But after a couple of years of feeling squeezed by a push to cut taxes, schools benefited from a fiscal climate so favorable that state leaders could lower taxes and boost school spending at the same time. Thanks to a strong national economy and a boom on Wall Street, lawmakers and Republican Gov. George E. Pataki had a couple of billion to spare last year. Beyond doling out more aid for the current school year, state leaders committed themselves to longer-range initiatives to bolster achievement in the early grades. Those programs, some of which are due to kick in next fall, will provide incentives for elementary schools to offer public preschool, full-day kindergarten, and smaller class sizes. Closely related to those initiatives is the question of facilities.
More classes require more space.
For the most part, educators are pleased with Albany's newfound largess. But he said it so badly missed the state's April deadline for striking a budget that schools have felt few of its effects in the current school year. Along with the extra resources, state policymakers imposed formidable new demands for student achievement. Following up on their 1996 decision to abolish high school competency exams that they deemed too easy, the state board of regents in November increased the number of courses needed for graduation, adding an extra year of both math and science. But after that change was sharply criticized by educators around the state, board members reversed course and agreed to impose the requirements only on students seeking an advanced diploma.