ONEONTA, 02/20/14 -- State Senator James L. Seward (R/C/I – Oneonta) today voiced his opposition to Governor Cuomo’s proposal to provide free college educations for prison inmates:

“I talk to parents and high school students on a regular basis and one of their top concerns is college. Our young people study, stress over test scores, and work extremely hard just to gain entrance to the schools of their choice. Meanwhile, their parents scrimp, save, sacrifice, and, in many cases, take on extra jobs and loads to help with tuition bills. I can’t imagine telling these hard-working families that while they are doing everything right, a criminal sitting in a jail cell is being handed an opportunity their children don’t have.

“I appreciate the notion of rehabilitation and the need to reduce recidivism, but the idea of providing free college educations to prison inmates is a slap in the face to the law-abiding, and demeans the great efforts put forth by our middle-class families to help their children attain their higher education dreams.

“Opposition to this scheme is overwhelming and I will do all I can to eliminate it from any further consideration.”

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