The budget deal announced between the Assembly and Senate and reported widely in the Wednesday, March 29th Newspapers and the gothamgazette.com is a bad deal for us now and in the future, as I see it.

With regard to a pet issue of mine, school funding, for example -- the budget deal does very little for NYC and nothing for underfunded urban school districts accross New York State.

The money for NYC capital programs -- to build and rebuild schools -- comes from state coffers only for the first year. In the out-years of the capital program, New York City can borrow to continue building, but the state is not legally obliged to pay the borrowing cost. Thus the City may be left paying for the capital program if the state drops out (and, see below, there is reason to think the state may have to.).

State aid is increased overall and NYC, under this deal, will get $400 million more dollars for operating expenses. The unfair formula which starves poor districts continues in place.

Worst, like their budget-busting GOP brothers and sisters in Washington, Reubliccan Senators (and our departing Gov.) have forced through a tax cut which threatens to create big deficits in future years. As a result, whoever wins in November for Governor and for the Legislature may find a need for tax increases or serious budget cuts -- imperilling future flow of state aid.

Because it does nothing to resolve the Campaign for Fiscal Equity litigation, because it does nothing to address underfudned schools statewide, the proposed budget agreement pushes the problem into next year. The tax cuts championed by the Republicans will make resolving this issue much more difficult. No candidate for the legislature or for governor who supports this deal should be allowed to excape the blame for it in November.

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