The conversation about reforming and improving New York’s educational system for our children must continue. Over the last few years, our schools and students have been rocked by Common Core, school-aid cuts from the 2011-12 budget-gap closure scheme, and the struggles of rural lower-income schools’ abilities to help prepare students for the workforce and higher education. It has not been easy for our educators, students, or parents, and rightfully, we are growing anxious and concerned.
I waited in anticipation, hoping the governor would begin to right the wrongs that have been imposed on our students. Unfortunately, the education plan he outlined falls short of my expectations.
New York is in a much better financial position than it was, and we’ve received more than $5.4 billion in court settlements. The biggest question is where that additional one-shot money should be spent, and I think it would be best used to pay back the money that was taken from our schools and students by the state government during the 2011-12 budget-gap elimination gimmick. We would only need about $1 billion to finally return that funding to our schools. I propose that route instead of spending $1.3 billion on the mismanaged Thruway Authority and New York City’s Tappan Zee Bridge, for which we have not yet seen a proper financial plan.
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Additionally, the governor is using unsettling methods to force the state into adopting a questionable teacher-evaluation system by linking it to school aid. Also disturbing is his refusal to share school-aid runs, which are reports that help our local schools budget and plan for the year ahead. Using tactics like this isn’t showing true leadership, and I am concerned about our schools and students.
Finally, each year the governor has made budget spending a competition. There are competitions for economic-development funds, for the rebuild efforts in flooded areas like the Mohawk Valley, and sadly, there are competitions for educational funding. The governor is proposing $50 million worth of competitive school grants in this year’s budget.
We should not create a system that picks winners and losers among our schools. Schools that would need funding the most are unable to compete with wealthier districts. Even more troubling is that these competitive grants pose the potential for political manipulation, which could send the money where the need is not the greatest.
The state has many responsibilities, but I think one of the most important is to create an exceptional educational system for all children, despite their economic or family status. The direction the state education system and our governor have taken is making the job much more difficult. I will be working with my legislative colleagues to create a better plan — one that avoids these pitfalls so all children can flourish in our state.
Marc W. Butler (R,C–Newport) is a New York State Assemblyman for the 118th District, which encompasses parts of Oneida, Herkimer, and St. Lawrence counties, as well as all of Hamilton and Fulton counties. Contact him at butlerm@assembly.state.ny.us