Group that Won Extra School Aid for Districts Now Running Low on Cash

The advocacy group that won billions of dollars in extra aid for the New York City schools is running out of money for itself.

The Campaign for Fiscal Equity's deputy director, Helaine Doran, insists the group is not shutting down completely. But Doran, who is CFE's sole empoyee, is leaving on June 15. She says CFE's board is hoping to merge with a partner, such as the Education Law Center in New Jersey, or find other ways to continue.

Either way, she says the board wants CFE to return to its initial core mission: litigating for school aid.

"Times change and sometimes kids get forgotten in those processes, and people forget that we won a constitutional right and so you want to be able to reinforce that if need be," she said.

The Campaign for Fiscal Equity won $7 billion in extra school aid for districts across the state in 2007 after ten years of litigation, by proving poor and minority students had been denied a "sound, basic education" under state law. New York City was to receive the biggest share. But the money never fully materialized because of budget cuts.