Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D-Utica/Rome) announced that she was appointed to the NYS Assembly Committee on Education.

“This past year challenged our education system in more ways than one and left many of our local schools with a financial burden they can’t shoulder on their own,” Buttenschon said. “As a new member of the Assembly Education Committee, I’m ready to hit the ground running and fight for legislation that gets our children back in the classroom safely and provides our school districts with the resources and support they need to move forward. Our students truly are the future, and I’ll always work hard to ensure they’re given every opportunity to learn and grow.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Buttenschon has been outspoken in her efforts to help local schools manage this crisis. She co-sponsored legislation to allow school districts to receive transportation aid for expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to ensure increased operating costs would not further damage our already struggling schools and wrote a letter to the governor about the issue (A.10757 of 2020). Buttenschon also authored and helped pass a law allowing Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) to establish young farmer apprenticeship programs to encourage more young people to learn and work in the agricultural field (Ch. 298 of 2020).

Buttenschon has long been an advocate for local schools. Before being elected to the Assembly, she served as an academic dean at Mohawk Valley Community College, where she championed police and fire academies and expanded the college’s nationally accredited cybersecurity program. There’s nothing more important than providing our young minds with a quality education, and I’ll continue fighting to make that a reality for every student, Buttenschon noted.

Assemblywoman Buttenschon is seated on the Assembly’s Agriculture, Higher Education, Banks, Veteran’s Affairs, and Economic Development committees. She is also chair of Economic Development Subcommittee on Exports.