Governor’s budget boosts school aid in Orleans by $1.3 million

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 February 2017 at 8:51 pm

File photo by Tom Rivers: Students are eager to get to the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School in Albion on the first day of school on Sept. 7.

Orleans County school districts would collectively see about $1.3 million in state aid in 2017-18, according to Gov. Cuomo’s budget proposal.

The five school districts – Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina – received $86,780,004 in state aid in 2016-17. That would increase to $88,072,678 in 2017-18, according to the governor’s budget.

Cuomo is proposing a $1 billion increase in school aid state-wide, a 4 percent increase to $25.6 billion.

Cuomo, during a budget address on Jan. 17, said state funding for schools has increased 30 percent over six years.

“The people of this state believe that education is a priority. I agree with them, and we’ve put our proverbial money where our mouth is, the highest level of education spending in history,” Cuomo said.

The governor also wants to update the Foundation Aid formula to better reflect student poverty and consolidate prekindergarten funding streams.

Here is the breakdown for each school district in Orleans County:

• Albion would see overall aid increase by 1.7 percent or $445,327, going from $26,145,250 in 2016-17 to $26,590,577. The district’s Foundation Aid would increase from $19,586,268 to $19,909,890.

• Holley’s overall state aid would increase by 3.36 percent or $527,702, going from $15,694,417 in 2016-17 to $16,222,119. Holley’s Foundation Aid would rise from $9,772,927 to $9,952,814.

• Kendall would see overall aid jump 14.1 percent or a $1,490,671 increase, from $10,573,996 to $12,064,667. The district’s Building Aid is driving the increase with that going from $584,656 in 2016-17 to $2,154,370. Without the Building Aid, Kendall’s other state aid actually decreases by 0.79 percent or $79,043.

• Lyndonville would see an overall increase by 2.71 percent or $242,940, going from $8,964,368 to $9,207,308. Foundation Aid would see a slight increase from $5,908,151 to $6,009,994.

• Medina’s overall aid would drop by $1,413,966 or by 5.57 percent, from $25,401,973 to $23,988,007. The district’s building aid is dropping from $4,092,316 to $2,301,051. Foundation Aid, however, increases from $16,446,235 to $16,719,313. Medina’s school aid, without building aid, increases $377,299 or by 1.77 percent.

The school numbers often see an increase from the State Legislature over the governor’s proposal. The budget for the Legislature and governor to reach a budget deal is March 31.

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