Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Says Upstate Schools Can Rely On Property Taxes for Pre-K [View all]

[hrmjustin]

GLENN BLAIN
Upstate school districts that need funds for universal prekindergarten programs can raise their property taxes, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Tuesday.

Silver, during an afternoon press conference, refuted Gov. Cuomo’s argument that Mayor de Blasio’s plan to fund pre-K with a tax on wealthy city residents would be unfair to school children in upstate areas that don’t have the resources of New York City.

“They have a property tax,” Silver said.

Silver said the city, unlike other school districts, does not fund its schools through property taxes and is simply seeking the power to tax its own citizens. He said de Blasio’s plan should be treated like any other “home rule “ request from a locality.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2014/02/assembly-speaker-sheldon-silver-says-upstate-schools-can-rely-on-property-taxe