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ALBANY---Parents in qualified school districts across the state would be provided with a refundable education tax credit of up to $500 per-child under the new Executive Budget which would help defray the cost of education-related expenses and new initiatives.
Gov. George Pataki says that will help make New York the national leader in preparing students for careers in math, science and engineering and better prepare our children for global competition.
"Together, we've made an unprecedented commitment to ensuring that New York's schools have the resources to give our children the opportunity to receive a quality education. Since 1995, we've increased state aid to schools by 65 and advanced new measures to improve performance and accountability in the classroom," Gov. Pataki said. "This education tax credit will build on our progress and give parents new resources and new flexibility to help them meet the educational needs of their children. It's vital that New York be a strong partner with parents, students and teachers to help them get the specific help they need to learn, grow and succeed."
"Today, opportunity follows the brain power, and companies will travel to the end of the earth to find it, invest in it and harness it," the Governor said. "It's clearly time to realign our educational priorities to meet the ever-changing demands of the 21st century. We've made great strides in education over the past 11 years, but we can and will do more. That's why we're advancing new initiatives that will help make New York the nation's leader in preparing our students for careers in math, science and engineering."
New $500 Educational Tax Credit
Under the education tax credit proposal, first unveiled in the Governor's Executive Budget earlier this month, parents of 1.8 million school children throughout New York State would be eligible for the new credit to cover expenses such as tutoring, after-school programs, summer school, special classes or primary or secondary school tuition.
To qualify, parents must live in school districts where one or more schools are required to offer public school choice under the requirements of the Federal "No Child Left Behind Act" and the school district must receive Federal Title I funds.
Under the proposal, families with incomes up to $75,000 would be eligible for the full $500 credit. Those with incomes between $75,000-$90,000 would receive a partial credit.
According to the State Division of Budget, 80% of the benefit in New York City would go to parents with children in public schools and statewide 87 percent of the benefit would go to public school parents.
The new educational tax credit would provide families with a total of $400 million annually beginning in the 2006 State fiscal year. If passed by the State Legislature, the tax credit would be effective for qualified taxpayers beginning in the 2006 Tax Year.
New Math/Science Initiatives
In his State of the State address earlier this month, Governor Pataki set a goal of making New York the national leader in preparing students for careers in math, science and engineering. To accomplish this, he included a comprehensive package of educational reforms and enhancements in his Executive Budget that will provide new opportunities for students to excel in these important fields. The initiatives include:
New Math/Science-Based High-Schools: The Governor has proposed creating more math and science high schools -- like the Tech Valley Science High School in the Capital Region -- schools focused specifically on teaching the skills our students will need to succeed in the high-tech economy of tomorrow.
Summer Institutes for Math/Science: The Budget funds a new $5 million program, including $2.5 million for summer math/science programs at community colleges for middle school students and $2.5 million to support university-based programs designed to refresh and renew the skills of math/science teachers.
Engineers of the Future: The Budget provides $5 million to enable 500 middle and high schools to develop pre-engineering programs to help increase the number of students pursuing engineering careers.
Math and Science Teaching Initiative: The Budget funds a new initiative to provide a total of 500 annual scholarships equal to SUNY tuition to students who commit to teaching math or science in New York's public schools for five years.
Teachers of Tomorrow: The Budget provides a $5 million increase, bringing this total program to $25 million, to provide recruitment incentives and tuition reimbursement to expand the pool of math/science teachers entering the teaching profession via alternative certification.
Expansion of STEP/CSTEP: The Budget doubles funding to $19 million for the Science and Technology Entry Program/Collegiate Science and Technology Program (STEP/CSTEP) to increase the number of underrepresented students successfully pursuing math and science in high school and college.
"Partnership for Prosperity": A newly created Science and Technology Taskforce will develop a statewide plan to strengthen science and technology education through public/private partnerships. 1-30-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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