ALBANY, N.Y. March 10, 2015 — New York State United Teachers today applauded the Assembly’s one-house budget bill, saying its education spending and program priorities are closely matched with the needs of students and school districts across the state.
“The Assembly’s education budget — with its proposed $1.8 billion funding increase — is a tremendous statement of support for our state’s already strong public schools,” said NYSUT President Karen E. Magee.
"In its one-house bill, the Assembly and its leadership lay out a budget that reflects their keen understanding of public education; recognizes the importance of investing strongly in universal pre-kindergarten; shows the Assembly’s respect for local control; and acknowledges the funding needs of rural, suburban and urban schools. We must continue to work together to ensure that SUNY, CUNY and our community colleges benefit from a much greater investment by the state.”
NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta said the Assembly’s proposed budget shows its members and leaders have been listening. “Under Speaker Heastie’s leadership, the Assembly has proposed a stellar blueprint for the future — one that will clearly benefit public education. If this proposed budget shows us one thing, it’s that members of the Assembly and its leadership have been attending public forums being held all across the state and have been listening carefully to parents, educators and students. The budget they have crafted reflects the pride that New Yorkers have for their public schools. The ‘people’s house’ has proposed a budget that reflects the concerns and aspirations of the people, not the hedge fund managers who want to control public education.”
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.