EDITORIALS
Schools can’t be spared
Depth of recession, size of deficits mean cuts in major cost categories
Updated: 11/18/08 7:08 AM
Educators take note: There’s a reason they call it a “crisis.” The economic fissure New York State has toppled into isn’t merely a rough patch or a pinch. State government is in a choke hold; getting out of it is going to hurt.
Education advocates are protesting the depth of cuts that Gov. David A. Paterson proposed Wednesday, and it’s easy to understand why. Mid-year cuts in education aid are especially disruptive, and while most schools— but not all— will still get more state money than last year, the amount of increase is being cut almost in half. Poorer districts would be asked to absorb a smaller reduction than wealthier ones under Paterson’s plan, but layoffs and program cuts are a black cloud on the immediate horizon.
It’s not just education. That same black cloud hangs over every aspect of the economy. With the collapse of housing, many associated sectors of the economy are souring. As consumers, fearful of their jobs, close their wallets, retail jobs are coming under pressure.
Everybody is under the gun, including New York’s taxpayers, who have been under extraordinary pressure for years. They pay the nation’s highest taxes and can’t be expected to underwrite New York’s corrupt spending policies any further. The balance has to come from the spending side of the state’s ledger.
Education, like health care, is a special category of spending, of course, only marginally comparable to selling dishwashers or dog toys. But education, like health care, also makes up a huge percentage of the state’s budget. Together, they account for about 68 percent of state spending, with education — including SUNY and CUNY — accounting for 30 percent of the total.
Like Willie Sutton, who was attracted to banks because that’s where the money was, New York cannot hope to get its spending under control without going where the money is. Health and education have to play prominent roles in getting New York out of this mess, and with a $12.5 billion deficit looming next year, things will get worse before they get better. That’s a hard, unpleasant fact. Such is the painful nature of crisis.
Still, Paterson and legislators should look for ways to soften the blow aimed at education. In particular, they should look at the unfunded mandates that drive up taxpayer costs, not always for good reason. They have proposed some relief in that area, but insufficient to the injury coming schools’ way. Communities could also seek ways to cut duplicative costs and ease pressure on property taxes by considering more district consolidations.
New York has faced this drill before. In 1990, Gov. Mario Cuomo cut aid to education by $190 million to help close a $1 billion deficit. Paterson is proposing $840 million in cuts to help produce $2 billion in savings. Although this cut is proportionately more painful, education is significantly higher now than it was then. New York’s schools survived Cuomo’s cuts and gradually regained financial ground as the economy improved. There is no reason to believe that won’t happen again.
But, first, the crisis. New York has to reorder its financial house. The state spends more than it can afford, as the continual outflow of jobs and population underscores. That is the opportunity that accompanies this crisis, and it’s why health and education are paying a steep price. Taxes can’t go up, so spending has to come down. In crisis mode.
