It has to feel like Spring in New York in the middle of a snowstorm: a progressive mayor elected to serve the people that Wall Street predators and casino capitalists forgot. From DNAInfo New York:
". . . . De Blasio sparked a political showdown earlier this month by rejecting Cuomo's offer to provide $1.5 billion for universal pre-K across the state over the next five years. Instead of using state funds to create thousands of new pre-K seats in the city, de Blasio wants to increase taxes on the city's most affluent residents, which he said would guarantee a more reliable funding stream.
". . . . De Blasio sparked a political showdown earlier this month by rejecting Cuomo's offer to provide $1.5 billion for universal pre-K across the state over the next five years. Instead of using state funds to create thousands of new pre-K seats in the city, de Blasio wants to increase taxes on the city's most affluent residents, which he said would guarantee a more reliable funding stream.
Some education advocates, as well
as de Blasio insiders, say the mayor is wise not to rely on state-based
universal pre-K funding, since Albany has a long history of making pre-K
promises it can't keep.
The advocates say Cuomo's $1.5
billion promise sounds worryingly similar to commitments made by former
governors Pataki, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson that fell through as budget
priorities changed.
In 1997, Pataki promised hundreds
of millions of dollars to fund universal pre-K across the state starting the
following year, pledging a seat for every 4-year-old within four years.
However, by the 2001-02 school
year, the state was spending just $207.4 million on universal pre-K, less than
half of what was originally supposed to be allocated, according to a report by
the Citizens Budget Commission. . . . ."
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