NEW BERLIN – In a letter to New York State officials, Unadilla Valley Superintendent Robert J. Mackey said that the new executive budget proposal would bring schools one step back towards the 2008 recession.

According to the New York State website on the 2018 executive budget,"For the seventh consecutive year, the budget holds spending growth to 2 percent, while investing in jobs and infrastructure, reducing taxes and expanding access to education with the groundbreaking Excelsior Scholarship program."

It states, "The 2018 budget increases education aid to $25.8 billion, the largest investment in state history."

Superintendent Mackey, sent officials a message in response to the proposed budget on February 20 after researching the potential executive budget's impact on his schools.

"The executive budget proposal is lacking in terms of foundation aid increases," Mackey said in the message.