U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer received a rousing response and multiple standing ovations from RA delegates when he announced support for making the federal stimulus aid boost to schools more than a one-shot deal.

"We don't want temporary funding," Schumer said, referring to the two-year infusion of billions more in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Title I dollars going to the classrooms.

"We're going to do everything we can to make the increases permanent,'' he said.

New York is receiving $5 billion in federal stimulus funding for education over the next two years.

Schumer strode to the podium like a conquering hero - which in many ways he is.

An elected official since 1974, when he ran an uphill fight for the state Assembly in Brooklyn with the support of NYSUT, he was introduced by Vice President Alan Lubin, who described him as "the driving force that sent $800 billion in aid to every state.

"His agenda has been our agenda," Lubin said. "And when Chuck wins, we win."

Schumer thanked teachers for all they did for him educationally and politically, and what they do for the state's children.

"Our goal as a country should be to make teachers - as doctors and lawyers were in the 20th century - the exalted profession of the 21st century," he said.

"If America is to stay number one, America needs teachers," Schumer said. "And the way to improve education is not to kick teachers around, but to give them the honor and respect they deserve."