At Hofstra, Cuomo defends spending cuts

Taking direct aim at Long Island school districts and highly paid superintendents, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo told a Hofstra University audience Wednesday that the state will close its estimated $10-billion budget deficit with significant cuts to education spending.

Clicking through a 33-minute PowerPoint presentation, Cuomo, appearing at Hofstra for the first time since the seven-way gubernatorial debate in October, vowed to stop large annual education and health care spending increases that he pegged at 13 percent each.

"Nothing is increasing by these amounts," he told the audience at the Sondra & David S. Mack Student Center Theater.

"Not inflation, not income, not savings. Only government thinks it's going to increase the spending by 13 percent at a time when revenues aren't going up by a third of that," he said.

The address came a day after Cuomo's office released information showing that Long Island school districts hold tens of millions in reserve funds. Cuomo also said 40 percent of the state's school superintendents are paid $200,000 or more, and encouraged local school boards to consider wage freezes.

"You'll hear talk that if you cut any aid to education, we're going to lay off teachers," Cuomo said. "You can do that, but that would be unnecessary. That would hurt teachers and hurt the quality of education."

As alternatives, "you can better manage the system. Or you can find efficiencies within the system," Cuomo said.

Anthony Annunziato, superintendent of the Bayport-Blue Point school district and president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, called Cuomo's argument "a red herring."

"It's a distraction from the real issues," said Annunziato, who is paid $242,550 annually.

"It strikes at the heart of the authority of school boards and local control. Our salaries are determined and given to us by the school boards. There's a reason why we make these types of salaries; it's supply and demand."

Cuomo said his budget will reduce the state payroll by 10 percent and "move away" from expensive upstate juvenile justice facilities.