Bob Astrowsky, left, was a longtime political ally to Senate Minority Leader David Paterson.
When it was time for David Paterson to take his place in the New York Senate, his sixth-grade teacher gave his introductory speech. He said she read to him after school when he had trouble keeping up. In return, the teacher asked that he do something with his knowledge.
Today, as the Senate minority leader running for lieutenant governor, he has answered that request. As the first legally blind student to graduate from Hempstead schools, he has answered. As a staunch supporter of education, he has again answered.
With funding and test pressures, Paterson said, "a program or an individual can be shut down." With crowded classrooms, Paterson said, it's "no way to assess education and value professionals."
He criticized a governor who has not followed the court's decision in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case to fund satisfactorily New York City schools.
"The gap in education between those who learn and those who fall behind starts at age 3," Paterson said, calling for universal pre-K.