Paterson Inherits Budget Issues as N.Y. Governor

New York Gov. David A. Paterson, who was sworn in today as the governor of New York in the wake of his predecessor’s resignation, takes charge at one of the most pivotal times of the year for public schools: state budget negotiations.

On the same day last week that Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, announced his resignation a little more than a year into his first term, the New York Assembly and Senate released their versions of the one-year state budget amid a projected $4 billion deficit.

Gov. Spitzer’s $81.8 billion budget proposal had included an additional $1.46 billion for education, which would bring total K-12 spending for fiscal 2009 to $21 billion. But advocates had criticized that proposal for falling $350 million...