FOR RELEASE:  October 21, 2009

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell

Non-mandated programs such as music, art, sports, foreign language, and extracurricular activities would be cut and school budgets defeated if mid-year education cuts were enacted, the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) warned today in testimony to the state Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

"A mid-year cut in school aid could set the stage for increased local property taxes, an inability to prepare students for the demands of the workforce, and inhibit our state's ability to attract business," said David Little, NYSSBA's director of governmental relations.

Instead, state lawmakers should consider repealing cumbersome state mandates and dipping into the state's own reserve fund, rather than cut $686 million from public education in the current school year. NYSSBA also recommended expanding the ability of BOCES, school districts and other local municipalities to share and combine needed functions.
State lawmakers enacted mid-year education cuts only once in recent history - during the 1990-91 school year. "It took years for schools to recover, but individual students who missed out on courses and subject matter were denied the well-rounded education they require," said Little.

Cuts also led to a gap in student achievement between school districts that were able to absorb the cuts with increased local resources and those that were forced to remove valuable programs and services from the curriculum.

"The future of New York will be lost ... and ultimately, we will lose any right to the title of the Empire State," he added.