DFER Releases Statement in Support of Governor Cuomo’s Proposed School District Grants to Reward Performance Improvement and Management Efficiencies
New York, NY, March 14, 2012 – Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) today released the following statement from New York State Director Elizabeth Ling in support of Governor Cuomo’s performance-based grant proposal:
“With his proposal to promote the development of new, innovative approaches in our state’s public education system, Governor Cuomo continues his push to make New York’s government work better for our citizens. The Governor’s proposed $250 million performance-based grant program will reward school districts that demonstrate success in getting students to learn, or in finding ways to run their operations more effectively.
With this small pot of funding – only 1% of the state’s $20.3 billion education budget — the initiative will encourage new ideas and practices at the local level, which can eventually be shared across school districts to make our overall public education system stronger. This is no less than what every resident of our state deserves, and should expect, with our hard-earned tax dollars. In the current proposal, district needs will rightly be considered in determining awards.
At this time, when each dollar of education funding counts, New York cannot continue its historical approach of doing ‘business as usual,’ as advocated by special interests such as the Alliance for Quality Education and its primary backer, NYSUT. Despite the fact that our public schools spend more money per pupil than those in any other state, New York remains at the bottom of the pack. In fact, our state currently ranks 38th in the nation in terms of graduation rates.
With this innovative program, which could yield outsized results in the form of new ideas and progress, the Governor is showing us that we shouldn’t accept the status quo. Just as we work to raise the level of student learning, we can also expect the adults in the system to do better.”