Beth Wurtmann of NewsChannel 13 (Albany) spoke to NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi and Billy Easton of the Alliance for Quality Education after Gov. David Paterson's State of the State address Wednesday.

The state teachers union gives the speech more of a "pass" than a failing grade.

"What I like about the speech is that there is sincerity on the governor's part with respect to his interest in education," said Richard Iannuzzi of New York State United Teachers.

However, Iannuzzi says the cuts to schools would be devastating.

"The message it said to me was it was nice, and it told me what's important to him. But it won't help me in my classroom unless we restore what we need," he said.

Complete transcript and video are available online at WNYT.com.

NYSUT, the state's largest union, represents more than 600,000 classroom teachers and other school employees; faculty and other professionals at the state's community colleges, State University of New York and City University of New York, and other education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.

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