Education reform reactions
"Finally we have a governor who is a champion for the exact needs of school children," said Alliance for Quality Education Director Billy Easton.
Education interest groups are praising Governor Spitzer for insisting on sweeping reforms.
"We've got to somehow fundamentally re-tool what we are doing," Spitzer said.
He's pushing for smaller classes, day-long Pre-K, and improved teacher quality.
To help the system along, the governor is proposing to spend an additional $7 billion during the next four years. This time though, the money will be divvied up according to education costs.
"There's going to be enough options that if districts identify the right reform measures for their districts, the funding is going to be there. And if it's well implemented, there shouldn't be any reasons for schools to fall short any longer," said Senior Research Associate for the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability Jason Brooks.
"It distributes that funding in a fair way that's based on student needs so that districts like Schenectady, Albany, Amsterdam will be able to raise their graduation rates," Easton said.
Spitzer also wants to link state education payouts to a school district's performance.
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"The state is going to set a high mark and schools are going to be held accountable for reaching it," Brooks said.
If the districts don't make the grade, Spitzer said their leaders might be looking for new jobs.
He's also proposing raising the charter school cap from 100 to 250 schools statewide, which is getting mixed reviews.
"We are concerned that in districts like Albany and Schenectady where there's a high concentration of charter schools, the state needs to be doing enough to make sure it's not draining the regular public school system," Easton said.
"We're excited to see the expansion of charter schools. A majority of charter schools in the state are out performing their local school districts," Brooks said.
While most people are hoping the governor's plans prove successful, they're still waiting to hear more details and hope politics doesn't get in the way of progress.