Mayor de Blasio Defends Preschool and After-School Programs with Determination
New York’s new mayor, Bill de Blasio made the needs of young children and pre-adolescents the centerpiece of his election campaign last fall. A promotional website describes a well framed “plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers to fund universal pre-k for every four year old and after school for every middle school student in New York City.”
In New York approving even local tax requests is a state responsibility. Yesterday de Blasio traveled to Albany to ask members of the General Assembly to pass enabling legislation for the modest New York City income tax he seeks to levy on those earning over $500,000 annually.
Pressure from de Blasio has forced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to address the need for preschool as well, though the details area little murky because his plan is also paired with the statewide tax cut he anticipates will help him get reelected next fall. According toBloomberg News, Cuomo says pre-kindergarten for all four-year-olds across the state will cost $2.2 billion; Mayor de Blasio says his plan for pre-kindergarten and after school programs for middle schoolers in New York City alone will cost $2.5 billion. He has proclaimed he will not back down on a plan that is urgently needed by New York City’s families.
Asking de Blasio to accept his more modest statewide proposal, Cuomo charges de Blasio can’t