Education
Education
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Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller expanded the State University System under the policy to "Let each become all he is capable of being." It's time to live up to that promise by helping New Yorkers of all ages earn degrees, learn trades, and retrain for emerging fields.
Yet our education system needs to not only prepare people for workforce opportunities but also to encourage critical and creative thinking skills and instill a joy in learning that will serve them throughout their adult lives. Preparing for day to day living, social interactions, civics knowledge and responsibility, and the ability to express ourselves and appreciate artistic expression are all important and we need a system that enables people to fully participate in every aspect of life.
Delivering for our future
We have to invest in programs that open doors for everyone, so we invest in public schools for our children, trade schools, and colleges for adults, and we make that accessible to everyone no matter the circumstances of their birth. This is why we have public education and the SUNY and CUNY systems. We can ensure that these systems are working for us and delivering the skills and education necessary for people to provide a good life for themselves.
This requires the state to not only continue fully funding the Foundation Aid for public schools and make sure the data used to calculate that aid is accurate to the current Census, we need to expand that aid. I am for exploring the idea that the state's public education funding can come entirely from the state level and not have to rely on property taxes while maintaining local control of the funds to reflect the local school system's priorities. This would require some major reforms to be enacted with administration, but we have the ability to do so and should.