Advocacy groups suggest reinstating ‘millionaire’s tax’

Buffalonews.com

Buffalo

Barbara O’Brien

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/schools/article427656.ece

Education and citizen advocacy groups have a suggestion to deal with the $1.3 billion cut in state eduction aid: reinstate the “millionaire’s tax.”

Members of Citizen Action of New York, Alliance for Quality Education and New York State United Teachers unveiled Thursday a campaign of “Students First: The Reality Tour” in Buffalo and throughout the New York State.

“Gov. Cuomo has said the budget cuts will not hurt our children,” said Jim Anderson, a statewide board member of Citizen Action and Alliance for Quality Education.

He insisted that is not true.

“The denial that some would like to have, never was an option,” he said. “It was a smoke screen.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver introduced legislation this week that would extend the top rate to those making $1 million or more through 2012. It is to expire the end of this year.

The cuts will hurt children in the classroom, said several speakers on the steps of Buffalo City Hall.

Ina Downing said her granddaughter has had no consistency in teachers in her Buffalo city school and will need to go to summer school because she has had a series of teachers and substitutes this year.

Ros Hampton, another Buffalo grandmother, said she pays a fee for on-line tutoring for her granddaughter to learn the things she should be taught in school. The family does not know whether to keep fighting or turn to a private school for her granddaughter, who will enter high school in two years.

“Would I be failing her as a citizen of Buffalo?” she asked.

Not reinstating the “millionaire’s tax” and spending the funds on education could be an act of child abuse, Anderson said.

“Over 2 million public school students and class rooms across the state are being forced to suffer in order to give millionaires and billionaires a multibillion dollar tax break. That ain’t right,” Anderson said. “It ain’t right.”

The Alliance for Quality Education produced a video of how the cuts in education will hurt various districts, which is available at its web site, www.aqeny.org.