Curran Pushes for School Districts' 'Fair Share'

(Editor's Note: The following release was issued by Assemblyman Brian Curran.)

After receiving the details of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposal for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, I have pledged to work diligently with Sen. Dean Skelos to restore the public education funding cuts to Nassau County schools proposed by the governor.

Nassau County taxpayers already have a tremendous property tax burden.  School taxes total approximately 65 percent of the average property tax bill.  Cuts to school funding will only cost homeowners more – and that’s just not right.

You better believe that I will be leading the charge in Albany to not only restore the funding our school districts had in the past, but shed light on why the Executive Budget changed the education funding formula to send Long Island’s fair share of aid to New York City and upstate.

Every school district that I have the privilege of representing needs relief from some of the highest property taxes in the nation.  We already passed the Property Tax Cap, encouraging school districts to live within their means.  I will relentlessly work to restore our education funding in the final budget agreement so that we can appropriately support public education for our children, while reducing the tax burden on homeowners and local businesses.

Facing the ever-increasing cost of education, having some of the highest per-pupil costs in the state and battling record sky-high property taxes certainly puts an excessive strain on our communities.  During a time when our economic recovery is a work in progress, Nassau County homeowners should not have to face additional burdens to pay for the school districts upstate, where taxpayers don’t suffer from such excessive property taxes.

Long Island students deserve their fair share of school aid, especially as our communities have paid more historically in property taxes.  This is not the time to increase that burden further. I will be working closely with Sen. Skelos to make sure that our working families, seniors and taxpayers are not penalized due to the governor’s Executive Budget.

Please watch this video of me and fellow Long Island members supporting a fair share of school aid for our children, and sign our petition!