Senator Golden Says New York Kids Left at the Bottom Because of Race to the Top

Senator Martin J. Golden (R,C,I-Brooklyn) has called for all the members of the New York State Senate to support legislation he has introduced which would allow the State to compete for federal money from the Race to the Top program. Golden’s legislation would lift the cap on the number of charter schools in New York from 200 to 460.

“New York State is looking into the fiscal abyss. We are saddled with a $9 billion budget deficit, and are already cutting many programs needed by residents to maintain our quality of life. What is most troubling is that the Governor is now taking an axe to education funding. Charter schools work, and more importantly, they would give us an opportunity to get hundreds of millions in funding for education,” said Senator Golden.

Senator Golden has written to all of New York’s State Senators urging support for his legislation which would lift the cap on charter schools. Earlier this year the Democratic leadership in the Legislature refused to pass legislation that would allow for the creation of more charter schools, which would have maximized the State’s chance to obtain $700 million in federal funds for education.

“New York State should be doing everything in its power to find funding to pay for education. At a time when the Governor is proposing significant cuts to our schools, we need to do more. Passing this common sense legislation goes a long way in improving our chances of getting federal funding from the Race to the Top program,” continued Senator Golden.

“Charter schools are an important tool in providing our children a world class education that will allow them to compete for the jobs of tomorrow. By doing nothing the legislative leaders are limiting our ability to compete for this needed federal funding. If they want to play politics that is fine, but don’t do it with education. Inaction, is nothing more than the Governor, Assembly and Senate leadership ignoring the needs of taxpayers, parents, and most importantly our children,” concluded Senator Golden.