STATE BUDGET 2000 EDUCATION.(MAIN)

Includes the City University of New York, the Education Department, State University of New York local school aid and the Higher Education Services Corporation.

Public school aid: 1999-2000: $12.5 billion 2000-2001: $12.9 billion Change: +3 percent Total estimated spending on elementary and secondary education, including federal money, local property tax revenue, and state aid: 1999-2000: $31.2 billion 2000-2001: $33 billion Change: +5.8 percent Higher education: (Spending for SUNY, CUNY and Tuition Assistance Plan grants) 1999-2000: $6.75 billion 2000-2001: $6.79 billion Change: +0.6 percent Send STAR, or school tax relief, rebate checks directly to homeowners rather than the current system in which local districts simply pass along savings in the form of a lower bill. This will force school districts to curtail their spending as originally envisioned in the STAR program.

Getting more teachers in areas of need. The governor proposes the equivalent of a free SUNY tuition -- $3,400 annually -- for students who agree to work in districts that lack qualified teachers. He also wants summer internships for aspiring teachers and easing the credentialing requirements on people who want to teach, like retired firefighters, police, politicians and others. Even supporters of STAR rebates expect this will never get through the Democratic- controlled Assembly because it would make the governor look like a tax hero.

``Whether the Assembly Democrats are going to allow Governor Pataki to send checks to homeowners, I'll let you decide.'' -- Assembly Minority Leader John Faso, R-Kinderhook

As for teacher incentives, there has been little criticism of the tuition plan from most of those who follow education. Groups like the New York State United Teachers, though, oppose lowering the credentialing bar, which includes earning a master's degree. STAR REBATES: This plan is symbolic but it carries a lot of weight. By raising the question of whether school districts are passing along STAR savings, Pataki is pointing out that a big part of the tax burden carried by New Yorkers is in their local school property taxes, not state government. TEACHER INCENTIVES: This plan …