Press Release

For Immediate Release

TOURO COLLEGE PROFESSOR DR. OSNAT ZAKEN PRESENTS PAPER ON EDUCATION FINANCE AT 33rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION FINANCE ASSOCIATION

Study Concludes Income Tax Increases and Reinstatement of Commuter Taxes are Most Effective Means to Raise Money for Public Education

New York, N.Y., May 15, 2008 - Dr. Osnat Zaken, associate professor of education at Touro College in New York, presented a paper on the funding of public education in New York City and New York state at the 33^rd Annual Conference of the American Education Finance Association (AEFA) held recently in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Zaken’s paper, which she co-authored with Dr. Jeffrey Olson, associate provost for online learning and services at St. John’s University, New York, presented the perspectives of a variety of experts on the funding of public education in New York City and state through qualitative methodology.

Entitled Experts’ Views on Revenue Options to Implement the Campaign for Fiscal Equity Court Decision, the paper concluded that increasing income taxes and reinstating commuter taxes are the most effective means of raising funds for public education.  

In preparing the paper, Dr. Zaken interviewed prominent members of academia, government, and business recognized for their in-depth knowledge and experience in funding of education in New York. Those interviewed included Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences, 2001; Dennis Walcott, deputy mayor, New York City; and Seymour Lachman, professor at Aldelphi University and past president, New York City Department of Education.

The AEFA conference, held April 10-12, brought together some of the most influential and respected leaders in the fields of education and finance, including James J. Heckman, Noble Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences, 2000 and, professor, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago; Randi Weingarten, president, United Federation of Teachers, New York; and Michael A. Rebell, professor and executive director, Campaign for Educational Equity, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York.

A non-profit professional and academic association, AEFA’s mission is to promote understanding of how resources are generated, distributed and used to enhance human learning. 

Touro College has experienced phenomenal growth since its founding in 1971, and is currently educating approximately 17,500 students at locations in New York, California, Florida, Nevada, Jerusalem, Moscow, Berlin and Paris. Touro College continues to have a profound impact on the lives of its students and on the Jewish and general communities. For more information, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/media/

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