Manhattan Institute fellows Danyela Souza Egorov and John Ketcham argue that New York’s teachers’ unions are running a misinformation campaign — newspaper and TV ads, a dedicated website, and a full-page Buffalo News ad calling it “Trump’s voucher scheme” — to bully Gov. Kathy Hochul into rejecting a federal tax-credit program she has pledged to join. They contend the unions’ core claim that the program drains public schools is false: the OBBBA credit of up to $1,700 for donations to scholarship-granting organizations is entirely federally funded, requires no state or local match, and would not touch New York’s roughly $40 billion in state K-12 spending or NYC’s $38.6 billion DOE budget (where per-pupil spending has hit $42,000 despite falling enrollment). They note public school students are eligible for the scholarships to cover tutoring and after-school needs, and that about 2.7 million New York students would qualify by American Federation for Children figures, with low- and middle-income families first in line.
The authors echo Elorza’s argument framing union opposition as protecting members’ jobs and their grip over public education rather than students’ interests, arguing unions would rather forgo federally funded scholarships than let money reach non-unionized schools. They warn that whether or not Hochul opts in, New Yorkers can still claim the credit by donating to SGOs in participating states — potentially sending more than $1 billion out of New York, per Democrats for Education Reform figures — which, combined with school-choice laws elsewhere, could accelerate family flight from the state. They cast the New York fight as a proxy battle for blue states nationwide (noting only Colorado’s Jared Polis has opted in so far) and urge Hochul, amid city budget strain under Mayor Mamdani, to join as soon as possible.