NYSUT Alert from Executive Vice President Pallotta - 2015-15 NYS Budget One-House Budget Bills

Memorandum

From:     Andy Pallotta

Date:      March 13, 2015

Re:          2015-16 NYS Budget One-House Budget Bills

The Assembly and the Senate adopted one-house budget resolutions Thursday, an important milestone in the Executive Budget process.  The attachment details in chart form the Executive, Senate, and Assembly budget proposals.

The school aid finance proposals were both strong, but SUNY and CUNY state operated budget and community college funding levels were wholly inadequate.

The Assembly resolutely rejected all anti-teacher/public school proposals contained in the governor’s budget as well as the punitive “performance” budget provisions for SUNY and CUNY.

The Senate decoupled the governor’s toxic K-16 proposals from the budget bills, but did introduce them in their entirety in a standalone bill, separate from the budget bills. Moreover, the Senate makes the governor’s charter school proposal worse by further increasing tuition payments, providing building aid, and removing accountability to the chancellor of the NYC school system.    The Senate’s budget resolution only states that they intend to “modify” the executive proposals on tenure, school receivership, and APPR without specifying how.

We have only 18 days left until the budget adoption deadline. We must continue our unprecedented advocacy and member engagement right to the end and finish strong.

Thank you for all that you have done to support NYSUT’s agenda and all that you will continue to do.

Final One House Budget Bill