Promising a transparent funding formula, increased state funding, and more accountability, Governor Eliot Spitzer proposed education reform as a means to revitalize the state's economy in his first State of the State address from Albany on Wednesday.   "With the reforms and accountability we will propose in the coming weeks, and the resources we will commit, there will be no more excuses for failure. The debate will no longer be about money, but about performance; the goal will no longer be adequacy but excellence; and the timetable will no longer be tomorrow but today," said Governor Spitzer.

   "The Governor's specific plans for reforming the school funding formula still needs to be defined, but I am hopeful that he will fulfill his commitment to resolving the CFE case in the court-ordered range of $4.7 to $5.6 billion as he promised in the campaign," explained Michael Rebell, Executive Director of The Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University.  "His commitment to new accountability measures to ensure that the money is spent well is also particularly important" Rebell added. 

Spitzer also identified four other additional education initiatives in his address: providing pre-K to all four year olds in the state by the end of his term, lifting the charter school cap, creating a higher education commission, and reforming the Wicks Law to lower the cost of school construction. 

A fully copy of the Governor's address can be found at http://www.ny.gov/governor/keydocs/NYS-SoS-2007.pdf

Published Friday, Jan. 5, 2007