New York's teachers union is threatening a lawsuit to stop the Cuomo administration from withholding additional education funding for state schools
The state teachers union is threatening a lawsuit to stop the Cuomo administration from withholding additional education funding for New York schools. The state has begun holding back 20 percent of the money designated for schools, county and local governments and others in an attempt to steady its own finances while it awaits federal assistance it has been banking on.
The Cuomo administration insists the roughly $1.7 billion it has withheld in recent months — with more scheduled transfers on the horizon — will be temporary assuming the federal government comes through eventually. Yet that relief continues to show few signs of materializing soon, as Republicans and Democrats in Washington remain far apart in negotiations.New York State United Teachers says if another round of education funding due later this month is reduced, it will challenge the cutbacks as a violation of the state constitution’s guarantee that every student be offered a “sound basic education.” The decision to impose across-the-board reductions, rather than tailor them by need, has already had a deleterious effect on a number of school districts that serve predominantly low-income families and students of color and rely more heavily on state aid than more-affluent districts with ample property tax bases. “No school district or student is immune to the adverse impacts of a 20 percent cut to state education aid,” NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said in a statement. “But what makes this all the more egregious is the disproportionate impact that cuts have on our neediest schoolchildren.”A number of school districts put off their plans to hold a mix of in-person and remote instruction and instead will have to be entirely online to start the year as a result of not receiving money they were anticipating. Others have put“In the absence of the federal government finally doing what’s right, the state needs to step in and prevent the decimation of our public education system at a time when needs are higher than ever before,” Pallotta said. NYSUT is one of a constellation of groups that have embraced higher taxes on the wealthy as a way to raise money for schools and solidify the state's fiscal situation, a solution that has largely been rebuffed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, though he did say it may be part of the state's response if federal negotiations fall through.Loading By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
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