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New York Catholics lobby state lawmakers on public policy day
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ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) -- Conor Genovesi and Ben Valentine, Catholic high school teenagers from New York, wanted to be sure their state legislators heard their concerns about the future of Catholic schools. "Youths need to be more involved in the community," Ben said. "If there are good schools, they'll be more involved." The two teenagers from St. Paul the Apostle parish in Schenectady attended the annual public policy day at the state capitol in Albany March 9. They joined more than 1,000 others who participated in workshops and lobbied state lawmakers at the event sponsored by the New York State Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state's bishops. This year's event was the first time New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan attended. He was installed last April. A group of administrators from St. Mary/St. Alphonsus School in Glens Falls and Christ the King School in Albany asked lawmakers for full reimbursement for the costs Catholic schools incur in complying with state mandates, which they said amounts to about $243 million. "It's an issue of justice," explained Kate Fowler, principal at the Glens Falls school. "It's really driving costs up," agreed Rose Meehan, a junior from Catholic Central High School in Troy. Administrators from Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady were pushing for state funding vouchers to promote school choice.
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