There is a crisis of failing schools in New York State.

More than 109,000 students are currently enrolled in New York's 178 failing schools.

77 of these schools have been failing for a decade, with more than 250,000 students passing through these schools while New York State government has done nothing.

Statewide, more than 9 out of 10 students in failing schools are minority or poor.

This is the real scandal in Albany — the alarming fact that state government has stood by and done nothing as generation after generation of students have passed through failing schools. While the education bureaucracy demands more and more money, the reality is school districts with failing schools have statewide seen an average 13.8% increase in funding over the past three years, and New York today spends more per pupil than any other state in the nation — $19,552 — nearly double the national average of $10,608 per pupil.

Read the full report on The State of New York's Failing Schools, which underscores the severity and shocking nature of this problem.

A school is designated as "failing" if it's in the bottom 5 percent of schools across the state based on combined English Language Arts and math scores, if it's not showing progress in test performance, or if the school has a graduation rate below 60 percent for the last three years.

To address this problem, we're proposing a model that worked in Massachusetts, where when a school fails for 3 years, a nonprofit, another school district, or a turnaround expert must take over the school. When this model was used in a large school district in Massachusetts, the following results were seen:

Graduation rates increased from 52 percent to 67 percent

Math proficiency improved from 28 percent to 41 percent

The dropout rate decreased by nearly 50 percent

The time is now for the State Legislature to act and do something about this problem so we no longer are condemning our children to failing schools.

Find out more about our proposal to transform failing schools on governor.ny.gov.

Sincerely,
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Albany

What people need to understand is that due to a complete breakdown in the process of assessing property values for what could be over a hundred years the newer, more correct valuations can be significant.

But, understand this: Those people whom have had their valuations increase significantly must realize what values they should have been paying taxes upon for YEARS. Those unrealized taxes were picked up by newer members of the community. So, while increased taxation is never a joyful occurrence, they should be thankful that back taxes do not have to be repaid.

Also, a suggested rise of 33 percent in valuations ($600 million to $800 million) isn't really at all incredible when you consider that if reassessment hadn't been done in such a long span of time, the outrageous rise in house prices occurring during the 1990s was never tabulated EXCEPT for those moving in and buying homes during that time. So, since then, residents buying houses were subsidizing the long time residents that were paying on incredibly outdated home prices.

And, it would be remiss of me not to state that such a long period of passing the buck as it were to newcomers to stem the wrath of longer residents was a signature of cowardice that cost many newer residents undue monetary hardship; again proving the axiom that screwing folks you don't know is so much easier than doing what is necessary (and lawfully required) to those you do know.

Steven L. Fornal
Accord

More than 15 years into the NYS Farmland Protection Program, the Town of Wawarsing has less than 1 acre of preserved farmland. Three Wawarsing farms applied to preserve 5 separate parcels, and none were approved. We were even turned down for leftover funds that farmers in other towns decided not to accept. Some or all of it went back to the state treasury, rather than preserve Wawarsing farms. Since then the Burd family auctioned off their equipment, sold the farm and moved to another state.

John Adams
Wawarsing

I am the sort of person who enjoys contemplating "what if" scenarios, and that has led me to wonder why there is no alternative analysis for the Ulster & Delaware trail. So far, all we have heard is an insistent call for the railroad to be ripped up for the trail without any further thought.

So what choices do we have? For starters, we have state Route 28, most of which has a paved, 10-foot-wide shoulder on each side. Guard rails could easily be put up along one side to give trail users more protection. There also are sections of Old Route 28 and other parallel side roads that have little traffic and could be used. Then there are existing trails and abandoned plank roads that have not been taken into account. Portions of the rail right-of-way still could be used, parallel to the tracks.

In short, the county should have funded a full alternatives analysis for the trail instead of engaging in legal squabbles in what has proven to be a futile effort to kick the Catskill Mountain Railroad out so far.

I might add that the railroad has become an economic driver that can't be ignored. It needs to be fully developed in concert with the trail network.

Bill Hutchison
Largo, FL

The GOP has lost its way and needs an intervention. After 56 failed attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, failure with the first Supreme Court case and most GOP states refusing to set up exchanges and use the Medicaid expansion, they now are trying to undermine the ACA with King v Burwell.

It would have been so much more productive had they worked with the Democrats to make improvements. Instead, we have Republican Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas (who has done nothing to set up exchanges) "licking his chops in anticipation," according to Timothy Egan of The New York Times.

If they should win their case, about 8 million people in 34 states could lose their insurance. Insurance markets will suffer and premiums will cost more.

Now they are squirming because they have no plan to help the 8 million people who may lose their insurance. Their solution (surprise, surprise) is to blame President Obama. They are "outraged" that he has nothing in place should they win.

President Obama has his plan. This is on you, GOP.

Nancy Guski
Red Hook

The gubernator, Andrew Cuomo, finds that saving a failing teacher is repugnant. I don't get it.

He didn't find saving failing banks by bailing them out repugnant. Didn't hear a word. Maybe because some of his contributors were chief executive officers at those banks.

Charter schools create a segregated school system. Period.

Rana Dana
Kingston

In it's cover letter and determination of February 27, 2015 the Sullivan County Board of Elections reports that a definable number of persons who registered to vote in, and affect, the September Special Election have been determined, with full due process, to have been ineligible to vote in Bloomingburg even six months later.

Affidavit: I swear or affirm that I am a citizen of the United States. I will have lived in the county, city or village for at least 30 days before the election. I meet all requirements to register to vote in New York State. This is my signature or mark in the box below. The above information is true, I understand that if it is not true, I can be convicted and fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years.

This is the statement at the bottom of the New York State voter registration form. It is time for Sullivan County to prosecute those who abuse our sacred right to vote for their own benefit by deceitfully registering to vote in Bloomingburg. If there are no consequences for their deliberate actions this will happen again and again — history will repeat itself.

Richard W. Morris
Wurtsboro