While the actual budget outcomes are not really known yet, some of the winners are: Long Island school districts got lots more money, Westchester school districts didn't. Indeed, when the Assembly voted on the Education budget, all Westchester Assembly Members (mostly Democrats) voted "No". Monday's NY Times features a good story by Danny Hakim and David Herzenhorn which lays out how LI won and Westchester lost. The victorious statements of the Alliance For Quality Education & Campaign for Fiscal Equity are after the jump.

In addition, advocates of smaller class size in New York City (including me) were successful, it appears in that some language requiring smaller classes made it through the final budget. UPDATE: I ran into UFT Lobby and political people Monday morning who were jubilant and absolutely certain that the class-size language would result in actually smaller classes. NYC will have to build classroom space to accommodate the new classes. There are, unhappily, no fixed targets for class size reduction, so this battle may have to be fought over and over again.

Queens Assembly Member Rory I. Lacmann, who, with Education Chair Cathy Nolan, led the charge on behalf of smaller class size, reports as follows:

" Over Mayor Bloomberg’s fierce resistance, NYC will be required to reduce its overcrowded class sizes under the budget passed today by the state legislature (A.4307-C), a priority of the Assembly throughout the budget negotiations. Specifically, NYC is required to execute a plan to reduce class size over five years, to be enforced by the New York State Commissioner of Education."

Does this mean that your children and mine will actually get smaller classes? .If so, it's a great victory for children, parents, teachers and those concerned with education and a significant setback for Mr. Bloomberg and his cookie-cutter one-size-fits all approach to teaching our children. Winning is good. Stay tuned.

AQE & CFE STATEMENT ON 2007 ENACTED STATE EDUCATION BUDGET
This budget represents a substantial breakthrough in a fourteen year struggle to deliver a quality education to every child. "CFE battled in the courts and the communities to achieve three central goals: a multi-year, massive infusion of school funding, the creation of a clear cut system of accountability to drive funds to key educational strategies, and a fair and simple foundation formula to distribute school aid based on student need not politics," said Geri Palast CFE Executive Director. "With Governor Spitzer's leadership, we have turned litigation into law. The foundation formula is central to ensuring that this achievement is enduring."
Based upon Governor Spitzer’s proposal New York State is making a record statewide increase in school funding this year. Parents have gained the strong system of accountability proposed by Governor Spitzer that will drive funding to key educational strategies including smaller classes, full day pre -kindergarten, teacher quality, after school programs and other reforms. Children in New York City, where class sizes are dramatically larger than state averages, will benefit from a critically important requirement to reduce class sizes.
The fair school aid formula proposed by Governor Spitzer has been adopted largely intact.We have established the essential tool we have always lacked in order to fairly and fully fund our schools. In this budget we partially use that tool, next year we must fully use the tool. The formula adopted this year makes an historic commitment to a fivefold growth in classroom operating aid by 2010-11 with the lion’s share of this money going to high needs schools.
“This year, by adding his voice to the struggle for quality education, Eliot Spitzer forged a fair funding formula against fierce opposition,” said Billy Easton, Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education. “Now the Governor and our communities must continue hand-in-hand to secure an enduring legacy of educational excellence by ensuring this formula becomes the centerpiece for how we distribute every dollar of classroom funding.”

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I am told the deal does not require NYC to hit specific class size targets. While, all of a sudden D/M Wolcott and Chancellor Klein were singing in the small class choir, their practice may continue to be deceptive. You may recall NYC submitted false class size data to the state to account for earmarked money it spent for other things. Until you and I see the actual language and school district budget runs we won't be able to tell whether there is cause for celebration, but things look better than they otherwise might. As things stand now it does look as though post-Pataki education funding is different. It is really?

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