There’s a lot of talk in Albany about this year’s state budget. Too often, legislators talk the talk but fail to deliver on what matters most. People all across the state are struggling and Albany’s centrism makes us feel as though we are being ignored in small town New York. This budget season, I will be fighting for policies that truly impact people’s lives and allow the middle-class to grow. Our schools deserve to be fully funded and that includes ending the 2010 education cuts, known as the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). Middle-class families deserve to have more money in their pockets, and that is why income and property tax relief also tops my budget priority list.

The withholding of school aid runs by Governor Cuomo essentially eliminates school district’s ability to determine their budgets. This means not knowing if every child will have a textbook in class or enough teachers to give children the attention they need to succeed. Unless the legislature capitulates and passes Governor Cuomo’s education reforms, we may be saying goodbye to extra-curricular activities, talented young teachers, and supplies for every student. I will be working with legislative leaders and the governor to ensure that Long Island schools receive the funding they deserve.

After the legislature drastically overspent in 2009 and 2010, severe and lasting cuts were made to our education system, also known as the GEA. They have had lasting effects on the ability of our school districts to retain talented teachers, lower classroom size, and update their infrastructure. Each year, the legislature and governor chose to take this money out of the state’s school aid and leave each district in a budget deficit. We must fight to ensure this funding is injected back into our classrooms, where it matters most.

Year after year, property taxes continue to rise in New York state. In fact, Long Island has some of the highest property taxes in the entire nation. The economy is not fully recovered, and home values are still deflated, meaning middle-class families cannot enjoy the economic freedom they once did. If our suffocating tax structure continues, it may result in families’ inability to pay for their children’s college education, parents having to work multiple jobs, and families irrevocably torn apart by home foreclosures and sales. Previous property tax cut proposals have included stringent qualification requirements; so, many families are left with no tax cuts at all. My plan takes a more aggressive approach, by providing broad tax cuts to more New Yorkers who are working hard to climb out of the longest recession since the Great Depression.