Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸

NYS Assemblyman (R) 🗽 Education Committee Ranking Member 🎓 Husband, Dad, Educator 🍎 @LINewsRadio Contributor 🎙️ @IslipGOP Chair 🇺🇸 [email protected]

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

Today, on Memorial Day, we remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Generations of Americans answering the call to serve a cause greater than themselves and giving their lives that we may be free. It may be a rainy day with many parades and events cancelled, but let us join together in silent prayer giving thanks for the life and liberty we have while remembering that freedom is not free. 🙏🇺🇸

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

Where is the leadership from Governor Hochul? New Yorkers deserve better!

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

Last I checked — the Sachem School District which is 70% of my Assembly District of 135,000 residents: sends 23 students to a Charter School. Along with almost $400,000 — I can tell you that in a school district of 11,000, we’re not saving $400k by educating 23 fewer kids!

[Ken Girardin @PolicyEngineer]

@DougSmithNY Why do so many parents in your area want a second school system?

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

The biggest issue for my constituents: their property taxes. We have excellent public schools on Long Island and with it high property values — there is NO NEED for my taxpayers to fund additional schools! There is NOTHING conservative about funding another school system!

[Ken Girardin @PolicyEngineer]

The top R on the Assembly Education committee regularly attacks charter schools.

These are choices by the GOP leadership.

https://t.co/9nAI20bwuw

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

Political violence has NO PLACE in the United States of America. 🇺🇸

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

“As Chairman of the Islip Town Republican Committee, I join in condemnation of the increasingly dangerous tactics taken by the ‘Islip Forward’ group. Today’s latest spectacle, where a far-left activist disguised himself in a hijab to infiltrate a women’s history month celebration in an apparent attempt to stalk Senator Monica Martinez is chilling in light of recent events across the country where elected officials have been targeted for violence. The Republican Party, our elected officials and our candidates, condemn this abhorrent behavior and hope that the ‘Islip forward’ group will cease these bizarre and offensive tactics that put the public on edge and serve no legitimate first amendment purpose.”

[Newsday @Newsday]

An International Women’s Day luncheon turned confrontational Friday when an uninvited community activist entered the restaurant and shouted at State Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood).

Joshua Chan, the deputy director of Islip Forward, a nonprofit that tracks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on Long Island, entered a private, invitation-only luncheon hosted by Suffolk County Leg. Sam Gonzalez (D-Brentwood), according to both elected officials.

Chan gained entry to the lunch, “under false pretenses,” and disguised as a Muslim woman by wearing a hijab, a religious head garment, Gonzalez said in a statement.

After he arrived and engaged in “violent behavior toward” Martinez, Chan “had to be physically removed” from the restaurant, Gonzalez said. The legislator’s chief of staff, Luis Montes Brito, removed him, according to a video Islip Forward posted to social media.

More details on this story: https://t.co/BVhW993va1
Courtesy: Islip Forward
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#longislandny #huntingtonstation #suffolkcountyny #immigration #luncheon

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

I have no sympathy for NYC having to raise property taxes: proportionally NYC has SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER property taxes (on some of the most valuable real estate in the world) than Long Island and other parts of New York State! Taxpayers from across our state already bail out NYC — ENOUGH!! Cut spending or raise your own taxes! Get your hands out of our pockets!

[NYS Assembly Republican Conference @NYS_AM]

Assembly Republican Leader Ed Ra announced Assembly Republican leadership appointments.

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

As the Ranking Member of the Assembly Education Committee, I am proud to attend today's Education budget hearing. I strongly support our public schools and will always fight to ensure New York students, families, and taxpayers continue to be heard!

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

We have the SAFEST Assembly District in New York! Congratulations to my friends, colleagues, and constituents: our District Attorney Ray Tierney & Sheriff Errol Toulon, as they are sworn in for their new term serving the people of Suffolk County! You will both continue to make us proud & keep us safe!

[Keshia Clukey @KeshiaClukey]

@BrianCechnicki Assemb. @DougSmithNY thinks it’s important to not only protect the "save harmless" policy, but also to address the root causes of the problem “We do spend a lot of money on education, but it’s important that we make sure the resources are getting to the districts that need them”

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

Last year, Assembly Democrats in the Banking Committee killed my bill to cap credit card interest rates at 10% — Glad to see President @realDonaldTrump & @SenWarren are now working together on this! It’s not a partisan issue: I invite Dems to join the GOP to finally get it done!

