Teachers group zeroes in on freshman GOP senators

ALBANY - A teacher union-backed drive to fight for more spending on schools is zeroing in on swaying freshman Republican senators, including Long Islanders Lee Zeldin and Jack Martins.

The Alliance for Quality Education has added an extra organizer on Long Island and plans mailings, letter-writing campaigns and rallies aimed at pushing Martins and Zeldin to hold the line on spending cuts.

"We're preparing for a huge budget fight," said Lisa Tyson, executive director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, the local partner of the Albany-based Alliance. Zeldin and Martins, she said, "will be important for us. They're new."

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to present a budget next Tuesday with deep cuts in state aid to the public school system. A Cuomo spokesman would not reveal how much would be cut.

The Alliance is using $425,000 from the state's teachers union, New York State United Teachers, to open seven offices in the state and hire five more organizers, said executive director Billy Easton. The campaign is targeting three other freshman senators.

One organizer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the campaign was to remind Republican leaders of the freshman senators' vulnerability in 2012 if massive education cuts are passed.

Martins and Zeldin said they had not yet been contacted. Martins said he would withhold judgment on spending cuts until he saw the governor's proposal. "We will not be making decisions based on where political challenges are coming," Martins said.

For Zeldin, the school aid is especially tricky. The son of a retired teacher, Zeldin's tea party-backed campaign focused on lowering spending and cutting taxes, though Long Island Republicans have maintained power through protecting education funding.

"Our education concerns on Long Island must be fought for," Zeldin said. But he added: "I don't want to come back here year after year with a budget deficit that continues to grow."