If the Republican leaders of the newly reconstituted state Senate majority really intend to press for property tax relief before the end of session, they should start by reviving the school property tax cap. But they should ignore the latest version of the tax cap sent up to the Legislature by Governor David Paterson. The governor's new program bill includes a gigantic carve-out for teacher retirement costs, which over the next few years will be skyrocketing. Read More
New York State's school boards are for the relatively low levels of nominal spending growth in their proposed 2009-10 budgets, which will be submitted to local voters across the state next week. But in real terms--adjusting for the annual inflatio Read More
In a passage reflecting House Democratic spin on the supposed economic benefits of the stimulus package, today's Washington Post that the bill includes aid "that many economists agree will enter the economic bloodstream quickly and trim further layo Read More
City comptroller William Thompson released his regular "" report today. It's not necessary to go into the gory details, since it's past time for everyone simply to stipulate that things are ugly so that we can get on with life. The good news, though, Read More
Governor Paterson will propose a mid-year cut in state aid to public schools as part of a $2 billion budget reduction package to be released tomorrow. Here's a chart that provides some perspective on the budgetary debate ahead: [caption id="at Read More