TESTIMONY BY GLYNDA C. CARR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
EDUCATION VOTERS OF NEW YORK
Executive Proposed Deficit Reduction Plan
October 26, 2009
Good morning. I am Glynda Carr, Executive Director of Education Voters of New York. I would like to thank Senator Carl Kruger, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and other members in attendance this morning for the opportunity to testify regarding the Governor’s proposed Deficit Reduction Plan.
I think we can all agree that education is one of the most important social and economic determinants in the life of an individual. By all measures – from the well-being of individuals and families to the health of our communities and country – education is the engine of America’s social progress and prosperity. An educated citizenry can support a participatory democracy, a strong and growing economy, and a vibrant, inclusive society. Regardless of where or to whom a child is born, all American public schools should serve as the launch pad of opportunity. We must engage and connect that child with the educational resources needed to access and contribute to our country’s vast social, economic, and civic opportunities.
The Executive proposal before us would cut state aid to education by $686 million in the current state and school fiscal year. Of the $686 million in proposed cuts, over half, $350 million, are to high need districts including:
New York City — $223 million;
Big 4 cities (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers) — $30 million;
high need small cities and suburbs — $56 million; and
high need rural districts — $41 million.
The Governor’s proposed mid year cuts threaten to eliminate the resources our schools, classrooms and teachers need to effectively prepare students for success.
Governor Paterson recently stated that he believes that New York State is ground zero of the fiscal crisis. I agree. But, if we are going to recover from the failures of Wall Street and the collapse of the financial industry, we must re-ignite the engines of economic prosperity. That means:
Investing in our future workforce and preparing New York’s young people to compete in the 21st century knowledge economy
Protecting vital programs for the most vulnerable New Yorkers
Preventing layoffs
Providing the resources need to CUNY and SUNY so that every student who is willing to work hard and wants to attend a post secondary institution can afford to do so
Defending the commitments we made to CFE, to ensuring that adequate resources are available for every k-12 student in the state
Developing a Comprehensive Economic Recovery Plan for the State.
Before this current fiscal crisis hit, there were far too many barriers to lifting families out of poverty and too many were struggling to make ends meet. We were living with crumbling school buildings, shortages of school books, overcrowded classrooms and low performance scores. To have a stable and thriving economy in the future, we must start in the classrooms in Buffalo and Syracuse, Long Island, Johnstown and New York City.
It is imperative, before we slash the education budget in the middle of the school year, before we cut this well proven path out of poverty and into economic prosperity, that we consider three important factors:
Mid year cuts mean double the effect of the reduction and represent approximately a 4.5 percent cut in a six month period.
In 2007, the State made a multi-year commitment to providing adequate resources to educate the nearly three million public school children whom the courts had determined were not receiving even a sound basic education.
Although the state has a growing budget deficit and there must be a reduction in spending, we need to consider cost saving avenues and potential revenue enhancers as vital alternatives to budget cuts.
Real Solutions Exists
We do not deny that the current fiscal crisis is real and that the state simply is running out of money. The DRP would propose to cut K-16 education and health care in the current year by over $1 billion dollars. The Governor has also proposed disproportionate cuts of $246 million to SUNY and CUNY funding. These cuts will eliminate the resources necessary to ensure that every New York State student receives a sound basic education and has the opportunity to enter a post secondary institution.
We understand that tough choices will have to be made to close this budget gap and to balance next year’s budget. But before the Governor and the Legislature decide to close the gap by simply cutting vital resources -let’s pause for a moment. Education Voters urges the legislature to consider where we can reduce spending by identifying and supporting cost-saving measures, identifying and enacting revenue enhancers, and exploring where and how federal stimulus money is being used.
NOW is the right time to tap the $1.5 billion “rainy day fund” and use a portion of the funds to offset the budget reduction plan.
NOW is the right time to invest in building and renovating school buildings that are energy efficient.
NOW is the time to explore regionalization of procurement and other services and to develop a plan to consolidate school districts.
NOW is the time to ask tough questions of the Executive and the Division of Budget about how the federal stimulus monies are being used and distributed.
Keeping the Promise
We cannot turn our backs on the gains the state has made in public education reform and funding equity. In a year when the education budget was threaten with deep cuts, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act allowed the State to flat line funding levels in the 2009-2010 budget and delayed the phase-in of CFE funding. The Governor’s proposed Deficit Reduction Plan will unravel the fundamental principles of CFE and defer closing the opportunity and resource gap for children attending historically underfunded schools.
The Executive proposal cuts school aid with the largest percentage of the cuts going to the wealthier districts, giving the poorest districts exponentially smaller cuts. At first glance, this proposal looks progressive. But, the fact is that the poorest school districts’ budgets rely heavily on state aid to meet their operational needs and have few or no alternatives to fill budget gaps. They will be forced to lay off personnel and cut programs.
This is unacceptable. Our students’ dreams, especially the dreams of those with the fewest advantages to start with, cannot be deferred or put on hold while our leaders hide behind claims of fiscal responsibility because they lack political courage to invest in our economy’s future, NOW. We only have one chance to get this right and budget cuts alone are the wrong approach.
