Governor Cuomo's Education Reform Commission held a public meeting Wednesday at Makowski School in Buffalo.
Most of the speakers agreed New York's massive and expensive education system is in trouble, grappling with problems from shrinking state aid to training for teachers.
Chairman Richard Parsons says the 25-member panel will deliver a preliminary report this fall and a final report a year later.
The group consists of a series of heavyweights: Parsons, a major financial players, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
Parsons says the governor is clearly looking for new ideas.
"This is not an easy problem," Parsons admits.
"I think if it was a problem that was easy of solution the governor wouldn't have had to reach out and create this commission."
Parsons says part of the problem is that so many people believe the schools are pretty good, something not true when compared to other industrialized nations.
"The state has failed to put in sufficient amount of money to ensure a world-class education for all our children," said Jim Anderson of Alliance for Quality Education.
"There is no excuse there. And in this present day if we're going to put our students first, then we need to stop cutting the education budget."
Many speakers say problems are getting worse because of education aid cuts.
