Assembly Passes Record State Aid Increase for City Schools

by Assemblyman Steven Sanders

On March 21, the Assembly passed its budget resolution, which includes, for the first time, State school aid to New York City at a level that meets or exceeds the city’s proportion of enrolled students statewide. Public school enrollment in the City represents 37.4 percent of statewide public school enrollment, and under the Assembly’s proposed budget, New York City would get over 38 percent of the State’s overall school aid. I am proud to be leading the fight for these historic increases for our local schools.

Over two years, our proposed education budget would provide New York City public schools with a $670 million increase the first year and a total $1.4 billion increase over two years. New York State trails the nation in state support for elementary education, but the Governor’s policies have ignored the need to make a significant investment in our children’s education—and in their future success. His policies have neglected many high-needs districts—none more than New York City—by artificially “capping” formula-driven aid, thereby depriving our city schools of hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Our budget (finally!) eliminates these caps and “keeps the promise” to our kids.

Originally, Governor Pataki agreed to a four-year phase-in of the LADDER program, but he has repeatedly tried to back away from this commitment. This year is no different, with the Governor’s proposal cutting $660 million from LADDER. This program, a 1997 initiative of mine and Speaker Silver’s, has been helping our schools meet higher standards, reduce class size, update computer technology, recruit and train highly-skilled teachers and ensure that every child has access to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

Additionally, we make important changes that benefit New York City, including reforming the school aid formulas so that regional costs are factored in. This is so important to us in the City, where labor, services and all costs are dramatically higher than in most of the state. Similarly, our budget is sensitive to poverty indicators, because children whose families are poor generally have extra needs that the school system must meet, and the funding formulas must be responsive to this.

And our initiative for recruiting and retaining teachers is of paramount importance, because we are facing a huge teacher shortage at the same time academic standards and high-stakes testing are being implemented. For our kids to succeed they must have quality teachers.

Finally, to ensure that increases in State school aid to New York City actually reach the classrooms, the Assembly would require a “maintenance of effort” provision, to preclude the Mayor—any Mayor—from reducing the City’s own appropriation for public schools as the State’s share of education costs rises.

As we have done since I have been chair of the Education Committee, the Assembly will fight strenuously and with vigor for fair and adequate resources for city students in the eventual budget negotiations between it, the Senate and the Governor. Others speak about reform; the Assembly is taking action. We must give our children fair and adequate resources to succeed.

Assemblyman Sanders is Chairman, NYS Assembly Education Committee.

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