavioral
support, Rich-Reese said she noticed increased
student anxiety and feels the responsibility of
deescalating it as much as possible.
“Other teachers and I tried to use this as a
life lesson moment,” said Rich-Reese. “You can’t
always control what happens to you, but you can
control how you respond.”
— Sara McNicholas