2 of 5 local school districts see cut in state aid in governor’s budget

After recent big increases, school funding up 2.4% statewide

File photo: The Kendall Junior-Senior High School is shown in 2018. The Kendall school district would face a $300,000 hit in state aid, according to the governor’s budget.

Local school districts, which have received big increases in state aid in recent years, won’t be getting a big hike in funding, according to Gov. Hochul’s executive budget. In fact, two out of the five school districts in Orleans County would get less in state funds.

Lyndonville and Kendall both are proposed for cuts in total state aid – Lyndonville by about $30,000 and Kendall by over $300,000.

Albion is proposed for a slight increase at $160,000, while Medina and Holley would each get about $1 million more.

Here are the state aid runs in the governor’s budget for the five districts in Orleans County:

Albion

Foundation Aid: $26,052,376 to $26,442,339 (up by $389,963)

Total state aid: $34,275,359 to $34,435,633 (up by $160,274 or +0.47%)

Holley

Foundation Aid: $13,436,179 to $13,618,345 (up by $182,166)

Total state aid: $20,434,085 to $21,326,736 (up by $892,651, or +4.37%)

Kendall

Foundation Aid: $9,283,012 to $9,252,230 (down by $30,782)

Total state aid: $15,252,682 to $14,939,660 (down by $313,022, or -2.05%)

Lyndonville

Foundation Aid: $8,943,397 to $9,067,681 (up by $124,284)

Total state aid: $13,343,586 to $13,311,758 (down by $31,288, -0.24%)

Medina

Foundation Aid: $19,829,059 to $21,113,084 (up by $1,284,025)

Total state aid: $29,339,568 to $30,326,800 (up by $987,232, +3.36%)

Total aid for the five school districts in Orleans County is up by $4,222,006 to $114,340,587, which includes $79,493,679 in Foundation Aid.

The governor’s budget proposes $35.3 billion in total school aid, an increase of $825 million (2.4 percent) from FY24. This includes a $507 million increase in Foundation Aid. A year ago the governor proposed a $2.7 billion increase in Foundation Aid.

NYS School Boards Association Executive Director Robert Schneider is critical of Hochul’s aid for school districts.

“NYSSBA is disappointed that Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget proposal for 2024-25 appears to pull back from the substantial progress New York has made with Foundation Aid funding in recent years,” Schneider said in statement on Tuesday. “The proposal is hundreds of millions of dollars below full funding, since it appears that some districts would even see cuts to their Foundation Aid, reversing a decades-long practice of holding school districts harmless.”

The cuts in funding “are likely to negatively impact programs and services” at the affected school districts, Schneider said.

School districts are facing the upcoming expiration of federal stimulus funding, and the academic and social-emotional needs of students remain high, he said.

“School boards continue to support comprehensive revisions to the state’s Foundation Aid formula, including crucial updates to antiquated demographic data, to deliver on its promise of a sound basic education for all students,” Schneider said in his statement. “But until this major update can be designed and implemented, interim adjustments should be undertaken carefully to ensure that New York does not backslide on its progress of recent years.”