I am mystified by the political decisions made in Albany. As part of this year's state budget, the Legislature appropriated funds to give $350 to each middle-class family with children. The cost of this is giveaway is $375 million. The middle-class is defined as family income between $40,000 and $300,000 annually.
I asked my 10-year-old granddaughter: "Which do you think mom and dad would prefer — to get a check for $350, which will pay for one day of your family's vacation, or to have that money go to help your school?" Without hesitation, she chose her school.
While we must appreciate that the Legislature put more money into education and made an attempt to put more money into districts using the gap elimination adjustment formula, it also found $375 million to give away $350 to each middle-class family (probably just before elections) rather than fully eliminate the need for the gap elimination adjustment. Elimination of it would prevent thousands of lost school jobs and stop the cuts to those programs that will best help the children of middle-class families compete for good colleges and good jobs.
Even more significant would be the restoration of the disproportionately large school aid cuts that fell on New York's rural and urban schools that serve children who live in poverty.
I find it hard to believe that a 10-year-old exercises better judgment than our leaders, who chose to pander to middle-class voters with a giveaway of $350. This amount for most middle-class families, especially those families with incomes more than $100,000, will make little difference. However, $375 million for our schools would have made a huge difference for our state's children.
Paul S. Puccio
Castleton
