Archive: Opinions

Governor Cuomo's recently announced plan to provide a college education to convicted criminals serving their sentences in New York State prisons is a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars!

Over the last few weeks I have been meeting with teachers, educators, parents, school board members and officials from across my Senate District to discuss the funding issues facing our local schools and the impact on property taxpayers. Our school children deserve the best education possible and our hardworking taxpayers need relief from the burden of heavy taxes. Within this context, it is especially outrageous to spend our hard-earned tax dollars to provide a free college education for prison inmates. Today so many families are struggling to send their law abiding children to college. If you share my opposition to this misguided plan please click HERE to sign my online petition.

The Governor's plan is extremely unfair to all parents who have scrimped and saved to send their children to college, and to every student who has worked to put him or herself through school. Right now, there are many college graduates who are saddled with crushing student loan debt and cannot find jobs. Shouldn't there be a focus on helping them secure employment, instead of paying the college tuition of inmates? Certainly, there is something very wrong when inmates who have committed violent crimes such as murder, rape, and child molestation are rewarded with a college degree courtesy of the taxpayers!

With over 50,000 inmates in our State's prisons, this program could cost New York taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. High school degree equivalency programs (GED) are available in every prison across the State. Also, there already exist a number of privately funded programs that provide college courses to prisoners at no taxpayer expense.

As State Senator, I will continue my efforts to oppose ill-conceived proposals that are unfair to our law abiding taxpayers.

With best wishes.

Sincerely,

Mike Nozzolio

Senator, 54th District

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