NY's Largest Teachers Union Threatens To Sue State Over 20% Cut

NEW YORK, NY — New York's largest teacher's union threatened Wednesday to sue the state if hundreds of millions of dollars are cut from school budgets. The New York State United Teachers, which has over 600,000 members in education, human services and health care, urged the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to immediately address a 20-percent cut in funding for school districts — a loss that it said will disproportionately affect the poorest districts with the neediest students.

The union said the New York Constitution requires the state to provide every student a sound, basic education. Plans to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars later this month, coupled with years of funding shortfalls and higher costs of operating schools during the coronavirus pandemic, could potentially violate students' right to a decent education.

The poorest 10 percent of school districts receive about 80 percent of their funding from the state, the union said. By contrast, the richest 10 percent of districts receive just 10 percent of their funding from the state. Should the cuts go into effect, the poorest 10 percent of districts would lose $847 million in state money, amounting to $3,779 per student. The richest 10 percent would lose $42 million, or about $458 per student.

Many school districts are already considering or making staff cuts to prepare for the cuts, the union said. In New York City, leaders threatened 9,000 layoffs last month if the cuts go through. In Albany, more than 220 people were to be laid off. Seventeen teachers were laid off in Norwich and 57 staffers were cut in Copiague.

"We’ve already seen some districts make hasty decisions to slash their budgets in anticipation of a major state cut later this month," Andy Pallotta, president of the union, said in a statement. "But this isn’t just about jobs. It’s about what’s left for students when the dust settles as we see the loss of teachers and paraprofessionals who serve vital roles. The state must stop this madness."

The union urged lawmakers to pass the federal HEROES Act, which it said would provide stimulus funding for public education and other public services. But the union stressed the state can't wait any longer to take steps to address the looming cuts, whether that's through using rainy day or settlement money, or adopting new revenue raisers, such as raising taxes on the wealthy.

"In the absence of the federal government finally doing what’s right, the state needs to step in and prevent the decimation of our public education system at a time when needs are higher than ever before," Pallotta said.