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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2004

NEW SCHUMER ANALYSIS: PROPOSED FEDERAL BUDGET WOULD UNDER-FUND "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" BY $204 MILLION IN UPSTATE NY SCHOOLS

Schumer to urge Congress to send additional $204 million beyond new budget proposal to schools in upstate New York to hire new teachers, reduce class size, and provide specialized instruction in math and reading

Schumer to detail county impacts; Capital Region schools would be shortchanged by $20.1 million; Central NY $24.3 million; Rochester/Finger Lakes $32.1 m; Hudson Valley $50.5 m; North Country $17.3 m; Southern Tier $16.7 m; Western NY $43 m

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today said a new analysis by his office reveals that schools in upstate New York would be shortchanged approximately $204 million in funding from No Child Left Behind under the Administration's new education budget proposal. Schumer said it was vital for the federal government to provide the Title I funding that was authorized in the landmark No Child Left Behind bill to hire new teachers, reduce class size, and provide specialized instruction in math and reading.

“It's one thing to hold schools to high standards, but what good is it if you don't give them the resources they need to meet those standards?” Schumer said. “Our schools have real needs and are depending on Washington to keep its commitment. All the talk about the education bill that got passed is nothing more than lunchroom chatter if the funding isn’t there.”

Title I, the largest program in the No Child Left Behind Act, helps struggling school districts keep pace with more cash-rich ones. The program is used mostly to pay the salaries of teachers and paraprofessionals, but schools can also spend funds on professional development, educational materials, afterschool programs, and a wide range of other purposes such as specialized instruction. The Title I program also includes key accountability measures, so that schools receiving Title I funding that fail to raise student academic achievement will face severe sanctions, like being taken over by the state, or having its employees replaced.

A new analysis by Schumer’s office shows that the Administration's new budget proposal fails to provide the actual dollars that were authorized in the bill to help upstate New York schools meet these new performance requirements. In fact, although the education bill intends to help schools hire and retain highly-qualified teachers, improve curricula, repair buildings and make other improvements, the budget proposal shortchanges upstate New York schools by $204 million.

Schumer said that if the federal government fails to fully fund the "No Child Left Behind" authorizations, the impact of local budget crunches will be exacerbated this next school year. His budget analysis revealed that the proposed budget shorts school districts in the state at the following levels:

• Capital Region schools are shortchanged by about $20.1 million;
• Central New York schools are shortchanged by about $24.3 million;
• Rochester/Finger Lakes schools are shortchanged by about $32.1 million;
• Hudson Valley schools are shortchanged by about $50.5 million;
• North Country schools are shortchanged by about $17.3 million;
• Southern Tier schools are shortchanged by about $16.7 million;
• Western New York schools are shortchanged by about $43 million.

Schumer urged the Congress and the White House to bolster the Administration's proposal by sending the full amount of money promised to schools under the bill -- including $204 million more to upstate New York than is in the current proposal. “From one end of the state to the other, no matter who I talk to, New Yorkers of all stripes are worried about the education their children are getting. The only way to make sure our kids are learning the skills and facts they need is to invest in them -- and that means money, not just words. Congress needs to step up to the plate and come through with the funding that was authorized in No Child Left Behind.”

Please see attached chart and analysis for county-by-county breakdowns of the budget's impact on schools throughout New York.

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