As New York reviews how it allocates state aid to local school districts for the first time in years, more than 100 advocacy groups are coalescing around a handful of key changes they’d like to see.
In a joint statement to Gov. Hochul and state lawmakers released Monday, the coalition called for extra dollars to support students who are homeless and preschoolers and to lower class sizes following a new state law.
“The formula itself includes outdated and incomplete measures of need and has not evolved to account for the growing cost of providing a high-quality education to all students,” read the statement — signed by Advocates for Children of New York, EdTrust-New York and Good Shepherd Services, among others.
A group is pushing to get the city to revisit its class size plan, according to a letter sent to New York State Education Department.
The funding stream known as Foundation Aid, which sends about $24.9 billion to districts, took years to fully fund. By then, experts were already warning that the formula, which hadn’t been formally revised in more than 15 years, needed an update. For example, one variable used to calculate student poverty is based on the 2000 census.
Last year, Albany changed the way it calculates inflation in the formula, resulting in $125 million less in state funding for New York City — and further widening a gap in how much the city versus the state contribute to its public schools.
“Needs have grown. We have a record number of students in temporary housing. We have a youth mental health crisis. We are still feeling the impact of the pandemic,” said Randi Levine, policy director of Advocates for Children. “So we think it is important for state leaders to step up and ensure that the new formula will meet the needs of New York City’s students.”
Hochul tried to introduce more sweeping changes to the formula last budget cycle — proposing to scrap a provision known as “hold harmless,” which ensures all districts with fewer students receive at least the same state aid as the year prior — but eventually settled to study the issue for another year.
She tapped researchers at the Rockefeller Institute to release a final report by early December. During five hearings across the state, the think tank heard from 104 speakers for about 12 hours and received 200-plus written comments as of last month, reps told the Board of Regents.
Many of the advocates’ demands echoed those of Chancellor David Banks. In July, the schools chief in a Daily News op-ed urged Albany to update the formula from metrics and approaches to education that are nearly two decades old.
Many of the advocates’ demands echoed those of Chancellor David Banks. In July, the schools chief in a Daily News op-ed urged Albany to update the formula from metrics and approaches to education that are nearly two decades old.
“Our school system has changed dramatically — and for the better — in that time,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, the way New York State funds our schools has not.”
Banks pointed to the addition of two new grades — pre-K and 3-K — and more than 40,000 migrant students passing through the shelter system. And while he praised a recent state law to lower class sizes as a “worthy goal,” the chancellor said the Albany’s support is necessary in that effort.
Both the chancellor and advocates say it’s long overdue that Albany catch up with the times.
Foundation Aid doesn’t provide any additional funding for students who are homeless. And the current formula only covers kindergarten through 12th grade — which the statement described as a “holdover from an earlier era in which a child’s educational career was typically thought to begin at age 5 or 6,” instead of preschool.
“Gov. Hochul is the first governor to ever fully fund the Foundation Aid formula,” said Kara Fesolovich, a spokeswoman for the governor, “and she’s increased school aid by $6.5 billion since taking office – that includes a 15% increase in funding for New York City schools.
“The governor has repeatedly said there are ways to improve the formula to meet the needs of the next generation of students, and we look forward to continuing conversations about this topic with the Legislature and other stakeholders.”