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Cuomo, Leaders And Education Reforms

With education in flux across New York thanks to the Common Core, there's a mixed reaction to Governor Andrew Cuomo's provisions for it in the freshly finished budget.  

$1.6 billion has been allocated for education in a spending plan that includes several reforms. The budget negotiations are only the latest fault line between the governor, legislative leaders and the powerful teachers’ union.

Cuomo told the Associated Press Wednesday that his push to revise teacher evaluations, reward good teachers and make it easier to dismiss ineffective ones will address longstanding problems with one of the state's most important responsibilities.

Republican Senator George Amedore lauded the elimination of more than 50 percent of the 2010 Gap Elimination Adjustment, which forced schools to cut programs and services.   "In the 46th district our schools, on average, will have more than 80 percent of their GEA cuts restored. This is a great victory for our children and our schools, and I will continue to advocate to eliminate the GEA entirely by next year."

The unions interpreted Cuomo's proposals as a "war declaration."  United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew told AP teachers succeeded in convincing lawmakers to reject many of Cuomo's "worst" proposals. He says the fight isn't over and that teachers will continue opposing what he says are Cuomo's unproven ideas.

The School Administrators Association of New York State said it was extremely disappointment with many of the budget's education components, specifically in regard to principal and teacher evaluations. Jim Viola is the association's director of government relations.    "We're pleased with the amount of additional state aid going to school districts. We are concerned though, about the way in which program revisions were rolled into a budget bill, and we feel that in some cases, a large step backward has occurred, especially in regard to the annual professional performance review system."

New York State United Teachers President Karen Magee says Common Core tests are not a valid assessment of student performance.   "Sisters and brothers, Governor Cuomo has declared war on our profession and our Union. Instead of standing with educators, parents and community, the governor chose to side with his billionaire friends and with those who seek to demonize public education."

Magee spoke in a video on NYSUT’s website.

Republican Assemblyman Jim Tedisco of Glenville jumped on the opportunity to blast Common Core standardized testing, calling the tests "overutilized."    "And that's why we put forth the Common Core parental Refusal Act, which we've got over 12 thousand signatures in five days on a statewide web petition. I ask individuals to go to refusecommoncore dot com."

United University Professions President Frederick Kowal brands the budget "a mixed bag."    "We are very pleased that the legislature added significant funds to opportunity programs which we believe will be very helpful for underresourced students to get into SUNY and hopefully be successful. On the other hand, the funding once again falls well short of what is needed and what SUNY had requested and that we had advocated for." 

UUP says the budget does not provide the necessary resources to meet SUNY’s growing needs and says the university is too dependent on students for funding. Students pay 63 percent of SUNY’s operating costs through tuition and fees.

Politicians, local government officials and schools districts continue a cautious review of the new budget, trying to determine what it will mean for them.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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