Assemblyman Tom Alfano blasted Governor Eliot Spitzer's $500,000 cut to New York State's Education Department Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability office and the redeployment of state police serving as school resource officers in school districts.

The office oversees background checks, investigates complaints and administers disciplinary proceedings regarding school personnel. The cut represents a 50 percent reduction to the office and a separate budget cut of a redeployment of state police officers utilized by school districts as school officers.

"This is one of the most outrageous and reckless cuts we can have for our school districts throughout the state," Assemblyman Tom Alfano said, adding, "We've had incidents with inappropriate contact with students from school personnel reported in the news and this cut places children in danger - it's as simple as that. Again, Governor Spitzer shows all of us that he doesn't get it. He cut healthcare dollars to our hospitals. He cut school aid to our communities. Now, he's cutting school safety background checks for our children. It's reckless."

The unit of the State Education Department slated for the cut is tasked with making sure that school personnel meet criteria and standards in working with children. It also does background checks and investigates citizen, school district and student complaints.

The background check procedures, investigations and disciplinary hearings are a very labor-intensive effort with a great deal of verification and research work. "This is not a cut of a paper pusher. This is a cut that makes sure that we have appropriate people working with our children. I can't even begin to imagine what the wait times and backlog will be if these cuts are made law. Background checks won't be completed in a timely manner. Safety will be compromised and education will suffer. It's completely unacceptable."

The cut to the State Education Department is a part of Governor Spitzer's budget that he has submitted to the State Legislature. The budget submission also cuts high tax aid for the Sewanhaka High School District by over $1 million, cuts BOCES aid almost 42 percent to students in Floral Park, Franklin Square, Elmont, Stewart Manor, South Floral Park and New Hyde Park. It cuts BOCES aid to elementary schools like Elmont by over $250,000. It also shifts and places more of a tax burden on local homeowners. Assemblyman Alfano called these cuts "dead on arrival" when Governor Spitzer announced them in his budget presentation.

"These are clearly bad decisions by the governor and the wrong priorities for our communities," Assemblyman Alfano said, concluding, "We can't allow these kind of cuts to happen and we must protect our children. Further, it's just another instance when the governor shows all of us that his answer is always higher taxes on working families."