PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – School officials across New York are concerned about a proposed funding change that would impact how much districts receive. The changes mean some North Country districts could lose a significant portion of state funding.
“Every district is not being fully funded under this formula,” said Melinda Person, the president of the New York State United Teachers, the union that represents nearly 700,000 teachers. She says Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal to remove the “save harmless” funding policy could negatively impact almost every school district. “School districts have had a provision in the school aid formula that prevents them from losing aid year to year. It provides stability so that districts can do long-range planning and make sure the tax base is stabilized.”
It’s a tool that many rural districts depend on. “This is a dagger, it really is,” said Long Lake Central School District Interim Superintendent David Snide.
His district consists of 58 students and roughly 29 teachers and other employees. He says if approved by the Legislature, the district could lose almost 45% of state funding and requiring the district to put forward a budget that exceeds the two percent state-mandated tax cap. “We may not have a choice other than to go over the tax cap and rely on the community to vote in a positive manner to keep the district open,” he said.
But to increase the tax cap, at least 60% of voters have to approve it. Other options could be cutting programs and faculty or tapping into reserve accounts, which Snide says is not feasible.
Person says the right path forward is to keep the save harmless policy, allow school districts to increase their budget to reflect inflation or the tax cap — whichever is higher — and use current enrollment numbers, which Hochul has proposed. “We are still this day using census data from 2000. So, that is one obvious example of a piece that needs updating,” she said. “We see a lot of support for our public schools. It is one of the few things that everyone can agree upon. So, I am hopeful that these cuts are going to be restored in the final budget and that this will kick start the process for updating the formula, which is something that we would love to do.”
