(ALBANY, NEW YORK) – United University Professions (UUP) and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) released statements following New York State Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024 budget presentation - Governor Hochul Announces Highlights of FY 2024 Executive Budget | Governor Kathy Hochul (ny.gov)

UUP President Dr. Frederick E. Kowal, said:

Over the last year, Governor Hochul has called for a reimagining of SUNY (State University of New York) as the preeminent institution of higher education in the country, a goal UUP strongly supports.

To achieve it, SUNY must be made a priority in the 2023-2024 State budget.

Unfortunately, the investments outlined in (the) Executive Budget proposal fall well short of the needs of our campuses and Public Teaching Hospitals. 

The State has a budget surplus and the means to properly fund SUNY and SUNY’s three Teaching Hospitals.

Now is the time to reinvest in all our SUNY campuses and our Hospitals, not just a handful of University Centers.

We cannot force our campuses to return to relying on tuition increases as their main revenue source.

SUNY has 19 State-operated campuses which are in fiscal crisis, with projected or structural multi-million-dollar deficits.

The Executive Budget provides no funding to stabilize them.

UUP has called for a $160 million distressed campus fund to help these campuses recover from decades of State underfunding and the impact of the pandemic.

Without this, SUNY campuses - an integral part of our New York communities - will continue to shrink, along with the economic opportunity they create.

The Executive Budget, if enacted, would be a flat budget for our comprehensive and technical campuses.

A fully funded SUNY provides access to an affordable, high-quality education in every region of the State.

UUP will continue its dialogue with the Governor and her team in hopes of bringing amendments to this Executive Budget and we will aggressively advocate with the State Legislature to bring real investment to SUNY.”

UUP - the Nation's largest Higher Education Union and an affiliate of NYSUT, represents more than 42,000 Academic and Professional Faculty and Retirees.

UUP Members work at 29 New York State-operated campuses, including SUNY’s Public Teaching Hospitals and Health Science Centers in Brooklyn, Long Island and Syracuse.

Meanwhile, NYSUT President Andy Pallotta issued the following statement: 

For years, NYSUT Members have been fighting for proper school funding and Staff levels.

The Governor’s proposed budget is a historic step in the right direction that promises to dramatically improve our schools and the communities they serve. 

However, we have grave concerns about the proposal to expand the number of charter schools.

This will have a devastating impact on our public schools, especially for our State’s most underserved students.

History shows that the corporate charter school industry is interested in making profits, not in the well-being of all students, Educators and families.

Charters exclude students who don’t fit their business model and they operate without input from the public or accountability to taxpayers.

Where public schools unite our communities, charter schools fracture them. 

NYSUT represents more than 600,000 Members in education, human services and health care.