Two events today will continue to get the word out about how this state budget is hurting schools and students, AND that a tax cap will make it worse.

New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness hold a press conference at 11 a.m. at the state Capitol. Lots of facts and figures will be presented. The Albany Times-Union reports the tax cap deal is not over and done with, so you still have time to call your lawmaker. Tell them you are a voter and a taxpayer. You are against this damaging tax cap proposal. My reasons are how unfair the 60 percent override is. Turn that around. That really means one vote over 40 percent say no to my district’s school budget and that negates all the rest of us who agree with the budget. That is NOT what democracy looks like. (I also think this tax cap is irresponsible because it does not make any meaningful exemptions, like for soaring gasoline or heating fuel costs, or enrollment surges. If you need more talking points go to this link.)

Then at 3:15 p.m. the Bethlehem Central Teachers Association, the district superintendent, NYSUT and Alliance for Quality Education protest the cuts. To combat repeated messages that schools could absorb $1.3 billion in cuts, the seats auditorium at the high school will stay vacant. Each seat symbolizes jobs sacrificed in districts in the greater Capitol Region. We’ll try to capture some video. I will tweet from the event as well so get that #nysut hashtag on.