Donning black mortarboards, more than 770 NYSUT members took to the Capitol, calling on lawmakers to reject property tax caps for "the right kind of cap" and urging them to keep their promise to the state's schools - especially in difficult fiscal times.

"Investing in public schools and protecting all children and all school districts from the rollercoaster of economic cycles is the best way to continue on our path of educational progress and lift our state's economy," NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi said.

NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin warned members that the state is facing an economic crisis. "This one is real, but our response to the Legislature is simple: Keep the promise," Lubin said. "This is not the time to disinvest in education. Our challenge is to keep them to their word."

The NYSUT lobbyists-for-a-day visited the state Capitol one day after David Paterson was sworn into office as governor following Eliot Spitzer's resignation. With lawmakers still reeling from the scandal that rocked the state, and facing a deficit some project as high as $6 billion, the mood was at times somber.

Sen. Kemp Hannon, R-Garden City, warned that New York could be facing a return to 1991, when in the midst of a national recession that hit the state particularly hard, the Legislature was forced to make mid-year budget cuts.

"I think we're going to look back on today a year from now and say, 'Things were pretty good then,'" Hannon told a union delegation from Long Island. "We have a very difficult 18 to 36 months ahead of us."

Sen. Kenneth LaValle, R-Port Jefferson, said the state's revenue picture is "only going to get worse. Whatever we do in terms of state aid … has to be sustainable."

"We're not ignorant of the fiscal plight right now," said Sayville Teachers Association's Tim Southerton. "We want to put proposals out there" that would help schools generate revenue.

Southerton said one proposal is passage of a 55/25 pension bill that ultimately would help districts save money by allowing for the retirement of higher-salaried teachers.

NYSUT also supports proposals for a temporary income tax increase on millionaires, a step the Assembly has already proposed.

"In times of emergencies, like we're facing, people at the top of the food chain have to help out a little more," said Assemblyman Al Stirpe, D-North Syracuse.

In meeting after meeting, members stressed that scaling back on the commitment to education is not the answer to the state's fiscal woes.

Foundation aid

Seth Cohen of the Troy TA called for lawmakers to step away from proposals to lower the maximum increase in foundation aid.

"Our costs are increasing dramatically, so a 2 percent increase is really a step back for us," Cohen said, noting rural districts that don't have significant tax bases are also particularly hard hit.

And tax caps will not change the rising costs facing school districts for health care, fuel, insurance or electricity — all of which are beyond the control of school boards.

"A tax cap would only make it harder for schools to provide the services our children need, while taking local decision-making out of the hands of parents," Lubin said.

A better option, Lubin said, may be a "circuit breaker" that would essentially cap a homeowner's property taxes as a percentage of household income. This would help low- and moderate-income homeowners who need it most, especially seniors. Circuit breaker legislation has been sponsored by Sen. Betty Little, R-Glens Falls, and Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, D-Ossining.

Throughout the day, union members also urged legislators to restore cuts to BOCES and higher education.

Yonkers Federation of Teachers President Pat Puleo emphasized the need to restore community college funding.

"Many of our students start at community colleges. If they don't get the funding, they don't get the start they need," she said, adding that many students choose community colleges to save money so they can eventually move on to four-year schools.

Union members also urged lawmakers to scrap a plan to shift $46 million in pre-K special ed costs onto districts.

— Clarisse Butler Banks and Matt Smith