By Alex Davidson
State Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin (D-Flushing) joined parents and residents at an early childhood center in Richmond Hill Monday to protest against Gov. George Pataki's proposed $1.4 billion cuts to the state education budget.
McLaughlin, along with former state first lady Matilda Cuomo, spoke at the Matilda Raffa Cuomo First Step Early Childhood Center at 115-15 101st Ave. to detail the effects the cuts would have on the city's education system.
“The governor's budget is irresponsible and can be termed as nothing short of an assault on working families, who would now have to pay an exorbitant fee – as much as $5,000 – for drastically needed intervention services,” McLaughlin said.
The assemblyman spoke with Cuomo at the center that aids 320 children from birth to 5 years old who have special needs, such as those associated with Autism, Down's Syndrome, speech impairments and behavioral and emotional difficulties. The $1.4 billion budget cut would translate into a loss of $200 million to the pre-K and early childhood programs, directly hitting facilities such as the Cuomo center, McLaughlin said.
The Cuomo center is one of three in Queens run by HeartShare, a non-profit agency that provides services to adults and children with special needs and disabilities. Parents at the center said that if Pataki's budget goes through, they will have to come up with $5,000 for each of their children to duplicate the services they currently receive.
“We cannot undo the fruits of our hard work over the years by allowing New York state to turn its back on children,” McLaughlin said. “Full-day kindergarten and experimental pre-K would also be severely damaged.”
Cuomo said she fears Pataki's cuts would jeopardize the future of the borough and the city's children because the programs to be cut are the ones influencing students' development. She said the governor's proposed cuts leave students, especially those with physical and mental disabilities, little chance to succeed.
Cuomo, the wife of former Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo, was the state's first lady from 1983-1994. The former school teacher said when her husband left office, facilities such as the Matilda Raffa Cuomo Center were fiscally healthy with adequate amounts of state funding.
McLaughlin said the $1.4 billion budget reduction would translate into a loss of $200 million for pre-K and early childhood programs. He said the cuts would mean 60,000 children would be added to the list of 130,000 4-year-olds already waiting for a pre-K seat, while 240,000 children would be forced into larger classes because of cuts to small class size initiatives.
The assemblyman said he met April 12 with a group of parents from the Cuomo center who outlined their concerns and told him how children throughout the borough and city will lose out – especially children with special needs and disabilities. He said he drafted a letter to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) following the meeting and decided to arrange the protest.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
