SECURING SAFETY MEASURES FOR NEW YORK SCHOOLS

A Column from the Desk of Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark)

As of press time, legislators in Albany don’t know what the final school aid amount will be set at. I am only one of the many members in the Legislature who has already vowed to fight for school districts in the Hudson Valley so they can get to their previously established funding levels. But there’s more to the needs of a school than a simple dollar number. While I’ve spoken about universal school meals before, there are many other proposals I am fighting to help get made into New York state law I wanted to discuss. One of the measures I am pushing for is to return control of school zone speed limits to localities since current law stipulates the state is able to set zone limits should they want to. In many instances, localities have requested changes that have been either rejected or ignored by the state government. We all innately know that, especially during active schooling hours, drivers should be extra cautious driving through school zones. But should a local government decide to adjust those limits on their own, I believe, as do my fellow supporters of the proposal, these localities should have the right to set it themselves. They know the habits of local drivers better, the quality of local roads better and the hazards of local roads better. Why does an institution like the state government think it knows better than the people on the ground?  I’m also supporting a bipartisan proposal to establish the crime of criminal trespass on a school bus, school grounds and children’s camps and to partner with local departments of transportation to ensure the enforcement of these rules and more careful vetting of bus drivers. It astounded me when the measure was first making headway in Albany that no such law existed before! Kids are smarter than many of us give them credit for, but they’re still young, and having proper protection protocols in place helps put parents’ minds at ease as well as continually fortifies the schools we place so much faith in. I believe we have to give our schools and our students every opportunity for protection we can, and this proposal could do that. This year alone, I’ve signed on to more than 100 bills that in some way address the needs of education or students in our state. I’m proud to continue the fight to ensure our kids have safe, comfortable and rewarding education across New York. Being a parent myself, I know the challenges that students face, and the safer an environment they have to learn, grow and excel, the better they perform. I sincerely hope my colleagues in the Legislature will help us get these proposals over the finish line soon. Assemblyman Brabenec represents the 98th District, which includes the city of Port Jervis, the towns of Deerpark, Greenville, Mount Hope, Wawayanda, Minisink, Warwick, Tuxedo and portions of the towns of Goshen, Monroe and Ramapo. For more information, please visit  the Brabenec’s website at www.yourfavoriteassemblyman.com