Gubernatorial hopeful Cynthia Nixon unveiled a $7.4 billion education plan Wednesday that would boost spending on schools by hiking taxes on high earners and corporations.
Nixon’s plan would increase aid to schools across the state to the tune of $4.2 billion, and provide free college tuition for another 170,000 students at public universities.
The actress and activist challenging Gov. Cuomo in the Democratic primary said in a speech at Borough of Manhattan Community College that New York’s schools are among the most unequally funded and segregated in the nation.
“The governor’s refusal to address inequity over his eight years in office has had devastating consequences,” she said.
But Nixon’s pricey plan relies on an income tax increase on households earning over $300,000 a year, which would bring in $5.5 billion. In addition, she would raise corporate tax rates to generate $3.2 billion.
The total cost of her initiatives would add up to $7.37 billion.
“That sounds expensive. You know what? It is, and it should be,” the candidate said.
Nixon would not answer questions from reporters about the details of the plan.
Her campaign said the tax hike on the rich is the same one she’s relying on to generate cash to fix the crumbling subways. Most of the money would go to education, with about $1 billion left for subway fixes.
In addition, the subway plan relies on implementing congestion pricing and slapping a separate tax on polluters.
The former “Sex and the City” star is also proposing to end suspensions for students up through third grade, and bar arrests and summonses for school kids for violations and misdemeanors.
She would replace Cuomo’s college tuition plan, which she dismissed as a “way to grab headlines” without subsidizing many students, with a plan to offer free tuition to students with family incomes under $80,000, down from $125,000 under Cuomo.
Her plan would remove the requirement that students use other aid they’re eligible for first, allowing them to put other grants toward costs like room and board, lower the credit requirements and remove the mandate that students stay in New York after graduating.
The projected cost is $600 million and would pay for another 170,000 students at SUNY and CUNY colleges, compared to 23,000 participating currently.
Nixon is also throwing her support behind a plan backed by Mayor de Blasio to scrap the admissions test for the city’s specialized high schools, instead admitting the top performers from each middle school. Cuomo has not taken a position on the plan.
She also wants to expand home visits for expectant parents, create more child care and pre-kindergarten seats, and do away with annual reviews for teachers that rely partially on standardized test scores.
Nixon’s proposal would increase income taxes for high earners by between 0.5% and 1.5%.
“I haven’t seen that plan, but let’s talk about facts, okay. The fact is this state spends more money per pupil than any state in the United States of America. The fact is that we have the first free college program in the country, which we announced with Bernie Sanders. And Bernie Sanders came to New York to say this is exactly the type of program he was talking about in his campaign,” Cuomo said Wednesday when asked about his rival’s plan.
“No state has done what we’ve done. Not in terms of funding, not in terms of free college, not in terms of security.”
The governor’s spokeswoman Dani Lever added that between Cuomo’s scholarship and other programs, more than 200,000 CUNY and SUNY students don’t pay tuition.
“Cynthia Nixon has been wrong on the facts on every issue she discusses,” she said. “Gov. Cuomo has now forced school districts like New York City to actually disclose how much they fund each school to ensure funding equity for all children, rich or poor. We urge Cynthia Nixon and her advocacy associates to support this measure and end the funding disparity that the system has perpetuated.”
