Cuomo scolds schools over spending

ALBANY - In drawn-out scolding, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo blasted union-backed school advocates Thursday, saying they are using scare tactics and playing "games" to claim that students will be hurt by his proposal to reduce education funding after years' of record increases.

The first-year Democrat said school districts can weather an average 7 percent cut by trimming waste, eliminating fraud, using reserve funds or asking employees to pay more for health care. In fact, he said, the net impact of the state-aid cuts -- the amount of money schools would lose as a portion of their overall budgets -- is closer to 2.7 percent.

Cuomo accused his critics of playing political "games."

"I'm saying 'Manage the school system. Reduce the waste. Reduce the fraud. [School officials say] 'Well, we don't have any.' I don't believe it!" Cuomo said. "I was attorney general for four years. I investigated school districts. I investigated double-dipping. I investigated pensions. I investigated procurement. I know there is waste and abuse in school districts, and I know there is 2.7 percent."

The governor went on for more than four minutes.

"They'd have to say 'We're perfectly managed. We are the Swiss watch of organizations,' " Cuomo said during a news conference that followed a budget meeting with legislative leaders. "It's a threat. It's a game. They want to oppose the cuts politically, so what can they say? '[Cuomo is] going to hurt your child. Your child won't get an education.'

"This is not about a teacher in a classroom," he continued. "This is about less bureaucracy, less administrative overhead, less superintendents' salaries, less high salaries for administrators, more efficiency in transportation, more efficiency in back offices, more efficiency in payroll. That's what this is about . . . The days where government can just throw more money at the problem, raise more taxes and throw more money at the problem, those days are over."

Union leaders and other Cuomo critics reacted sharply to the governor's words. They pointed out that the Democratic Party and the Committee to Save New York, a pro-business, anti-tax group, are running ads and automated phone banks to support the governor.

"The governor has got "robo" calls going to people homes. His got a millionaires' group sending inaccurate mailers to people's homes. Who's playing politics here?" said Billy Easton, spokesman for the Alliance for Quality Education, a group that recently released online ads attacking the governor.

But Cuomo said that schools have enjoyed "amazing" state spending increases -- a total of nearly 50 percent since the 2001-02 academic year -- and that they must adjust "like every family in this state . . . like every business in this state."

Though he didn't refer to it, Cuomo's remarks also came just days after the New York State United Teachers launched a statewide ad featuring schoolchildren sharply critical of his budget. The ad urges viewers to call on Cuomo to reconsider school cuts and instead extend a surcharge on high-earning New Yorkers. At one point, a narrator says: "Don't sacrifice their future for tax breaks for millionaires."

Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers, said the union agrees that efficiencies can be found - but those alone can't offset the governor's plan to cut school spending by $1.5 billion. He said that Cuomo is wrong, that students will be hurt by spending cuts.

"If you are eliminating programs, such as guidance counselors, music, arts and sports, and you're talking about a high school student getting ready to go to college, that's definitely going to have a negative impact," Iannuzzi said. "If you are cutting dollars to community colleges and [state universities], you are cutting a student's ability to obtain a higher education. Those aren't things that [a student] can recover from in two years."

Senate and Assembly leaders standing beside Cuomo didn't react while the governor made his remarks. Afterward, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) was asked whether he agreed with the governor.

"About efficiencies? Absolutely. About the fact that there's waste in school districts? Absolutely," Skelos said, though he didn't address Cuomo's "It's a game" comment.

The State Legislature seems poised to largely agree with Cuomo's cuts. In budget bills passed this week, the two houses authorized a maximum of $280 million in restorations for the upcoming year.

"Our position is that there has to be reductions in school aid," Skelos said. "We have a $10 billion deficit."