Yonkers Times: SENATOR MAYER, ASSEMBLYMAN SAYEGH, OPPOSE HOCHUL BUDGET & CUTS TO EDUCATION FUNDING FOR YONKERS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Sen. Shelley Mayer

Assemblyman Nader Sayegh

Westchester’s Assembly members and State Senators are not happy with Governor Hochul’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 which starts on April 1, and specifically Hochul’s proposal to cut state aid for education to several Westchester school districts.

While Hochul’s budget plan increases spending overall by 4.3% to $233 Billion, and has proposed a 2.4% increase in school aid overall, her budget plan decreases education aid and foundation aid to almost every Westchester school district.

In Yonkers, State Senator Shelley Mayer explained that the State Education Aid to the Yonkers Public Schools proposed by the Governor, which reduces the percentage of Foundation Aid coming to YPS, combined with the school districts loss of Federal COVID funds, in “unacceptable.”

“After reviewing the details of the Executive Budget Proposal and the school aid runs, it is clear to me that the Governor’s proposal for school aid falls far short of what our students, teachers, and school communities need right now.

“Our school districts are facing enormous challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Districts are tasked with helping students recover from disrupted learning, addressing the significant mental health challenges students face, and in many districts, supporting new migrant students. Having just recently traveled throughout New York State and witnessed incredible work by our schools to meet these needs, I know personally how schools are rising to the challenge of this moment. Our schools need continued investment and support from the state to meet the complex needs of students and school communities, not an austerity budget that cuts their funding.

“The Governor’s proposal to forgo holding districts harmless reverses decades of practice in the state. Under her proposal, hundreds of districts stand to receive less Foundation Aid than they did last year, including many high need districts in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Even districts slated to receive an increase will receive less of an increase per pupil than the rate of inflation over the last year. At a time when districts face rising costs, the expiration of federal COVID relief funds, and increased responsibilities, these changes are untenable.

“While New York State may face financial challenges, we are not in a recession. We cannot look to cut corners with education funding –– our schools and communities deserve better. As chair of the Senate Education Committee, I will fight on behalf of our students and parents, teachers and administrators, to ensure they receive the funding they deserve,” said Mayer.

Assemblyman Nader Sayegh said, “I believe the Governor’s proposed budget falls short of meeting the present and future needs of educating the student population in school districts, especially those like Yonkers Public Schools. It is a step back from the work my colleagues in the Legislature have done in recent years to grow and sustain educational funding.

“In a preliminary analysis, the presented budget would cut over $400 million from districts statewide. In Yonkers, that would amount to a nearly $4 million cut when compared with last year’s enacted budget. A cut of any kind with rising costs would constitute a massive shortfall that would disproportionately afflict the approximately 25,000 students who attend Yonkers Public Schools. Yonkers, despite being a high-need school district; continues to receive less funding than other similar districts in other parts of the State. In the City of Syracuse, which has thousands of fewer students than Yonkers, their City School District already received over $100 million more in base Foundation Aid in last year’s enacted budget. In the Governor’s proposed budget, this disparity would continue. In speaking with our stakeholders in our schools, we must sustain and build on last year’s budget so we can adequately fund our Yonkers Public Schools so that our children can continue to thrive and succeed.

“This is ultimately a structural problem with the Funding Formula. That is why I continue to fight for and advocate the Legislature to examine and make meaningful changes to the State’s Funding Formula. Numerous pieces of legislation that I’ve introduced, such as A67 – the Education Funding Census Update Act – would help in part with this issue by amending the Funding Formula to use the most recent Federal census data to determine funding, as opposed to the 2000 Census still being used. Another of my bills, A103 – the School Aid Equity Act – would also change the Funding Formula based on five key variables that impact academic success: Free or Reduced Lunch, English Language Learners, Enrollment, Special Education and being located in a high-wealth ratio County. As we face a teacher shortage statewide, the Legislature has passed my legislation, A68A, the TEACH Act, aiding to reduce this by directing the State Education Commissioner to issue guidance to school districts for developing “Grow Your Own” Programs to attract underrepresented candidates into the teaching profession,” said Assemblyman Sayegh.

Read the article here: https://yonkerstimes.com/senator-mayer-assemblyman-sayeghoppose-hochul-budget-cuts-to-education-funding-for-yonkers-public-schools/