WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. January 21, 2006: Governor Pataki has seriously threatened the quality of New York schools. His legacy of proposing harmful school aid cuts and devastating tuition hikes is not only irresponsible, it is destructive – and children and property taxpayers end up paying the price.
The Legislature has historically fought to restore the governor’s cuts. Last year, the Legislature rejected the governor’s meager increases to education aid, and enacted an increase of $354 million over what he was proposing. In fact, schools in the 89th Assembly District received $787,000 more than the governor proposed. These restorations of state funding once again preserved vital education programs and prevented local property tax increases.
This year, the governor claims to propose an additional $634 million in education funding – but the truth is he doesn’t increase aid for most local schools. Under the governor’s proposed budget, most schools in my Assembly District will actually lose funding, while many others struggle to keep up with the rate of inflation:
- Byram Hills will lose $90,694;
- Katonah Lewisboro will lose $205,162;
- Valhalla will lose $32,161; and
- Bedford will lose $108,677
The bottom line is that cutting state funding to local schools compromises the quality of our children’s education and leaves local property taxpayers responsible for making up the difference – through higher school taxes.
Governor’s budget increases the cost of a SUNY education
An affordable college education has also come under attack by the Pataki administration. A $950 a year hike was adopted in 2002 and tuition has gone up $1,700 since the governor took office. Another increase would make it even harder for students to attend.
This year, Pataki has called for a $500 SUNY tuition hike – and compounds that with automatic tuition hikes each and every year. The governor has also proposed to cut aid under the Tuition Assistance Program for some of our most vulnerable students. Many students from SUNY Purchase have spoken to me about the possibility that they will be forced to end their college education as a result of substantial reductions to TAP. During his tenure, the governor has consistently constructed road blocks to an affordable higher education. In fact, he has attempted to cut TAP at least eight times. I have always stood up to these wrong choices and successfully fought to restore these drastic budget cuts – this year will be no exception. The last thing we need to do is create more obstacles to an affordable college education.
I am confident that once again the Legislature will come together in a bipartisan fashion to craft an on-time budget that invests in education while providing meaningful tax relief. This year’s state budget is a chance for the governor to improve the lives of New York’s students and taxpayers – I look forward to working with him in a cooperative fashion to make that a reality.