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State Hands De Blasio $300 Million Universal Pre-K Deal
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 29, 2014
Modified Mar 29, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 29, 2014
Modified Mar 29, 2014
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As promised, Albany will be handing de Blasio a large hunk of unwanted cash to fund universal pre-Kindergarten. Cuomo and upstate lawmakers have reached a budget deal allotting the city $300 million for the program—just $40 million short of the total the mayor had planned to raise by taxing the city's wealthiest residents.
Universal pre-Kindergarten has been a testy matter between Albany and City Hall; one of the cornerstones of de Blasio's campaign had been his plan to tax the wealthy to fund the program, but Cuomo made it clear he'd rather fund pre-K through the state budget than let de Blasio raise taxes. The tax the mayor proposed—levied on those who make over $500,000 per year— would have been "less than three bucks a day—about the cost of a small soy latte at your local Starbucks," according to de Blasio.
Meanwhile, upstate lawmakers continue to negotiate the $142 billion state budget, which must be finalized by Tuesday. In addition to the pre-K deal, Cuomo has reportedly reached a deal mandating that the mayor use government funds to reimburse charter schools paying rent in private space, and will require de Blasio to find alternate space for three Success Academy charter schools he had previously blocked from expanding into public school space.
Tagged
bill de blasio
Cuomo
de Blasio
pre-k
pre-kindergarten
tale of two cities
Rebecca Fishbein
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