Assembly Gives Final Passage To Roosevelt Aid Legislation

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced that the State Assembly today overwhelmingly passed an Assembly initiative aimed at helping the Roosevelt school district get on firm financial footing.

Assembly bill 9504, authored and initiated by Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper, will wipe out the Roosevelt School District's $8 million accumulated deficit and increase the current $6 million grant for academic improvement to $12 million - a move that finally grants Roosevelt funding parity with other school districts in Nassau County and brings per-pupil spending in the district to the county average.

Hooper, who represents the Roosevelt community and has been a passionate advocate for parity for the children of Roosevelt, said the final passage of her legislation continued the Assembly Majority's staunch advocacy of public education.

"Leaving Roosevelt in a position of exchanging one form of debt for another was never an option as far as we were concerned. New Yorkers facing financial difficulties know that makes little sense. It's like substituting one high interest credit card for another," said Silver (D-Manhattan). "The solution being advanced today is one that will leave Roosevelt whole. This district deserves to have the slate wiped clean. Roosevelt is the only district that is run by the state. It is the state's responsibility to correct the situation."

"New York state shares responsibility for the lack of oversight which contributed to this mess," said Hooper (D-Nassau). "This legislation will ensure that the Roosevelt school district is made whole without leaving them in a position to be borrowing from themselves and I will continue to fight for the children of Roosevelt."

Praising Hooper for her continued commitment to the children of Roosevelt, Silver said the legislation builds upon previous Hooper initiatives aimed at helping the children of Roosevelt. The Legislature created the academic improvement initiative in 2002 and fought for its continued implementation as a means of raising achievement; over time, this grant has provided a total of $36 million. Other initiatives include 98 percent reimbursement for spending on school construction. Additional Assembly initiatives garnered Roosevelt nearly $35 million in specialized school construction grants, through the RESCUE and EXCEL programs.

Speaking on the Assembly floor as the bill was being considered on the floor of the Assembly, Hooper expressed her "deepest thanks to Speaker Silver for his unwavering support of public education - particularly for his concern for the education of the children of Roosevelt Union Free School District. Without his stalwart leadership and the support of my community, this historic legislation would never have made it to this floor."