Conclusion
We at Education Voters of New York challenge the Senate and the Assembly to work in concert with Governor Paterson to develop a better plan, a plan that works rather than just one that reacts. It is time for New York to develop a comprehensive Economic Recovery Plan that includes significant investment in education and a strategy to reshape the way our state educates our children. We cannot continue to plan from crisis to crisis and cut our way out. There needs to be a clear road map on how we protect the gains we have made from CFE and to build on the Federal stimulus funds received.
I am inspired by the possibilities and believe that real solutions do exist, because of leaders like you who are committed to ensuring that our children receive their constitutionally mandated sound basic education. We look forward to the continued dialogue and discussion of innovative strategies to eliminate any cuts to the classroom.
Thank you.
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TESTIMONY BY GLYNDA C. CARR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
EDUCATION VOTERS OF NEW YORK
Executive Proposed Deficit Reduction Plan
October 26, 2009
Good morning. I am Glynda Carr, Executive Director of Education Voters of New York. I would like to thank Senator Carl Kruger, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and other members in attendance this morning for the opportunity to testify regarding the Governor’s proposed Deficit Reduction Plan.
I think we can all agree that education is one of the most important social and economic determinants in the life of an individual. By all measures – from the well-being of individuals and families to the health of our communities and country – education is the engine of America’s social progress and prosperity. An educated citizenry can support a participatory democracy, a strong and growing economy, and a vibrant, inclusive society. Regardless of where or to whom a child is born, all American public schools should serve as the launch pad of opportunity. We must engage and connect that child with the educational resources needed to access and contribute to our country’s vast social, economic, and civic opportunities.
The Executive proposal before us would cut state aid to education by $686 million in the current state and school fiscal year. Of the $686 million in proposed cuts, over half, $350 million, are to high need districts including:
The Governor’s proposed mid year cuts threaten to eliminate the resources our schools, classrooms and teachers need to effectively prepare students for success.
Governor Paterson recently stated that he believes that New York State is ground zero of the fiscal crisis. I agree. But, if we are going to recover from the failures of Wall Street and the collapse of the financial industry, we must re-ignite the engines of economic prosperity. That means:
Before this current fiscal crisis hit, there were far too many barriers to lifting families out of poverty and too many were struggling to make ends meet. We were living with crumbling school buildings, shortages of school books, overcrowded classrooms and low performance scores. To have a stable and thriving economy in the future, we must start in the classrooms in Buffalo and Syracuse, Long Island, Johnstown and New York City.
It is imperative, before we slash the education budget in the middle of the school year, before we cut this well proven path out of poverty and into economic prosperity, that we consider three important factors:
Real Solutions Exists
We do not deny that the current fiscal crisis is real and that the state simply is running out of money. The DRP would propose to cut K-16 education and health care in the current year by over $1 billion dollars. The Governor has also proposed disproportionate cuts of $246 million to SUNY and CUNY funding. These cuts will eliminate the resources necessary to ensure that every New York State student receives a sound basic education and has the opportunity to enter a post secondary institution.
We understand that tough choices will have to be made to close this budget gap and to balance next year’s budget. But before the Governor and the Legislature decide to close the gap by simply cutting vital resources -let’s pause for a moment. Education Voters urges the legislature to consider where we can reduce spending by identifying and supporting cost-saving measures, identifying and enacting revenue enhancers, and exploring where and how federal stimulus money is being used.
Keeping the Promise
We cannot turn our backs on the gains the state has made in public education reform and funding equity. In a year when the education budget was threaten with deep cuts, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act allowed the State to flat line funding levels in the 2009-2010 budget and delayed the phase-in of CFE funding. The Governor’s proposed Deficit Reduction Plan will unravel the fundamental principles of CFE and defer closing the opportunity and resource gap for children attending historically underfunded schools.
The Executive proposal cuts school aid with the largest percentage of the cuts going to the wealthier districts, giving the poorest districts exponentially smaller cuts. At first glance, this proposal looks progressive. But, the fact is that the poorest school districts’ budgets rely heavily on state aid to meet their operational needs and have few or no alternatives to fill budget gaps. They will be forced to lay off personnel and cut programs.
This is unacceptable. Our students’ dreams, especially the dreams of those with the fewest advantages to start with, cannot be deferred or put on hold while our leaders hide behind claims of fiscal responsibility because they lack political courage to invest in our economy’s future, NOW. We only have one chance to get this right and budget cuts alone are the wrong approach.
Conclusion
We at Education Voters of New York challenge the Senate and the Assembly to work in concert with Governor Paterson to develop a better plan, a plan that works rather than just one that reacts. It is time for New York to develop a comprehensive Economic Recovery Plan that includes significant investment in education and a strategy to reshape the way our state educates our children. We cannot continue to plan from crisis to crisis and cut our way out. There needs to be a clear road map on how we protect the gains we have made from CFE and to build on the Federal stimulus funds received.
I am inspired by the possibilities and believe that real solutions do exist, because of leaders like you who are committed to ensuring that our children receive their constitutionally mandated sound basic education. We look forward to the continued dialogue and discussion of innovative strategies to eliminate any cuts to the classroom.
Thank you.