Senator Fuschillo & Long Island Senators Call For Resignation Of State Education Commissioner Mills

A group of Long Island Senators today called for the resignation of New York State Education Department Commissioner Richard Mills for failure to oversee the waiver system that has allowed hundreds of retired school employees to go back to work with six figure salaries while at the same time collecting state pensions.

Senators Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., along with Senators Caesar Trunzo, Owen Johnson, Kenneth LaValle, Dean Skelos, Kemp Hannon, Carl Marcellino and John Flanagan, urged Commissioner Mills to step down for again failing to perform his job, saying the Commissioner has a history of ignoring fiscal mismanagement. The Senators also questioned why the Education Commissioner waited until the waiver scandal made headlines before placing a temporary moratorium on the practice.

Senator Fuschillo (8th District) said, "The cavalier way in which the Education Department, under Mills’ leadership, issued waivers to retired school administrators is outrageous. Commissioner Mills has a history of ignoring the warning signs. He has failed in his oversight of the waiver system just as he failed in his oversight of the Roosevelt School District. The waste and abuse of taxpayer money must stop. It is time for new leadership at the State Education Department."