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Cuomo’s Budget and New York Education

Updated Wednesday, January 23, 2013

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Govenor Cuomo announced his budget earlier this week and it includes only a 1.9 percent increase in spending.

January 23, 2013
Elmira (WENY) - Govenor Cuomo announced his budget earlier this week and it includes only a 1.9 percent increase in spending. Cuomo mentioned in his state of the state address that he would give incentives to schools for more state aid. Elmira City School District Superintendent Joe Hochriter made it clear that he is excited about the possible money that could come from the state. But if its tied up in grant programs, that won't be what school districts need.
      Cuomo has proposed an 4.4 percent increase to educational aid, totaling $889 million or roughly $300 per New York student. Hochreiter says he made some calls to the department of budget and state aid planning office to verify what those number mean for Elmira. Hochreiter says the governor plans to sit on $75 million of grant money to give incentives to districts, creating another obstacle for school districts like Elmira that need that money. The Elmira superintendent says the best thing for the state to do is distribute that money out to the schools that rely heavily on state funding to survive.
      “There are districts in the state that indicated that they might not be able to make pay roll and have to go through another set of massive cuts,” says Hochreiter. “So while districts are going through a grim reality, he is pocketing or putting aside over 100 million dollars for his own initiatives.”
      Governor Cuomo said during his state of the state address that he will provide incentives for schools if they analyze their safty protocols. Hochriter says the district will move forward with exploring all safety initiatives for all the schools.