N.Y. Governor’s Exit Muddies K-12 Budget Picture

Eliot Spitzer’s resignation last week as governor of New York in the wake of a sex scandal threatens to complicate matters for education policymakers at one of the most pivotal times of the year for public schools: state budget negotiations

On the same day Mr. Spitzer announced his resignation a little more than a year into his first term, the New York Assembly and Senate were expected to release 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...