| Dear New York Friends of Education Reform: They said it couldn't be done...that the opponents of real reform are just too strong in Albany...that the supporters of the status quo in education have the legislators in their pockets. They said that no school choice bill would ever see the light of day in the Empire State...that any attempt to level the playing field for parents who wish to flee any of New York's failing public schools would make it only as far as the nearest waste-paper basket. Well, United New Yorkers for Choice in Education (UNYCE) and our allies are proving the naysayers wrong! Not only was the Education Investment Incentives Act (S.2732/A.5081) introduced earlier this year, and not only did this bill receive bipartisan support, but on June 21 the New York State Senate PASSED THIS HISTORIC MEASURE...by a vote of 55 "yes" to 7 "no"...a strong show of support from both sides of the political aisle! For a link to the text of the Educaton Investment Incentives Act, please visit our website, www.unyce.org/. You may have read that at least 30 religious and independent schools in New York State had to shut their doors at the end of the 2010-11 school year. The tax consequences of this are that both local and state governments will have to find the money to pay for the education of a great number of additional students in public schools. In other words, expect tax increases, larger class sizes, or both. (Even if none of these schools are in your own communities, remember that the taxpayers from all across the state pay for most of public education costs.) None of these schools would have had to close if the Education Investment Incentives Act were already the law in New York State. Its passage as soon as possible can halt the erosion of the nonpublic sector in elementary and secondary education in our state. This can save hundreds of millions of dollars for New York's already over-burdened taxpayers! Your support for UNYCE is needed in the effort to accomplish this goal. Can we count on you? To make a secure on-line donation to help bring significant and substantial education finance reform to New York, please go to our website (www.unyce.org) now. Do you want to see more and more of New York's religious and independent schools have to close because parents can no longer afford both high taxes and tuition? If not, please make a generous donation to UNYCE at www.unyce.org. With New York's new tax cap the public schools may have to let some teachers go, increase class size, and cut extra-curricular teams and other activities. To keep all New York State's schools, public and nonpublic, the best they can be for our children, please support the Education Investment Incentives Act by sending a contribution to UNYCE at www.unyce.org. Together we can bring historic change to New York State. The Education Investment Incentives Act can help make the Empire State a more affordable place to live, work and raise our families. But this can happen only with your generous support. Please help now! Let us finally prove the naysayers wrong. Let us prove that as New Yorkers we have what it takes to improve education quality and fiscal responsibility by bringing school choice to our state. Thank you. Tim Mulhearn,
President
United New Yorkers for Choice in Education | 
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