ALBANY -- Sides are beginning to take shape in the battle-to-come this session over budget cuts, pension reform and tax caps
Property taxes keep rising, in part because of decisions your community has no control over - like teacher pensions negotiated years ago.
So groups like the Conference of Mayors are converging on Albany this week with a simple message for the incoming governor – don't make us cap what we can't control!!
At the same time, teachers appear to have drawn a line in the sand on the issue.
Dick Ianuzzi, NYSUT says, " I think my members are developing an anger that is going to be difficult to check going forward."
Iannuzzi isn't blaming the mayors, who he thinks are in the same boat as the teachers as well as the counties and the school boards.
Ianuzzi continues, "What we're all suffering from is until the state pays its fair share we have to stop putting the burden on school districts."
NYSUT’s new tougher stance may be a reflection of its isolation. Even natural allies like higher education can’t be counted on in this era of uncertainty. When asked what she thought about the Governor elect’s push for a property tax cap, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher wouldn't say if she supported it one way or another.
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher says, " I think there's a lot yet to be said and we will see where all this lands."
Zimpher was at the Capitol to testify at an Assembly hearing on closing the achievement gap in both secondary and higher education.
