If you’re interested in the future of kids in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, you might want to check out tonight’s “Town Hall Meeting on the Public Schools” in the community. A notice for the meeting says that “elected officials and community leaders are asking the Department of Education to work with the community to develop a comprehensive plan for the future of District 14’s public schools.” The meeting is sponsored by Community Board 1, the Community Education Council of District 14, the North Brooklyn Alliance and the Williamsburg/Greenpoint Schools Initiative Group. It will take place at Automotive High School, which is located at 50 Bedford Ave (across from McCarren Park, between North 12th and Lorimer Streets). The meeting starts at 6:30.

Local public schools have been hit hard by displacement brought on by rapid gentrification and will face significant increases in student population as the number of residents increases by the tens of thousands. “It has been 2 years since the City passed its Rezoning Initiative, our community has been hit by a tidal wave of gentrification, but the Department of Education has yet to come here to discuss the future of our schools,” says Kate Yourke, a meeting organizer. “We have schools half-empty from displacement, while most of the new families choose schools outside of District 14. Beginning with this Town Hall Meeting, our community is mobilizing so our schools can serve the needs of all our residents, and form a place where our children can build a lasting community here.”

Discusion will include creating school budgets “based on real population numbers” and the “impact of thousands of new residents in the district.”