Gov. Cuomo’s budget address offered an aggressive but positive view of the upcoming fiscal year. While I anxiously await the full details of the budget, I am pleased to see the governor remains focused on addressing the high cost of property taxes and improving the quality of education for New York’s students. Long Island families pay among the highest property taxes in the nation, and our cost of living compounds this issue. We have a duty to ensure these priorities are seen to fruition.
However, we must continue to address the inequity of funding provided for our Long Island school children, and I am encouraged to see the governor proposed additional aid for our schools. Our children are too frequently shortchanged in favor of their classmates in New York City and upstate, and this cannot continue. I am also interested to see the governor’s full plan to provide increased aid for our college-bound students. College is crucial to the future success of our young people.
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In addition, Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center remains at the forefront of my personal priorities during the upcoming budget negotiations. Sagamore is a crucial provider of quality mental health services, and I intend to be a leading voice in the continued push to keep the facility open and operating in its current form. I look forward to addressing these issues, as well as an array of other priorities in the coming months.
