Gov. Cathy Hochul has now said she opposes cutting funding to some schools with declining enrollment, a move she made earlier this year in a budget that called for spending restraints. This is a significant change from the previous year.
Hochul's representatives said in a statement to the Post on Tuesday that the governor no longer supports such cuts, a departure from what was at the core of his plan earlier this year.
The switch comes as the governor faces a contentious reelection bid in 2026 and has little wiggle room to antagonize the New York State United Teachers Union, the state's largest public sector union.
A statement from Hochul's office said, “In developing the upcoming executive budget, the governor will continue to implement measures that will not negatively impact school budgets, including eliminating the hold-and-hold clause in foundation aid formulas that cover such cuts. “I think we should avoid proposals that give away.”
The governor had been vetoed by the Legislature when making the cuts earlier this year. Budget negotiators have agreed to postpone a review of school funding formulas until next year.
At that time, Hochul was still determined to change the system and curb wasteful school spending.
“In the long term, it is simply not rational to continue paying for empty classroom seats,” Hochul said in an April statement announcing this year's budget deal.
“And we can't continue to put so much money into school district reserves when that money could be supporting students in low-income areas and communities of color or going back to taxpayers. We can't continue to fund schools based on. Our decisions have to be based on where the need is greatest,” she said.
“Updating an outdated funding formula is an important step forward,” Melinda Parson, president of the state teachers union, said in a statement Tuesday.
“However, we remain concerned about the recommendation to arbitrarily lower Foundation aid amounts without taking into account the support needed for schools’ evolving student populations. We need to prioritize stability and predictability.”
The state had asked the Rockefeller Institute of Government to investigate potential changes to its complex and largely outdated funding formula as part of its current review.
The institute's report, released Monday night, recommends phasing out funding to wealthy school districts and those with declining populations.
Several lawmakers told the Post they were still reading the 314-page report, but early reactions did not bode well for some of its recommendations.
“I have great concerns about some of the proposals, including the phase-out recommendation. [a portion of funding] Despite changes in enrollment, many school districts rely on it to continue providing services to their communities,” State Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Shelley Meyer (D-Westchester) said in a statement. mentioned in.
Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Oswego); Posted in X“Conversations regarding changes to the Foundation Aid formula must carefully consider the impact of the changes on all school districts (rural, suburban, and urban).”
Mr. Hochul is tasked with putting together an agreement that addresses other aspects of the highly complex funding formula, such as weighting special education programs and moving away from aspects that rely on outdated standardized test results and demographic information. There may still be a compromise.
Parts of the formula are still based on 2000 Census data.
Mayer and others greatly praised Rockefeller's work as a sober approach to addressing foundation aid.
“The Rockefeller people played it straight. They carried out their mandate from the Legislature. They didn't get into the consequential side of things. This issue has input.” Ken Girardin, director of research at the Empire Center think tank, told the Post.
“They exposed an inconvenient truth that the Legislature does not want to touch,” Girardin said.
