Assemblyman Joseph M. Giglio (R,C,I-Gowanda) met with education officials in Albany in the wake of the Board of Regents elections yesterday. The Legislature confirmed the approval of nominated Board of Regents members for the first and fifth district, as well as an at-large vacancy.

“The Board of Regents selection process is broken. Candidates are selected in such a partisan manner that upstate schools’ needs fall on deaf ears,” said Giglio. “We need to ensure that our western New York children are getting fair representation on the board, not more downstate focused board members.”

In addition to reforming the Board of Regents selection process, Giglio said a major need of school districts is offering more money targeted through Foundation Aid and returning funding that was taken away by the Gap Elimination Adjustment.

“We fought to restore $603 million in school funding last year, but it is now time to end the education cuts once and for all. Our schools cannot afford another year of budget cuts. Our children deserve better,” said Giglio. “I want to make sure that our schools can retain talented teachers, keep arts and sports programs and invest in newer technologies. Ensuring that our children are getting the very best education is my number one priority as a lawmaker.”