While many feared the long overdue state budget would set the record as the latest in history, instead it turned out to be the most generous package ever for education.

Ending one of the longest stalemates in state history, lawmakers finally approved the 1999-2000 state budget 126 days late on Aug. 4 - boosting education funding by $913 million, almost 8 percent.

"It was worth the wait," said Alan Lubin, executive vice president of New York State United Teachers. "This increase is nearly four times what the governor proposed in January."

NYSUT's legislative department worked round the clock in the final hours of budget negotiations, pushing items large and small.

The state's network of teacher centers, cut completely from the executive budget, were restored with $20 million. For more than a decade, the centers have been a national model for teacher-to-teacher professional development and technical training.

On the smaller scale, the union successfully lobbied for a special bill allowing the north country's Ausable Valley district to stretch out state aid repayments over six years, with no interest. "Without that bill, the district would have been hit with a $2 million bill in one year," Lubin said. "It's a small item but very important to our members and students in Ausable Valley."

Holding out for higher ed

For higher education, the union convinced the Legislature to commit $7.7 million to begin rebuilding the ranks of the full-time faculty at SUNY and CUNY. In addition, community college aid will increase $75 per student, or $14.4 million in an academic year.

While higher ed union leaders were pleased with the increased funding for more faculty lines and community college aid, they spent much of their time in August advocating with CUNY and SUNY officials for the $42 million to pay for previously negotiated salary increases that were not included in the budget.

Union leaders are encouraged by these discussions and believe that there will be positive action to provide the resources for the negotiated salary increases. (See article above for other higher ed budget highlights.)

There was also plenty of last-minute scurrying to secure $75 million in state funding to lower class size, Lubin said. Some lawmakers - and even the State Education Department and Regents - thought a federal initiative to cut class size would be sufficient.

What's in

Here are other budget highlights:

• A new $145 million capital program called RESCUE will help fund health and safety projects in schools around the state. Up to 40 percent of this will go to New York City. The union convinced legislators to amend the bill to cover air conditioning. (New York City schools are especially ill-equipped to offer summer school, with only 200 of the city's 1,000 buildings air-conditioned.)

• $137 million more operating aid than in 1998-99.

• $20 million more than last year to help districts raise standards.

• an additional $3.5 million for professional development grants;

• $140 million restored for expansion of pre-K and full-day kindergarten.

• $67 million for teacher support aid for Big Five city districts.

• $1 million to help teachers seek National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification (see article at top of page).

• $1 million for the New York City Peer Intervention Program, a voluntary, confidential program run by the United Federation of Teachers to help tenured teachers who are struggling in the classroom.

The union beat back the executive budget's attempt to freeze special education funding and phase out BOCES.

The package rejected the proposed 25 percent cut for BOCES, and it increased aid by $40 million.

In order to improve cost effectiveness, the Legislature directs the Commissioner of Education to prepare a report on BOCES costs during the last three years. Also, starting Jan. 15, technology purchases from BOCES must be cost-effective for school districts to receive BOCES aid.

The Legislature denied the executive budget's proposal to impose a property tax cap for school districts. Instead, the new budget requires districts to mail a copy of special notice to all district residents, comparing the growth in the school budget and estimated tax levy relative to the consumer price index.

The final deal also restores the executive budget's $1.1 billion cut in Medicaid financing to help hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and home care providers. Hospitals and other health care providers would have been forced to cut back on care, causing the loss or displacement of up to 12,000 jobs.

Lubin stressed a great deal of credit goes to all those union members who wrote letters, sent faxes, and those who met with legislators back in their districts and in Albany.

"Throughout this long process, we never let up the pressure," he said. "The fact this kind of package was achieved in a non-election year is truly remarkable."

Do the math

Lubin noted that, because of the uncertainty over the state budget, many districts conservatively estimated state aid figures when they drew up budget plans to put before the voters in May. Many districts assumed they would receive last year's amount of school aid, or they used the figures from the governor's initial state aid proposal, which provided a modest increase of $259 million statewide.

"Given the record $913 million increase in aid to public education, we're urging our local leaders to revisit their district's budget assumptions," Lubin said. "Additional money may be available to restore programs and services scaled back as a result of state budget uncertainties."

A summary of the statewide package and a breakdown of school aid by county and district may be accessed by visiting NYSUT's Web site at www.nysut.org.