ALBANY, N.Y. ( AIEXPRESS ) — This week on Empire State Weekly, the Governor unveiled her strategy to finance her legislative priorities in the executive budget announcement. The proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2025 would amount to a total of 233 billion dollars.
Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, shared his thoughts on the budget proposal, along with Patrick Orecki, director of state studies at Citizens Budget Commission.
“But it didn’t come as a surprise. It felt like a typical Governor’s Budget, where she deliberately keeps the numbers low, leaving room for the legislature to fill in the gaps.
However, there will be significant resistance from powerful unions like 11/99 for healthcare and NYSUT for K-12 education, especially regarding the limits on Medicaid and K-12. It remains to be seen how the budget will play out in the legislative session,” remarked Horner.
ORecki expressed optimism about the budget situation, stating that the state was able to close the 4.3 billion dollar gap for the upcoming fiscal year. He attributed this success to increased revenues and a stronger-than-expected economy.
Brian Fessler, the Director of Governmental Relations for the New York State School Boards Association, recently analyzed the education spending in the executive budget. In comparison to the previous year, there has been a significant increase in funds allocated for education, with a total of $35 billion set aside, representing an $825 million rise.
“We were taken aback and let down by the aid package as a whole. Considering the significant strides we have made in recent years, it was disappointing. We were particularly hopeful that the progress we achieved in fully funding foundation aid for the current school year would continue into 2024-2025,” expressed Fessler.
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