Cahill school t axes

Do you agree with Assemblyman Kevin Cahill on school funding and property taxes?...

His letter here below...

To the Editor:

During this campaign season, school funding has taken center stage.
It's about time. The people of the Hudson Valley and all of New York
deserve real solutions, not rhetoric, for this most significant
problem. I salute those candidates who have taken the time to learn
this issue and embraced realistic proposals such as the legislation I
have introduced.

Assembly Bill 8069 will eliminate the use of regressive real estate
taxes for the purposes of funding education. The bill first and
foremost ensures that every child has access to the same quality
education regardless of where they live or the level of their family's
income. By eliminating the school real property tax and shifting to a
more progressive statewide income tax, we will be able to fund our
schools equitable, fairly and more affordably for all New Yorkers.

School funding is an issue that impacts everyone. Here in the Hudson
Valley, we are bearing the burden of skyrocketing property taxes. In
other regions, where property values and incomes are not as high,
schools are suffering because they do not have the means necessary to
provide a basic quality education.



For too long we have had a Governor in charge that has refused to
acknowledge the state's responsibility that every child, everywhere in
New York has an equal right to a quality education. Some people work
against much needed reforms by claiming it is an upstate versus
downstate issue or that it is only a regional problem and therefore
only requires a regional solution. The truth is that education
funding is a broken system statewide and needs to be fixed.

Assemblymember Joel Miller recently attacked his opponent, Democratic
County Legislator, Joel Tyner, for supporting my school financing
proposal. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Dr. Miller
asserted that the current school aid formula is equitable and working
just fine. He also repeated the false argument that my plan would
somehow siphon funding from our local schools to districts in Long
Island or Westchester. Dr. Miller knows better and so does Joel
Tyner. That's why Tyner has articulated this issue passionately
throughout his campaign.



The fact is, for example, that in Suffolk County, which encompasses
the east end of Long Island, local property taxes make up exactly the
same percentage (64\%) of education funding as in Dutchess. Under my
legislation, the state would treat each area equally. Taxes on Hudson
Valley residents would be significantly reduced under my financing
plan. Every taxpayer would be treated fairly and every student would
be treated equitably. That is the whole point of the bill.

The only way we are going to achieve meaningful school financing
reform is to proceed with the value of this being about our children.
Ensuring that each and every child has access to the same basic
quality education regardless of where they live, how high their
family's income is or how much their property is valued should be our
top priority. The state has a moral and legal obligation to ensure
equity in our education system statewide. I have and will continue to
advocate for legislation to accomplish that goal while eliminating our
reliance on regressive property taxes.



Joel Tyner clearly understands that this is the biggest problem we are
currently facing. Instead of perpetuating false and misleading scare
tactics that get us nowhere, Joel Miller ought to be thanking Tyner
for finally waking him up to get serious about reforming education
funding in New York State.

Sincerely,


Kevin A. Cahill
Member of Assembly

--
Conor D. Bambrick
Legislative Director
Assemblymember Kevin Cahill
557 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
Ph: (518) 455-4436
Fax: (518) 455-5576