ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo blasted budget-squeezed school districts yesterday for using kids as political pawns in their aid-restoration campaigns.
The governor passionately dismissed as “a game” widespread threats of teacher layoffs and program cuts by districts as they cope with his proposed record-setting $1.5 billion year-to-year reduction to education aid.
“It’s a threat; it’s a game,” Cuomo said at a news conference. “They want to oppose the cuts politically so they say, ‘I’m going to hurt your child. Your child won’t get an education.’
“This is not about a teacher in a classroom,” Cuomo continued. “This is about less bureaucracy.”
Cuomo issued his rebuke after a private meeting with legislators on how to close a projected $10 billion budget gap. He has called for cutting school aid 7.3 percent statewide.
The governor contends the cut amounts to less than 3 percent of overall education spending and could be absorbed by spending “rainy day’ funds, cutting waste, freezing salaries and requiring teachers to pay more for health insurance.
“The threat of layoffs is real,” countered state School Boards Association spokesman David Albert. “Poor districts are going to really struggle.”