The perpetual question is when is progress progressive. When is a following a trend to an earnest desire to bend? Intellectually we know that nothing happens in an instant. Change, while constant, is incremental. There is a need for constant vigilance. So we ask, who can we trust and when. Does our heart leap when a Governor tweets a proposal to eliminate standardized testing for all k-2 students? Do we dare to think that this might be the beginning of an end to all standardized testing? When this same administrator recommends more dollars for prekindergarten education do we “commend,” condemn, or consider the possibility? Governor Andrew Cuomo is a man on the move, but to where.

Cuomo Expected to Unveil $1.5 Billion Plan to Expand Pre-K Statewide

By Susanne Craig and Thomas Kaplan | Originally Published at http://nyti.ms/1cQkdv3>The New York Times. January 21, 2014

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, in his budget address on Tuesday, is expected to propose setting aside $1.5 billion over five years to pay for an expansion of prekindergarten classes statewide, administration officials said.

The proposal by Mr. Cuomo is likely to be seen as an attempt to outmaneuver the new mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, whose signature campaign proposal was raising taxes on the city’s highest earners to finance an expansion of prekindergarten and after-school programs.

But the mayor said on Tuesday morning that he would in fact continue pushing for such a tax, arguing that a dedicated city revenue stream was the only way to provide a reliable source of funding.

Mr. Cuomo’s program would be a broad one: School districts across the state would be eligible, and the state would fund a school district’s prekindergarten plan once the state has reviewed it and determined it is feasible, one of the officials said. The officials requested anonymity to discuss the proposal in advance of Mr. Cuomo’s budget proposal.

The details of the governor’s plan remained murky, and some education advocates were already privately questioning on Tuesday whether it was enough.

A report last year by the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit civic group, estimated the cost at $1.4 billion per year for the state. And Mr. de Blasio has said the cost would be $292 million per year just for New York City. Those figures do not include the cost of classroom space, which Mr. de Blasio has estimated at $50 million per year.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat like Mr. de Blasio, faces re-election in November, and has said he wants to reduce taxes this year, not raise them. An administration official said the governor’s proposal would provide enough money to pay for the expansion sought by Mr. de Blasio without requiring a tax increase. Mr. Cuomo, the official said, would pay for an expansion of after-school programs using expected revenues from new casinos.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Mr. de Blasio repeatedly called Mr. Cuomo’s proposal “commendable,” but suggested it was insufficient.

“It’s different from what we intend to do,” he said. “What we intend to do is create a stable, consistent, reliable funding mechanism for the next five years.”

He noted that his proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy had been the centerpiece of his mayoral campaign and had received broad support in polls.

“I have a mandate from the people to pursue this plan, and I’m going to pursue this plan,” Mr. de Blasio said.

Mr. de Blasio has said his proposed tax increase would raise about $530 million a year for the city: $340 million would go toward prekindergarten and $190 million toward after-school programs.

The state’s commitment to expand prekindergarten was foreshadowed by the governor earlier this month in his annual State of the State address. His financing proposal was first reported on Tuesday by The Daily News.

In addition to the prekindergarten plan, Mr. Cuomo was expected on Tuesday to announce funding for a number of big-ticket items in his budget proposal, including tax cuts aimed at spurring economic development, particularly upstate, where economic growth has been challenging. He also planned to include a package of ethics and campaign fund-raising measures.

Javier C. Hernández and Kate Taylor contributed reporting from New York.