“Stable, reliable, and inclusive funding is what’s needed,” said Aurelia Henriquez, superintendent of Port Chester Rye school district.
Many echoed Henriquez’s words at a public hearing on the state Education Department’s much-criticized foundation aid funding formula held at Weldon E. Howitt Middle School in Farmingdale on July 30.
The hearing, hosted by the Rockefeller Institute of Government, brought together Long Island school district officials and community members to provide testimony on the current formula’s flaws and recommend improvements to how the state calculates state aid in the future.
The state’s recently approved 2024-2025 budget called upon the Rockefeller Institute to conduct a study to assess the formula used to determine each school district’s share of aid. The Rockefeller Institute of Government is the public policy research arm of the State University of New York, which conducts research and analysis to inform solutions to the problems facing New York State and the nation.
The state mandated only three meetings, but the Institute arranged for five, taking place in New York City, Western New York, Long Island, Central New York, and the Capital Region.
The Farmingdale panel included Anita Murphy, district superintendent at Capitol Region BOCES; Robert Megna, president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government; Brian Backstrom, director of Education Policy for the Rockefeller Institute; Lisa Parshall, professor of Political Science at Daemen University and Rockefeller Institute Fellow; and Lucy Sorensen, associate professor of public administration and policy at the University of Albany.
Several school officials and residents said the state has been using out-of-date census data to determine aid levels.
Cordelia Anthony, a biology teacher from Farmingdale High School and president of the Farmingdale Federation of Teachers, said the state mostly uses the same census data as when she began teaching in 1999.
She urged that current data inform school financial support, as student demographics and needs have drastically changed since then.
“I can tell you that the population of our students with disabilities and our multilanguage learners has drastically increased. Today, nearly 20% of the students in Farmingdale have disabilities.” Anthony said.
She said more funding is needed to provide resources for students with disabilities and mental health issues, which students have needed more than ever in a post-COVID learning environment.
Lars Clemenson, president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, addressed several areas of concern.
In the last 10 years, enrollment has dropped 8%, or 35,000 students, according to Clemenson, but the number of students who identify with needs has increased. “The number of English language learners has increased 55%, students with disabilities 10%, and those considered economically disadvantaged 19%. These profiles are accompanied by additional needs for staff and services.”
Clemenson backed Anthony’s call for modern census data to play a role in determining economic aid to schools.
Clemenson also suggested that formula revisions should be a separate discussion from school district reserves.
“A district is loath to introduce a program that may not be sustainable,” he said. “It would be helpful to revisit the 4% mandate on undesignated reserves to empower districts to develop and manage long-range, responsible financial plans in a way that navigates changes in the economy, navigates infusions of federal funds, etc. Municipalities and the states enjoy such licenses, while schools remain restricted.”
Aurelia Henriquez, superintendent of Port Chester Rye school district, addressed how student populations affect the amount of aid schools can provide them. “Many unfunded mandates are positive steps toward inclusivity. However, they also impose additional financial responsibilities that were not anticipated in the original funding model.” She points to Port Chester specifically, as a district pushed to adopt these measures with a school district much larger than others, making it more difficult to provide each student with adequate aid. “We do not want to be in a position where we have to choose between services,” she said.
Generally, favor was given to using recent census data for the most revised breakdown of student population demographics. The district’s number of students does not correlate to their proportional needs. Resources need to be increased for students with special needs who are learning English as a second language or who otherwise face strife in a post-COVID learning environment.
Following an intermission, members of the public were invited to speak. Each speaker was allotted two minutes.
Tim Lowley, assistant superintendent of business of Eastport-South Manor Central School District, said although his school district’s enrollment has dropped, expenditures have continued to rise.
“We at Eastport understand the need to update the foundation aid formula,” he said. “However, an updated formula must bring budget predictability, budget stability and must take into consideration the high cost of living and the high cost to run a school district on Long Island.”
Monica Savino, a member of the School Administrators Association of New York State, and Timothy Eagen, superintendent of Kings Park Central School District, also said that budgeting needs to be more predictable.
Maria Rianna, superintendent of the Glen Cove City School District, said data needs to be considered regarding subgroups within larger demographic groups. The example she provided was the distinction between ELL students who have received a continued education and ELL students who have had an interrupted education and the different resources each group needs.
Herricks High School students Connor Zhang, Maheen Asaf and Sanvi Patel and Matthew DaCosta, a student at Malverne Senior High School Uniondale Union High School all brought up similar concerns to Rianna regarding data.
Public comment continually circled back to the question of tax revenue and how revenue extracted from sources such as public enterprises or businesses influenced the amount of aid a school district was allotted. Concerns for student funding based outside a controlled, regulated, and separate process were numerous.
Those interested in watching the full livestream, or those of other meetings, can do so at: https://rockinst.org/foundation-aid-study/ There is also an option to submit questions or commentary for the final two meetings. The completed report is due to the legislature December 1 of this year.
