EXCLUSIVE: Gov. Cuomo to unveil universal pre-K plan without hiking taxes in budget address - Daily News

Mike Groll/AP

As part of his universal pre-K proposal, Cuomo wants to separately fund the addition of pre-K classroom space through a $2 billion education technology bond act he wants to put before voters in November.

ALBANY -- Gov. Cuomo will teach Mayor de Blasio a lesson Tuesday in power politics -- pledging to fund de Blasio's signature proposal of universal prekindergarten but without raising taxes.

Cuomo will use his annual budget address to call for $1.5 billion in state spending over five years to make pre-K available in every corner of the state, sources told the Daily News.

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The pre-K expansion would be paid for with existing state revenues rather than by hiking taxes on the rich, as de Blasio has demanded. An improving economy and belt-tightening by the state has made the money available, the sources said.

Under the plan, part of Cuomo's $138 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins April 1, New York would become just the fourth state to fully fund full-day pre-K for any community that wants it, sources familiar with the proposal said.

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Districts would be under no obligation to opt in, and those that want the expansion could phase it in at their own pace. Charter schools would also be eligible for the pre-K money.

As part of his proposal, Cuomo will also call for tougher pre-K regulations and teaching requirements. "We want to make sure it's about education and not baby-sitting," said an administration official familiar with the plan.

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The governor and the mayor have been on a collision course for months over how to pay for de Blasio's plans for pre-K and afterschool programs.

Throughout the mayoral campaign, de Blasio called for raising income taxes on city residents who earn at least $500,000 to pay for pre-K and after school programs. The tax hike, he said, would provide a guaranteed revenue stream, safeguarding the funding from the whims of the annual state budget process.

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"We don't want a phase in," de Blasio said earlier this month.

Last week, de Blasio even launched a privately-funded campaign to build public support for his tax hike proposal.

But Cuomo, who is running for re-election, has made it clear he has no interest in hiking taxes and will instead seek $2 billion in tax cuts.

Cuomo's plan to finance pre-K with existing revenues will make it harder for de Blasio to get the state Legislature and the public to get behind a tax hike.

As part of his proposal, Cuomo wants to separately fund the addition of pre-K classroom space through a $2 billion education technology bond act he wants to put before voters in November. De Blasio estimated $50 million raised from his tax hike each year would go toward infrastructure.

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In addition, officials say, Cuomo will propose another $720 million over five years in revenues generated by new casinos to fully fund after-school programs statewide. De Blasio's tax plan would use $190 million a year for after school programs in the city.

Without new pre-K funding, Cuomo's budget would hike overall education spending by 3.1%, the same increase he will target for health care, officials said.

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State spending growth would be kept to 1.7%. Cuomo will also include a push for ethics reform and public financing of campaigns.

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