New York’s largest teachers’ union has filed a lawsuit against Governor Andrew Cuomo over more than $5 billion in state spending that’s expected to be withheld from school districts. The cuts come during a massive state budget shortfall.
New York State United Teachers said a law that would allow 20 percent cuts to schools is unconstitutional. The law was approved by the state Legislature to allow Cuomo to adjust spending on the fly amid the pandemic.
Cuomo has warned for months that he would have to make certain cuts if more federal coronavirus relief was not sent to soften the state’s $14 billion budget deficit. The teacher’s union says the law that gives Cuomo’s authority does not pass constitutional muster. A spokesman for Cuomo’s budget office calls the lawsuit “frivolous”, and that no cuts have been made as of yet.
