$1.7M FOR WITNESSES, LAWYERS IN MAISTO—Capital’s Jessica Bakeman: “The Cuomo administration is spending nearly $1 million for expert witnesses and another $700,000 for contracted private attorneys in a case the state is fighting to avoid spending more money on schools. The highest paid witness for the state in Maisto v. New York will receive $208,500, and the taxpayers’ total bill for the expert testimony is $966,950, according to a Capital analysis of state records. The state is also contracted to pay $700,320 to a private firm for the services of attorneys who have expertise in school funding cases.
“In the lawsuit, filed in 2008, eight small city districts allege the state is underfunding schools and therefore not fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide students with a “sound, basic education.” … Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office is defending the state against the lawsuit. Argued in State Supreme Court in Albany before Judge Kimberly O’Connor, the eight-week trial concluded earlier this month; attorneys for the plaintiffs said they expect a judgment in the fall. The decision will likely be appealed.
“In testimony reports submitted by the state’s expert witnesses, including former New York superintendents, they refute arguments the eight districts lack the resources to meet the constitutional obligation. Students’ poor performance in those districts is a result of teaching and leadership quality, not funding, they contend. Lawmakers, school district leaders, teachers’ unions, education advocates and the plaintiffs’ attorneys criticized the Cuomo administration for spending on expert witnesses and lawyers rather than increasing funding to schools.” http://capi.tl/1FNOdtZ
Spending $1.7 million to keep from having to spend more money on schools.
That's our "student lobbyist" in Albany, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, in action.
Spending taxpayer money to defend the indefensible. The Suburban Superintendents who wrote the state's "expert witness reports" some for more than $200K are the worst type of whores!
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
Deletecuomo is losing his sense of reality. I am now reading how cuomo is spending almost 2 million dollars to defend not spending more money on schools!!!! This is so crazy people. Say it again, cuomo is spending almost two million dollars to defend his policy of short changing schools of funding. Wow this is becoming almost middle eastern existance and governing people....quite scary.....how can it be that these politicians can be so inept, so stupid, so gullible, so devilish, so incompetent. This is truly amazing to me that cuomo is paying all this money to not fund schools. OMG
ReplyDeleteNYSUT should run ads "Cuomo spends $1.7 million on lawyers to keep from spening more money on public school kids..." Bet that would be great for his poll numbers.
DeleteHaving an educated population in a fascist despotic society is a risk. The sectors of society most cut off from opportunity and most subject to fascist violence must be denied the means of recognizing and changing things. Right now the ruling class are struggling to find a pretext
ReplyDeleteAgreed - Common Core is all about dumbing down and standardizing so that only the children of the elite are truly educated.
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