The calendar may suggest several more months of winter cold, but in Albany, it's already heating up.

Legislative season 2008 is well under way at the Capitol, with Gov. Spitzer's second State of the State address last week being the official kick-off to several months of negotiating, lobbying, analyzing and lamenting. While we've already begun to witness some of the familiar finger-pointing, hand-wringing, and name-calling, hopefully that will be kept to a minimum and the best interests of the citizens of New York will prevail.

Of course, we'll have to await release of the governor's Executive Budget later this month to know how much work we have to do to ensure appropriate funding for our initiatives and issues. But the State of the State was encouraging, emphasizing Gov. Spitzer's continued commitment to investing in public education, from pre-K through post-graduate. The governor's speech again showed us he realizes that access to quality education and health care are keys to a revitalized New York and an end to the academic achievement gap.

Yet, a serious incongruity may exist between a strong commitment to public education and the governor's call for a commission to study the best way to impose a property tax cap.

NYSUT certainly supports the governor's call for recommendations on "real reform of unfunded mandates" and the creation of a "blueprint for highquality education at a more affordable cost." But, a property tax cap that provides relief without resources to replace needed locally supported, essential educational expenditures is not acceptable.

The devastating effect that "Proposition 13" had on schools in California is certainly not welcome here. Nor is a cap that widens the disparity between rich and poor communities as is often the case when local overrides (usually present) are permitted.

The governor's admission that a property tax cap is a "blunt instrument" only strengthens our resolve not to let it butcher the gains we have achieved in educating New York's children and closing the achievement gap.

NYSUT will aggressively oppose any cap that takes a burden away from property taxpayers and places it on the backs of school children, schools or educators.

I repeat that NYSUT has full confidence in Gov. Spitzer's commitment to a quality education for all children. And, we certainly know that our friends in the Senate and Assembly feel the same way.

Meanwhile, we are pleased that the governor is expanding his commitment to higher education.

A recent report by the governor's Higher Education Commission and his State of the State speech echoed what NYSUT and our higher ed affiliates at the State and City Universities have been saying for years: Higher education is crucial to New York's future but has been critically neglected and underfunded for far too long.

Some of the recommendations reaffirm our long-held positions, especially the commission's call for up to 2,000 additional full-time faculty. We were especially heartened by the commission's emphasis on increased support for community colleges. These institutions are the gateway to higher education for many New Yorkers, especially students of color and students from low-income families. Strengthening their viability will go a long way toward efforts to end the academic achievement gap, which remains a NYSUT priority in this new year.

What the commission report didn't say, however — and the reason for NYSUT's caution at this point — is how these initiatives will be funded. While we agree with the recommendation that "mandatory costs" be financed by the state, it is — and remains — our longstanding conviction that the state needs to commit to fully fund, through state support, additional faculty lines and other improvements at SUNY, CUNY and the community colleges.

The governor suggested "unlocking" some of the value of the state lottery. Although there were no specifics to judge, it's reassuring to see the governor looking at new ways to provide needed funding.

While there are other recommendations that concern us, in partnership with UUP/SUNY, PSC/CUNY and NYSUT's community college advocates, I am confident that we will be able to work with the governor's office and the state Legislature to build on the solid foundation the commission has provided.

King Day provides opportunity for service

NYSUT members everywhere will join with other Americans in just a few days — Jan. 21 — to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year marks a special observance. It was 40 years ago, on April 4, 1968, that Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. And, as unionists, it's important for us to remember that Dr. King — always a champion of the labor movement — was in Memphis in support of worker justice.

"Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness," Dr. King told striking Memphis Sanitation Workers the night before he died. "Let us stand with a greater determination ... to make America what it ought to be."

More recently, the King holiday has provided Americans an opportunity for community service. More and more, Martin Luther King Day is about participating in service projects in hometowns and neighborhoods across the country.

This third full week in January will find several of our members in Memphis, attending the annual AFL-CIO Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Celebration.

They will join hundreds of unionists from around the nation in commemorating the 1968 sanitation workers' strike and reflecting on the life and vision of Dr. King.

While there, they will also engage in political training and perform community service in low-income neighborhoods.

Contributing to a better community is not new to most NYSUT members. Our union has a strong social justice agenda that our members embrace. We will highlight that agenda at this year's NYSUT Representative Assembly, focusing on our longstanding commitment to the civil rights movement and our participation today in dozens of community programs statewide — including our organizational commitment to ending the achievement gap.

Dr. King once said that we all have to decide whether we "will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness."

Life's most persistent question, he said, is: "What are you doing for others?"

I am extremely proud of how the NYSUT family consistently answers that question.

Thank you.