ASSEMBLYMAN PETER ABBATE
State budget ‘Keeps the Commitment’ through
$644 million aid increase for New York City schools

The Legislature’s 2008-2009 education budget equips our students with the tools necessary to succeed in a global economy. By providing necessary capital to modernize school facilities and expanding the number of universal pre-K classes, the Legislature’s education budget invests in our children’s future.

Constructing tomorrow’s schools today

The legislature’s budget is a clear victory for New York school children, as it fulfills the capital funding requirements outlined in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision.

If our children are to receive the quality education they deserve, we must ensure that they have adequate facilities in which to learn. We accomplished this by cutting through red tape and helping get the money where it’s needed most, when it’s needed most.

This effort will directly benefit the children of our community by:

• helping pave the way for expanding and modernizing P.S. 229 and P.S. 163 in Bath Beach

• relieving the overcrowding of P.S. 200 by building a new K-8 school (P.S./I.S. 237) on Avenue P and Stillwell Avenue

• adding $85 million for additional programs and restorations, including adult literacy education, independent living centers and libraries.

Staying Committed to Universal Pre-K

The final budget allocation for Universal Pre-K totals $450 million, an increase of $96 million over 2007-08. This expands the number of 4-year-old children attending pre-K from 93,000 up to 121,000, bringing New York even closer to achieving Universal Pre-K.

All New York children should reap the lasting benefits of attending pre-K because studies show again and again that pre-K gives our children an advantage in student achievement, college enrollment and future earnings.

“The Assembly has helped devise a budget that fulfillsour unwavering promise to give all children a sound, basic education.”