A STATEMENT FROM SENATOR SUE SERINO

ALBANY, NY—Senator Sue Serino (R, C, I—Hyde Park) released the following statement in response to the proposal announced today to make SUNY/CUNY college tuition-free.

“Like with all proposals, the devil’s in the details. I absolutely understand the need for innovative solutions to help students afford quality college education—students and families are drowning in higher education debt—but the reality is, there simply isn’t an unlimited pot of money to draw from.

I have a lot of questions concerning the proposal, not least of which involves the amount of time that will be required for a person to have been a New York resident before receiving the benefit. Further, if we are going to be asking taxpayers to make such a substantial investment in higher education, we need to tie it to an express incentive to ensure that when they graduate, these students stay and work here in New York and invest in our local communities.

College affordability needs to be a priority, but ultimately the program needs to be more than a political talking point—it needs to be rooted in successful outcomes and sustainability.”  

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