Jan 17, 2006 5:45 PM
In his 12th and final budget address on Jan. 17, Governor George Pataki called for lifting the charter school cap, raising school aid statewide by $634 million, and cutting $3.2 billion in property, income and business taxes.
UFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response:
"It is disappointing that the governor squandered his final opportunity to honor the CFE ruling and fulfill the state’s obligation to stop short-changing our city’s public school students.
“Rather than investing in reforms we know work – such as lowering class size, creating all-day Pre-K for all 4-year-olds and expanding and upgrading vocational (CTE) education -- the governor has chosen to use this budget as a launching pad for his presidential ambitions.
"This is really an opportunistic, anti-education budget that panders in the worst way, trying to create controversy by making the charter school cap and educational tax credits his centerpiece, instead of investing in the reforms that work and that the courts have ordered.
“The governor’s budget proposes investing far less than the $5.6 billion the court ordered for New York City or even the up to $5.6 billion that his own Zarb Commission recommended statewide. It also ignores Attorney General Spitzer’s recommendations on ways to help students who attend private schools – rather than just hand out tuition credits.
"For years, the governor has claimed there was no more money for education. Now, when there is a $2 billion surplus that could be used to make a real difference with proven programs and accountable investments, he is turning his back on the needs of our public school children.
"Now is the time to lead; not to play politics with kids or try to figure out what will work in the Republican primaries for president. This is about giving our children a quality education; not about picking up votes in New Hampshire or Iowa."