State Senate Majority Conference Leader, John Sampson, came out in favor of lifting the cap on charter schools so that New York State is in a stronger position to compete for federal Race to the Top funding. Sampson's support is critical as the leader of one house of the legislature, and it follows the Regents recommendation and Gov. David Paterson's endorsement of a cap lift.

The state Assembly, led by Speaker Sheldon Silver, will have to weigh in at some point. Earlier this month, he said he was reviewing the Regents recommended education reform agenda.

Sen. Sampson spoke yesterday from his office in the state Capitol to several reporters, including the New York Observer state reporter, Jimmy Vielkind, who reports here.

Days of Wine & Roses Really is Over
Sampson also had an admonition about state finances. Though the Senate legislatively blocked the Governor's attempt to impose mid-year school aid cuts, education reductions for the 2010-11 school year he considered "appropriate." Sampson said "there are going to be cuts and you're going to need to figure out a way to deal with them."

To paraphrase former Governor Hugh Carey (circa '75), "The days of wine and roses are over."

Sampson spoke of the difficulty in "managing the expectations of the advocates" in the past year; that is, those of us who advocate for more public resources. Consider this sit-down with reporters the beginning of his attempt to manage expectations for 2010 to more realistic levels in light of the state's perilous fiscal condition.

Expect a rough budget year for 2010.

Peter Murphy
for The Chalkboard