NY’s elected leaders must prioritize students & child care

For the second year in a row, Governor Cuomo is trying to cut funding from public schools. But the governor cannot pass a budget alone. Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will ultimately join the Governor in making the final decisions in the enacted budget — and right now, they are deciding what to bring to the table.

New York’s legislative leaders are working on the State Senate and Assembly budget proposals — known as “one house” budgets — which will critically influence the shape of the final budget. That means we have just a few days left to influence their decisions, and ensure that the New York State Assembly and Senate budget proposals put our children’s futures first. Email Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie now to tell them to tax the ultra-rich and reject Cuomo’s school cuts in their one house budget proposals.

We need New York’s legislators to put forth a budget that fully funds our schools and includes a plan to support child care. A combination of federal emergency aid and revenue raisers will create long term in investment and put us on a path toward equity in our communities.

Whatever is included in the enacted budget will be a compromise between the Governor, Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker. We cannot allow a repeat of last year’s last-minute cuts to happen again this year. New York State has an obligation to open all our schools and support our students and teachers as they emerge from the most difficult year in memory.

We cannot allow Cuomo’s proposed cuts to go through. With just four short weeks until the New York State budget deadline, we need to make sure that Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie know that New York’s students, child care providers and families must be a top priority in their budget proposals. Email now to demand they include taxes on the ultra-rich and fully fund public schools in the budget. Demand that they include a spending plan for child care.