2012 Conference Executive Record Report.pdf - YMCA of Greater ...

Let’s take a look at a fairly controversial topic you and I can easily recognize: abolishing teacher
tenure. The tenure law has existed in New York State since 1917, but it was not until 1980 that all public
school teachers and teaching assistants were included under the protections. In 2010, the federal
government enacted legislation to qualify for Race to the Top, but this failed and left New York in search
for a more allusive teacher evaluation system.
Our current system makes it extremely difficult to reward our exceptional teachers and remove
the under-performing ones. The time has come for New York to set precedence and move forward to a
better and brighter future for our students. If we can hold our government accountable for their actions,
then why should we not hold our public school teachers accountable, too?! Especially after the billions of
dollars we spend trying to do so with a faulty system.
With that, I strongly urge the passage of Bill #9 in the Senate. Not only will this bill eliminate
teacher tenure, but it will also create a new evaluation system that will act as building blocks to a stronger
system in years to come.
In 1966, New York State approved a constitutional amendment that allowed for a government-run lottery.
Originally, the proceeds were to be “applied exclusively to, or in aid or support of, education.” Although
this still remains true, the breakdown in the percentage of funds allocated to each area must be revised
since the amount of money that was promised to go toward education has significantly decreased over
time. Thus, I urge you to pass Bill #13 in Assembly Liberty.
With this bill, we would be looking to amend Section 1612 of the New York State Tax Law, to increase
and cap the percentage of money from the New York State lottery dedicated to education. By reducing the
prize money for all lottery drawings from 51% to 40% and the administrative costs from 3% to 2%, we
could easily increase education aid from 38% to 50%. This 12% increase is simple, it is effective, and it
ensures that the original intentions of the lottery are to be upheld under every circumstance.
A final bill regarding education that I ask you to support is Bill #25 in Assembly Freedom. This bill
proposes an amendment to Section 3202 of the New York State Education Law, which would eliminate
the funding for charter schools across the state. Each year, portions of public school district budgets are
used to fund charter schools. Although these schools are are not required to follow the same stipulations
as public schools, they are still funded in the same way - does this really seem fair?
In the economic crisis our state is facing, we must take every available opportunity to save
money, and in this case, making charter schools self-sustaining would save New York an abundance of
money. In fact, we could be saving up to $435.5 million per year. Additionally, we must understand that
if this bill is passed, charter schools would not fail to operate seeing as though many heavily rely on a
determined tuition and the support of benefactors in conjunction to the state funding.
Moving forward to the second point on the Executive Agenda, I would like to call your attention
to casino gambling. Over the years, we have gone back and forth on whether or not we should legalize
this act across our state. But the fact of the matter is this: New York currently has five casinos on Native
American reservations and nine racinos on our racetracks. Additionally, New York has 29,000 electronic
gaming machines which total more than Atlantic City and any other state in the Northeast. That is why I
am urging you to pass Bill #14 in Assembly Freedom and Resolution #20 in Assembly Liberty.
Both pieces of legislation will legalize casino gambling, but in an effective way, to move our state
into the right direction. Not only would we be generating excessive sums of money, but we would also be
creating jobs and attracting tourists to our great state of New York.
According to the Department of Labor, New York holds an unemployment rate of 8%. At the end
of last year, the number of unemployed New Yorkers increased by 8,700 people from November to
December. One major factor in this unemployment rate is illegal immigration. Currently, there are
645,000 illegal immigrants within our state borders, and 374,000 of these immigrants are active in the
workforce. This is creating fierce job competition between the illegals of our state and the struggling New
York taxpayers. Thus, I strongly urge you to pass Bill #32 in Assembly Liberty.
With this piece of legislation, we will be punishing businesses who knowingly or unknowingly
hire illegal immigrants. By doing so, we will deter businesses from eying a cheap source of labor,
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