I was in mourning for hours this morning.
But now I am back. All it takes is some prodding by Andy Pallotta. That guy never gives up.
Andy Pallotta and Pete Savage at the Capitol March 30
This bad budget may have passed but there’s still things we can do. He vows to keep up the pressure to extend the millionaire’s tax (it doesn’t expire until the end of the year and read this link to see how the door is open in the Assembly as well as other great tidbits) and a few other things he will share with thousands of you next week at NYSUT’s convention.
In the meantime, here’s your link to see your school district’s operating aid.
Also, keep in mind while there was no tax cap in the budget, this budget does in effect carry a school aid cap. This is from the governor’s press release.
The budget provides a two-year appropriation and reflects permanent law changes to limit future school aid increases to growth in the New York state personal income rate. This action will help reduce the state’s large out-year gap between spending and revenues. Even after this year’s reduction, New York’s schools will continue to have among the highest spending per pupil in the nation.
The budget creates new education performance and efficiency grants with $500 million in total appropriations for districts that demonstrate significant student performance improvements or that undertake long-term structural changes to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
The budget continues state support for summer school special education programs at current levels, and maintains the commitment to children who attend schools for the blind and deaf (4201 schools).
How will this cap on aid impact school budgets in the future? Health benefits costs are out of our control. What happens if it surpasses the income rate? How will teachers be able to get a decent salary and benefits? Has anyone thought this through? What are the other permanent law changes?
This is just the beginning of a fight that has been a long time in the making. Those politicians who think that their only civic responsibility is to protect the lives and livelihoods of the wealthiest among us will surely be getting their own pink slips in the not to distant future. Working, middle class families in this state, are starting to come out of their houses and meet once again in the public square. The present skirmish may have been lost but in the end we will prevail.