2026 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing - Elementary Education/Secondary Education
January 29, 2026
9:30AM
Hearing Room B, Legislative Office Building, Albany

Transcript Pending
Testimony
Betty A. Rosa
Commissioner
New York State Education Department

Kamar Samuels
Chancellor
New York City Department of Education

Michael Mulgrew
President
United Federation of Teachers

Melinda Person
President
New York State United Teachers

Henry Rubio
President
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators

Cynthia Gallagher PhD.
Director, Government Relations
School Administrators Association of NYS

Jennifer Pyle
Executive Director
Conference of Big 5 School Districts

Pascal Mubenga
Superintendent
Buffalo Public Schools

Eric Rossner
Superintendent
Rochester City School District

Pam Odom
Superintendent
Syracuse City School District

Anibal Soler
Superintendent
Yonkers Public Schools

Joseph Hochreiter
Superintendent
City school District of Albany

Demario Strickland
Superintendent
Mount Vernon City School District

Christopher Spence
Superintendent
Utica City School District

Brian Fessler
Chief Advocacy Officer
NYS School Boards Association

Brian Cechnicki
Executive Director
Association of School Business Officials of NY

Kyle Belokopitsky     (Testimony Pending)
Executive Director
NYS Parent Teacher Association

David Little
Executive Director
Rural Schools Association of New York

Scott Budelmann
Legislative Liaison
BOCES of New York State

Annie Nelson
Policy Analyst
NYS Community Schools Network

Lasana Tunica-El
Sr. Deputy Director of Campaigns
Educators for Excellence – New York

Antony McLetchie
Co-Chair
4201 Schools Association

Joseph Trainor
President
New York State Coalition of 853 Schools

Randi Levine
Policy Director
Advocates for Children of New York

Stephen Beovich
President
NYS Coalition of Special Act School

Lindsay Miller
Executive Director
NY Association on Independent Living

Gully Stanford
Policy Co-Chair
NYS Alliance for Arts Education

Maxwell Prime
Director Government Relations and Advocacy
New York Library Association

Paul Quinn Mori
President
New York School Bus Contractors Association

Marion Waldman
Executive Director
Teach My Kid to Read

Anthony Hayes
CEO of WMHT
Association of Public Broadcasting Stations of NY

Nan Eileen Mead
Co-Executive Director
Democracy Ready NY

Robert Breidenstein
Executive Director
NYS Association of Small City School Districts

Sydney Altfield
Executive Director
Teach NYS

Rabbi Yeruchim Silber
Director of New York Governmental Relations
Agudath Israel of America

James Merriman
Chief Executive Officer
NYC Charter School Center

James Cultrara
Executive Secretary
NYS council of Catholic School Superintendents

Anna Hall
Chief Operating Officer
NYS Association of charter Schools

Marina Marcou – O’Malley
Interim Co - Executive Director
Alliance for Quality Education

Arlene Benjamine-Gomez
Executive Director
The Education Trust – New York

Chelsea Baytemur
Director of Policy and Advocacy
Coalition for Equitable Education Funding

Adina Mermelstein Konikoff
Executive Director
YAFFED

Gregory Lyakhov     (Testimony Pending)
Student/Columnist
Youth Vote USA

Written Testimony
Adirondack Food System Network (“AFSN”)

American Farmland Trust

Amplify

Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY)

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

Child Care Workforce Collaborative

Children’s Aid

Choice for All

Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York

Coalition for Asian American Children and Families

Dignity in Schools Campaign - NY

Education Council Consortium

Education Law Center (ELC)

Education Reform Now New York

End Chronic Disease

Estela Nguema

ExpandEDSchools

Healthy School Meals for All NY Kids Coalition

Inter Agency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc. (IAC)

League of Women Voters of New York State

New York Farm Bureau

New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG)

New York State Council of School Superintendents

New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF)

New York State School Facilities Association (NYSSFA)

News Literacy Project (NLP)

Parents Supporting Parents NY

Pre-K Providers

Reinvent Albany

Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy

Teach For America New York

UJA-Federation of New York

United Way of CNY