School board association: Paterson "between a rock and a hard place"

Gov. Paterson’s proposed budget asks for a billion dollars in cuts to school aid, five percent overall. That alone is expected to draw heated opposition from legislators, who restored much of Paterson’s lesser proposed school aid cuts in last year’s budget.
Paterson also wants to delay equalizing “foundation aid” to district across the state, and universal pre-K funding, and he wants to eliminate teacher training centers entirely.

The response from NYS School Boards Association Executive Director Timothy Kremer seems very measured:

Governor Paterson must feel like he is caught between a rock and a hard place. While he proposes a painful cut in 2010-11 school aid and further delays a permanent fix of the school funding formula, he accompanies his budget with a recommendation for a much-appreciated moratorium on an expensive set of unfunded mandates.

However, the fiscal implications of the proposed budget will vary widely from district to district. Those that are highly dependent on state aid, with limited reserves and little room to cut any further, are the most vulnerable. Their programs will be jeopardized.

The state’s fiscal crisis is a challenge of the highest order. Local school officials will do their part by protecting as best they can educational programs, improving quality, and optimizing every available resource.

For New York to develop economically, create new jobs, and introduce new technologies and other innovations, we will need a highly educated workforce. Public education is and must forever be the state’s number one priority.