Ken Adams, president of the Empire State Development Corp., says that he can”™t speak about economic reform without discussing education reform.
Since being chosen to lead the agency, Adams has been championing Gov. Andrew Cuomo”™s ambitious agenda to streamline government, rein in spending, create a new pension tier to eliminate the defined benefits plan for newly hired state workers and to find a fix to the state”™s education problems, which include creating a way to measure teacher performance in the classroom.
“It costs more than $17,000 a year to educate a student in this state,” said Adams, who is also CEO and commissioner of the state Department of Economic Development, “but we rank 38 out of 50 in results.”
While school aid is dropping along with property taxes, there will be a 4 percent increase for them included in the 2012-2013 budget.
Adams, who lobbied for years as the president of the Business Council of New York, was asked by The Alliance for Balanced Growth, an arm of Orange County Partnership, to speak to its members at a Jan. 18 luncheon at Catlin Gardens in Slate Hill.
He briefly touched on the $200 million “carrot” Cuomo has offered to the more than 850 school districts in the state: Three will be picked for the plan they put together that is best suited to streamline school spending, consolidate services and provide better learning environments for New York”™s student population.
Adams also focused on Cuomo”™s push for public-private partnerships to ramp up, calling it a “fundamental change in the way we do business.” One of those public-private partnerships Adams noted was Cuomo”™s plan to build America”™s largest convention center in South Ozone Park in conjunction with Genting, the Malaysian group that is the major shareholder in Empire Resorts, owners of Monticello Raceway and Casino and several other gaming facilities in the Northeast.
“Genting already leases the 67 acres of land next to Aqueduct and plans to spend $4 billion of its own money to build the center,” said Adams. “The cost to the state? Zero.”
Adams supports a constitutional convention, as well as an amendment to legalize gambling in New York. Before that becomes law, it will have to be passed by the voters.
Adams encouraged the Mid-Hudson Economic Development Council to work on the second round of funding included in the new budget.
“Last year, Gov. Cuomo initially committed $200 million to be split between the councils, the bulk of it going to the ones with the best business plans. … There was another $800 million that came from other sources that brought that up to nearly $1 billion. I think we can expect the same this year.”
He urged Mid-Hudson members to bring concerns and ideas to Aimee Vargas, who is now executive director of the Mid-Hudson ESD in New Windsor.
“Governor Cuomo is revitalizing New York” Adams told the group of business owners. “I truly believe he is going to open up business here in the state and the infrastructure plans he”™s laid out are going to happen, including the rebuilding of the Tappan Zee Bridge.”
