Spectrum NY – Concerned parents rallied on the steps of City Hall Monday to save what they believe are critical early childhood education programs.

“My son attends a publicly funded pre-K and he also attended the same 3-K,” Veronica Ades, a mother of a five-year-old, said. “I loved his program, he did amazingly well. The teachers are so wonderful. It was made possible because of the public funding.”

Advocates for Children of New York and the Emergency Coalition to Save Education Programs said they are alarmed about hundreds of millions of dollars in temporary federal stimulus money the city used to fund permanent programs – and how that funding is set to expire. The popular programs include special education, pre-K expansion, social workers in schools, and coordinators who work with children in shelters.