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

Congratulations to two of my favorite people and partners in government: my forever Vice Chair, our newly elected Islip Councilwoman DawnMarie Kuhn, AND our newly elected Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo! Thank you to the people of our community for your confidence to allow us to be your fighters and your voice in town, county, and state government. We will never let you down! 🇺🇸

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

I am proud to announce that I am running for re-election to the New York State Assembly this November! 🇺🇸

It has been an incredible honor to represent my home, where I grew up and where my wife and I are raising our daughter.

Being elected five times by our community is humbling and something I have never taken for granted.

We have delivered real results for our community. As Ranking Member of the Assembly Education Committee, I will continue fighting for our children, schools, and families.

While I am honored that people have encouraged me to consider running for State Senate, public service has never been about any specific title for me; it is about showing up every day and working hard for the people and place I call home.

There is more work to do, and I am ready to keep fighting for our community. I look forward to earning your trust again!

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

As we turn the page to a new year, we should remember that the most meaningful resolutions are the ones we live every day.

Just like every year, I have only two resolutions: to do good, and to be better.

Better in how we treat one another.
Better in how we serve our families and communities.
Better than we were yesterday.

I invite you to join me in that simple mission. If each of us commits to small acts of kindness, steady self improvement, and doing what we can to help others, we can make this year one we are truly proud of.

Wishing you and your family health, happiness, and a year full of opportunity.

Let us do good. Let us be better. And let us do it together!

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

⚠️ As the snow falls, please stay off the roads if possible!

THANK YOU to our Highway, DPW, and Parks crews at the Town, Village, County, and State Levels who will be working thoughout the night clearing the snow! Be safe out there! ❄️

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

As a parent, former teacher, and the Ranking Member of the New York State Assembly Education Committee, I am horrified to see what is being referred to as a “timeout box” allegedly used in as many as three special education classrooms as a so-called ‘behavioral calming measure’ at the Salmon River Central School District in Franklin County, New York.

I support Commissioner Betty Rosa and the State Education Department’s full investigation of the matter.

At this time, every adult in connection with this has been suspended by the district while this is fully investigated.

If allegations are true, those in connection with approving this practice, or who failed to prevent it, should be held accountable!

Parents trust that when they send their children to school, especially our most vulnerable students, they will be protected and safe, not treated like animals.

If true, and this district needed additional support, they should have contacted the State Education Department and the Regional BOCES for assistance and best practices.

This measure is completely unacceptable, and I believe would violate the state’s ban on “seclusion” practices which generally involve isolating and locking a student in a room.

https://t.co/9zBGOtdc6h

https://t.co/ODxu1lVWdG

https://t.co/EuT8LqErHb

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

So proud of my good friend Lisa Navarra who has been a strong leader in student behavior with respect to school transportation! She is making such incredible progress in this field! We absolutely need to ensure our students have a great experience and the social and behavioral skills they need from when they leave the house in the morning to when they return home after school! GREAT WORK!! https://t.co/AwQICbWNaL

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

🇺🇸 On this Veterans Day, we stand united in honoring the courageous men and women who have served our country. Their selflessness, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication deserve our utmost gratitude. Today and every day, let us remember their bravery and express our deep appreciation for their service.

[Assemblyman Doug Smith 🇺🇸 @DougSmithNY]

Long Island Taxpayers Should Be Outraged About Charter Schools

We have a major problem on Long Island, and it’s flying under the radar. Charter schools have taken hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars with no public oversight, no locally elected Boards of Education, and virtually no accountability beyond calling themselves “a school.”

Let’s be clear: our communities already fund excellent public school districts. Yet taxpayers are now being forced to fund a second parallel system that often provides fewer educational and extracurricular opportunities for students. Why should we pay twice for the same thing?

Here’s the ugly truth:
Many charter schools operate as profit machines disguised as education. Wealthy investors form a private company, get a quick rubber stamp from the SUNY Charter Board (bypassing the NYS Board of Regents thanks to a loophole Albany refuses to fix), and then cherry-pick the cheapest students to educate. They fill staff positions with people who don’t even need to be certified teachers or administrators, and then funnel taxpayer money into salaries and contracts for friends, family, and themselves.

That’s not innovation. That’s exploitation.

And there’s a reason you don’t see charter schools popping up upstate: they wouldn’t make a profit.

Long Island’s public schools are already among the best in the nation. The last thing our families and taxpayers need is a parallel system siphoning funds away from our classrooms, teachers, and students.

It’s time for real oversight, transparency, and accountability before this costly experiment does irreversible damage to our communities.