ALBANY - State Senate Majority Democrats urged bipartisan support today on four measures on the Senate agenda which will finally provide mandate relief across the state, and reverse New York’s long-standing practice of passing financial burdens onto local school districts.

Identified by school districts as vital to their operations and ability to budget in a prudent manner, the Democratic package will allow them to more effectively manage the resources they have, and make the best possible decisions for their communities in this time of fiscal crisis.

Components of the mandate relief plan include:

• Education Mandate Relief Act of 2010 (S5523A/Oppenheimer)
• Universal Pre-Kindergarten Flexibility (S6777/Oppenheimer)
• Paperwork Reduction Act (S3874A/Oppenheimer)
• Flexibility in Claims Auditing (S5637/Oppenheimer)

Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck), Chair of the Senate’s Education Committee said, “These difficult economic times compel us to look for ways to restructure government at all levels to make it operate more efficiently. The education reforms I have championed afford school districts relief from  burdensome mandates and the  flexibility to contain costs, lessen the property  tax burden and channel every available education dollar to classroom instruction.  School districts are depending on us to deliver reforms that will cut their costs in this challenging fiscal climate.”