N.Y.Gov. Andrew Cuomo to cut a record $1.5 billion from the $23 billion budget for grades K-12.
New York State's budget is once again on the table, and as expected Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to cut a record $1.5 billion from the $23 billion budget for grades K-12. The cuts would affect the poorest sections of the state that rely on the money the most. by Russell W. Dickson
(libertarian)
Monday, March 28, 2011
New York State's budget is once again on the table, and as expected according to the Timesunion,Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to cut a record $1.5 billion from the $23 billion budget for grades K-12. The cuts would have a devastating effect on the poorest sections of the state that rely on the aid the most.
Governor Cuomo's proposed budget cuts would scarcely affect wealthy districts that rely primarily on local taxes to support themselves. But it is going to be a disaster for impoverished rural districts that have been denied state aid for decades. Many local school districts are still trying to make ends meet in the wake of the cuts levied last year when David Paterson was governor. They are already barely able to offer even basic courses; the poorest districts have to cannibalize themselves to keep the doors open.
According to nytimes.com, Ilion, NY in the economically depressed Mohawk Valley is one of the poorest districts in the state. More than a third of its 1,600 students are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches, and that figure would no doubt be higher if some families whose children need free lunches to eat nutritiously were not too ashamed to apply for it.
Impoverished districts like Ilion, which has an eroding tax base and relies on the state for more than three-quarters of its budget, were supposed to fare better after a 2006 court ruling that ordered the state to give each district enough money to provide every child with a "sound basic education."
Under a new formula created by the Legislature, some of the poorest districts were promised as much as an 80 percent increase. The increases were to be phased in over four years in steadily larger amounts. Ilion, which had been promised a 35 percent increase, got a modest boost in the first two years. But then the state ran into fiscal trouble; funding was kept flat in 2009 and cut in 2010. Like many other poor districts, Ilion retrenched. It laid off teachers and backed down from plans to expand its course offerings.
Under the Cuomo administration's proposal, Ilion would be asked to absorb a new $1.1 million cut, on top of the $450,000 cut it took last year. That would not even come to a rounding error in the state's richest districts. But for Ilion, whose budget is about $25 million, the new cut, combined with the $1.3 million the district is obligated to pay for raises, benefits and other costs, produces a deficit of about $2.4 million.
Tnj.com states that, Cuomo's proposal calls for a 7.3 percent cut in state aid to schools, or $1.5 billion from the state's more than $20 billion in annual school aid. That means local school budgets will get 2.9 percent less state aid. The current state of affairs is effectively a 1-2 punch to the next generation, not only are they picking up trillions of dollars in debt from the federal and state governments, but now many will not be able to get an education, and the paltry educations that they do receive will leave them competitively disadvantaged when they enter the work force.
According to governor.ny.gov, Operating aid to the State University of New York, City University of New York and community colleges would fall 10 percent. State aid to private colleges also would be cut 10 percent. "Governor Cuomo's cuts to our kids' schools are the largest in history," said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education. "If they are adopted, the damage to students will be permanent because children do not get a second chance."
Advocates for public schools, higher education and public worker unions are now taking their cases to the state Legislature. Good luck to them.
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