On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, Dr. Veronica K. Smith, Acting Superintendent of the Mount Vernon City School District, addressed the NYS Assembly Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the Executive Budget Proposal concerning elementary and secondary education in Hearing Room B, 2nd Floor, at 181 State Street in Albany, NY. The joint Senate-Assembly hearings on Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2025-2026 New York State budget included a review of the governor’s proposals for Elementary and Secondary Education.
Acting Superintendent Smith was part of the Conference of Big 5 School Districts, including Executive Director Jennifer Pyle, Rochester City School District Interim Superintendent Dr. Demario Strickland, Syracuse City School District Superintendent Anthony Q. Davis Sr., Tonja Williams Knight, Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Albany City School District Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter, Yonkers Public School District Superintendent Anibal Soler and Utica City School District Christopher Spence. (see full hearing in video below).
This year’s budget hearings kicked off a monthlong schedule of joint Senate-Assembly hearings on the governor’s proposed budget, commencing on January 27 and concluding on February 27. See the full schedule HERE.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair J. Gary Pretlow announced the joint legislative hearing schedule on the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-26 Executive Budget Proposal. These hearings, each of which focuses on a programmatic area of the Executive Budget Proposal, are intended to provide the appropriate legislative committees with public input. The hearings will be available for viewing on the Senate and Assembly websites. The Legislative Channel (on cable systems throughout the state) also will carry the proceedings.
