[Heroes Act\School Budget]
Last month it was announced that, without needed federal support, New York State would be forced to cut its budget by an estimated 20 percent…That equates to some $174 million in budget cuts to NY-20 school districts alone.
Photo: YouTube
Congressman Paul D. Tonko called for immediate action to support America’s schools Friday during a press conference with New York State and Capital Region education and labor leaders.
Tonko led the conversation in the wake of several announcements of severe school budget cuts for local districts and pointed to the House-passed Heroes Act as the only rescue plan that would deliver needed assistance to schools, students, educators and staff.
“Families across our Capital Region found out this week that their kids won’t be learning in person this year, not because we can’t figure out how to teach them safely, but because our local budgets have been depleted by this ongoing global pandemic and they don’t have the resources to open their doors,” Congressman Tonko said.
“My colleagues and I in the House foresaw this challenge and responded with the Heroes Act, a rescue plan to support our schools and enable them to reopen safely. That was more than 100 days ago. We have heard desperate calls for aid from every sector of every industry across our nation, yet the Senate continues to sit on its hands and block funds that would deliver a lifeline not only to our schools, but to our first responders, healthcare workers, essential workers and millions of Americans fighting to weather this storm. I call upon the Senate to act immediately to advance this rescue plan to protect our children and their future.”
Last month it was announced that, without needed federal support, New York State would be forced to cut its budget by an estimated 20 percent due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. That equates to some $174 million in budget cuts to NY-20 school districts alone.
The House-passed Heroes Act would deliver state and local rescue and bring critical relief to schools to prevent devastating layoffs and loss of education services with approximately $1.3 billion in local government funding to Capital Region communities as well as $58 billion for America’s K-12 schools.
