Half of Lower Hudson school districts would see aid cuts under Hochul's plan; check yours

Half of school districts across Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties — as well as half of the rest of the districts across the state — would see decreases in state "foundation aid" under Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget proposal.

Smaller districts in more affluent communities would see the biggest decreases, though Mount Vernon and North Rockland, two of the area's larger and more diverse districts, are among those that would see decreases in foundation aid.

Until now, school districts have not received year-to-year cuts in foundation aid, no matter their financial health. It remains to be seen whether the state Legislature will go along Hochul's attempt to change the system.

Of 54 districts in the Lower Hudson Valley, 28 would get less foundation aid under Hochul's plan.

Two of the tiniest, Garrison and Pocantico Hills, would see decreases of almost 40%. Another eight districts would see cuts over 10%. Eighteen districts would see cuts below 10%.

“Call them what you want; these are cuts,” New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person said in a statement. “Once again, the state is turning its back on its support for our students and our communities."

Statewide, Hochul proposed hiking total foundation aid — the main source of aid districts get to supplement property taxes — by $507 million, a 2.1% increase over this year. But half of the 673 districts in New York that receive foundation aid would wind up with cuts, according to an analysis by the New York State School Boards Association.

Hochul: Some districts doing fine, don't need more aid

Hochul's proposed budget, released Jan. 16, drew sharp criticism from education officials for removing a policy that ensures districts get at least the same amount of money as the previous year.

Another proposed change would cut the inflation adjustment to 2.4% from 3.8%.

In her budget speech last week, Hochul said the state had to scale back aid to certain districts after delivering large increases over the last few years to meet its legal commitment. She noted that total foundation aid in her budget plan is 33% higher than what it was four years ago, despite sliding student enrollment in many districts over the last decade.

Nearly 44% of Hochul's overall foundation aid increase would go to New York City schools.

In Westchester, Rockland and Putnam, 26 of 54 districts would see increases in foundation aid. Ten would see increases over 5%, with only three of those over 10%. Thirteen would see increases of less than 5%.

Hochul told reporters that she wants the state to steer aid to needier districts, while other school systems have built up ample reserves that can sustain them.

“Long Island, for example, has a lot of school districts that are high need,” she said. “I want to make sure that they have the resources. And we can also look at others that are sitting on significant resources, and they’re doing fine.”

NYSUT, the state teachers union, said the opposite was true: that districts with the highest needs, and districts in rural areas, will bear the brunt of the cuts.

What would aid cuts mean in Lower Hudson?

Clarkstown Superintendent Marc Baiocco, president-elect of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents, said the proposed cuts would stop districts in the Lower Hudson from providing the level of academic and social-emotional supports students need after the pandemic.

"Governor Hochul claims that the Foundation Aid increases were not sustainable, but this issue was not raised last year when Foundation Aid was fully restored," he said in an email.

Baiocco said any reserves that districts have are essential, especially with federal pandemic relief funds expiring and many costs still rising.

Karen Belanger, executive director of the Westchester Putnam Schools Boards Association, said many districts in the area didn't see much federal relief through stimulus funds. And for some districts that did, ongoing needs "outweighed the fiscally conservative approach of spending one-time funds on one-time expenses."

Yonkers was one such district, using its federal relief money on music and art teachers, counselors, social workers, psychologists and classroom aides. But those funds run out this year.

Belanger said districts are only allowed to hold up to 4% of the next year's budget as unallocated reserves. Given the proposed reductions in foundation aid, she said, some districts will look at using those reserves, making spending cuts or even asking their communities to override the state-imposed cap on property tax levies.

Districts won't know exactly how much state aid they will get until the final budget passes. It is due April 1.

Mount Vernon, Bedford among those facing cuts

State legislators from the Lower Hudson are already hearing from districts and communities about proposed cuts in aid. Legislators will have to negotiate a budget deal with Hochul.

Some have decried the proposed cuts.

“This is a devastating blow to a lot of districts,” said Sen. Shelley Mayer, a Yonkers Democrat who serves as chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee.

She said the impact would be “absolutely dramatic” in Westchester, where 23 of 40 districts would get decreases in foundation aid under Hochul's proposal. Mount Vernon, she noted, would take a “ridiculous hit” of $2.9 million, a 3.5% aid cut.

Mount Vernon was one of only three districts in the state to be classified this week as facing "significant" fiscal stress by the state Comptroller's Office.

Hochul, after her budget speech, said her administration will be flexible about raising aid amounts for districts “really hit hard” by her proposal. But she defended her “common sense adjustment," saying, “it's incumbent upon us to be smart about how it’s spent and make sure it goes where it’s needed.”

Mayer questioned why the state would cut funding for some districts while trying to get schools back on track after the classroom disruptions of the pandemic. She praised pandemic recovery programs she recently observed in schools during a state tour.

Mayer rejected the premise that New York needs to take austerity measures, given that fears of a recession have lifted. She suggested the state dip into its own reserves to fund more foundation aid.

Sen. Pete Harckham, a Democrat whose district includes parts of all three counties, said that nine out of 19 school districts in his district would see decreases in funding. Among them is Bedford, which would see a 30% decrease.

No plans to change funding formula

For many, the proposed decreases stung after schools finally saw a $4.2 billion payout in foundation aid over three years from the state — money schools said was owed to them after years of aid allocations falling short of what a funding formula said they should get.

"It took less than a year after the legacy victory of fully funding Foundation Aid for that promise to be broken, and we now return to the same old fight for the resources all our schools desperately need," NYSUT President Person said.

And it doesn't look like the formula for allocating foundation aid will be updated any time soon.

There have long been calls to update the formula, so that it would more accurately drive aid to where it's most needed. The state Board of Regents requested $1 million in the state budget to begin studying how to revamp the formula.

But Hochul's proposed budget doesn't include any funds to do so, said Brian Fessler, director of government relations at the New York State School Boards Association.

Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Half of Lower Hudson NY districts would see aid cuts under Hochul plan