Public Employee Press

Political Action 2007

3 budgets: How they affect you
Spitzer increases state aid for education


While President Bush’s budget continues with tax cuts for the wealthy and higher war spending, Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s debut budget features an overall increase in spending of 6.3 percent — much of it for education.

Spitzer has proposed an ambitious four-year Educational Investment Program. In the first year, overall school aid would rise by $1.4 billion, growing to $7 billion by 2010-2011. New York City would receive over $3 billion in increased state education aid over the four years in addition to the $2.2 billion increased in city funding for the Dept. of Education in the sameperiod. The governor’s budget would also fund universal pre-kindergarten programs, which are critical to helping disadvantaged children get a head start.

Spitzer also aims to scrap the antiquated state school funding formula, which cheats poor urban school districts, and instead direct more money to school districts that need it most. “This is a significant step in achieving the goals of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

Spitzer has also made a commitment to the City University of New York, with senior colleges slated to see an increase of over $70 million and community colleges to get an additional $6 million.

The governor’s budget also includes essential reforms to expand access to health insurance for the uninsured. Subsidized coverage under the Child Health Plus program would go to those with incomes of up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (up from the current 250 percent). The governor’s initiative would provide comprehensive and affordable health care coverage to all of the nearly 400,000 uninsured children throughout New York State.

And to ensure that the more than 900,000 uninsured adults and children who are eligible for Medicaid and Family Health Plus are enrolled and keep their coverage, the governor would streamline the recertification process to eliminate unnecessary documentation and prevent fraud.
The governor’s Medicaid proposals would freeze reimbursement rates to hospitals and nursing homes, cut reimbursements to pharmacies and overhaul payments to hospitals to help them increase salaries.

“This is a big change from the previous administration in Albany,” said Roberts. “The budget that Gov. Spitzer has put together focuses on essential issuesfor our members and all working New Yorkers. It’s a budget that we can definitely support.”

—Alfredo Alvarado