State Sen. Siela Bynoe announced on Thursday, May 8, that the state budget will include $24 million in relief funding for the Hempstead School District, which will help it avoid extensive cuts to programs and staff.
The district issued a plea for financial relief from the state on Thursday, March 6, to avoid cuts in the face of a deficit exceeding $30 million for the 2025-26 school year. Bynoe announced later that month that she had proposed a one-time stopgap to be included in the state budget.
According to Bynoe, the one-time funding is in addition to the $247.6 million in proposed state aid to the district for Hempstead.
The district’s main financial struggles were attributed to an expected $106.4 million payout in charter school tuition payments for the upcoming school year, an increase of nearly $20 million for the 2024-2025 school year.
Public schools are required to pay tuition for each student attending a charter school, but the amount varies greatly between districts.
Hempstead paid $26,196 per student this year and is expected to pay $28,486 next year, according to the district’s budget. Roughly 36% of students within the district attend a charter school, one of the highest percentages in the state and the highest on Long Island.
Hempstead Board of Education President Victor Pratt said four local charter schools have taken 3,151 Hempstead-zoned students out of the district’s public school system for the 2024-25 school year. The SUNY Board of Trustees said a fifth charter school will open in the area for the 2026-27 academic year as well.
Bynoe called the funding “a lifesaver” for those in the community.
“All children deserve a high-quality public education that prepares them for the rest of their lives,” Bynoe said. “Unfortunately, the current outflow of public school students to charter schools has placed unbearable financial pressure on the Hempstead Union Free School District.”
In addition to securing this critical relief funding, Bynoe delivered $175,000 to ensure technical assistance of a fiscal monitor, a key asset in assisting the district with strengthening its financial management and long-term planning. This support is crucial as charter enrollment and the district’s tuition obligations are expected to increase with the opening of a fifth charter school in the 2026-27 school year.
Hempstead Superintendent Susan Johnson said the largest proposed change by the district was to decrease the number of active elementary schools from five to four, which was later determined to be David Patterson Elementary School.
She also said that up to 15 teachers and nine administrators would have potentially lost their jobs due to the closure and that further cuts to staff, salaries, special services, field trips and supplies had all been discussed. Other administrators said the deficit may have negatively impacted the curriculum and programs.
The district’s board of education adopted a $358 million budget for the upcoming school year at its April 23 meeting. Community members are set to vote on the budget on Tuesday, May 20.
Nassau County’s highest state aid figure, $239.7 million, was proposed for Hempstead in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s initial budget offering in January. The figure showed a $239.7 million state aid package for the district, the highest in Nassau County.
But that total is just $4 million higher than the 2024-25 figure given to the district, which the district said was not enough.
Part of the governor’s financial package includes funding for charter school transition aid, which the school anticipated it would receive nearly half of the $10.9 million it was given this year for the 2025-26 school year.
Bynoe said in March that a plan needs to be developed to address the district’s financial situation moving forward.
The governor’s education 2025-26 budget was expected to be finalized by April 1, but it is still being completed in early May.
