Happy first week of April! This week, there is a lot happening in New York in relation to Pre-K news! The articles below cover our top picks for the most important reads for this week. Enjoy!

–DOE Cuts 25 Kindergarten Seats at Brooklyn Heights School – DNAinfo

The Department of Education plans to cut 25 kindergarten seats from the overcrowded P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights for the 2015-16 school year.

–Negotiators Agree in Principle on State Budget – The Buffalo News

Lawmakers are still deciding how to divide education funding, with Senate Republicans working to drive relatively more funding to suburban districts and Assembly Democrats looking to send more funding to lower-income districts.

–Cuomo and Lawmakers Still at Impasse Over School Deal – New York Post

Over the weekend, Gov. Cuomo blamed a lack of consensus on his education proposals on the outsized influence of teachers unions.

–Parents, Teachers Line Up to Protest Cuomo’s Education Reform Plan – CBS New York

As lawmakers hammered out details of the budget in Albany, union leaders and advocates camped out near Cuomo's offices to oppose his proposals.

–Budget Agreement Will Change Tenure Rules, Task State with Eval Overhaul – Chalkbeat NY

New York’s legislative leaders reached agreement on some thorny education issues on Sunday, but plenty remains to be decided, including how the education funding will be divvied up. Lawmakers also punted on teacher evaluations, agreeing to let the state education department make decisions about future changes.

New York Lawmakers Rush to Beat Midnight Budget Deadline – The Washington Times

Ahead of the start of the new fiscal year Wednesday, state lawmakers are set to vote on education proposals following what’s likely to be a long debate Tuesday.

–Confronted by Cuomo on Schools, de Blasio Digs in – Capital New York

Leading up to budget negotiations, Mayor Bill de Blasio has been clear of his aggressive disagreement with Gov. Cuomo on many of his education proposals, including state takeover of struggling schools, failure to permanently extend mayoral control and raising the charter-school cap.

–Education Partisans Vow to Keep Fighting on Items Excluded From Budget Deal – wNYC

Even after the budget deal comes to a close, education policy changes including teacher evaluations and extending mayoral control of city schools are likely to remain a top priority for education advocates through June.

–After Rancorous Debate, Lawmakers Pass Big Changes to Evaluations – Chalkbeat NY

The legislature passed an education portion of the state’s $142 billion budget that contained several parts of Cuomo’s agenda, including big changes to the teacher evaluation system that sparked hours of rancorous debate from lawmakers.