To the Editor:

Governor Andrew Cuomo is trying to blackmail the New York State Legislature and the Public Schools of New York State with his proposed “draconian” reforms.

The governor laid out his draconian reform package in his State of the State/Governor’s Budget address Wednesday, January 21.

Using failing schools as an example, in which an average of 25,000 students per annum over the past 10 years were subject to the poorest of educational opportunities and outcomes, he laid out his plans to revamp all of NYS public school education. He overlooked the fact that there are 2.7 million students in New York State Public schools. Surely 25,000 students were ill served. That doesn’t justify the sweeping reforms he is proposing. What it amounts to is he is telling a story to fit his preconceptions, his misconceptions, and his vindictiveness toward the New York State United Teachers Union, and in the process, is demeaning the vast successes that public schools, their teachers, their boards of education, and yes, their students have achieved, and continue to achieve.

His planned increase in public education funding would have been 1.7 percent, or 360,000 million dollars. If the state legislature approves his reform package, he will agree to increase that funding to a little more than 4 percent, or 1.2 billion dollars. If they don’t agree with his reforms the increase goes back to pitifully inadequate 1.7 percent. He made no mention of GAP elimination.

This is blackmail.

I am hoping the legislature won’t fall for it. The Governor has to cease his attack on the teachers of New York State. It is not enough to honor 500 Master Teachers. It would be more honorable for this governor to honor all of the teachers in New York State public schools and the children they serve. They deserve it. Join me in supporting our local public school teachers. Again, they deserve it.

One other thought: If the state legislature doesn’t agree with him, that means that 2.7 million public school students don’t get the benefit of increased educational funding. That too is blackmail.

By the way, the governor’s proposed education budget includes charter schools too. And also by the way, the overwhelming majority of public schools in New York State are not “failing schools.”

Joseph M. Liotta

Norwood