Most Westchester Districts Face Steep Decline in Foundation Aid in Hochul’s Budget

Local state legislators and school districts are prepared to fight an Education Foundation Aid formula in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2025 state budget that in some cases significantly reduces state education funding next year.

While Hochul’s statewide education funding is set to increase by $825 million in her $232.7 billion budget, or 2.4 percent, the majority of districts in Westchester would see a decline in their Foundation Aid.

State Sen. Shelley Mayer (D-Yonkers), chair of the Senate’s Education Committee, said there are two notable changes in calculating the proposed Foundation Aid. One is abandoning the hold-harmless provision, which reverses decades-old state policy that wouldn’t decrease a district’s funding based on what they received the previous year.

The other was to average the inflation numbers over the past 10 years while throwing out the highest and lowest year, instead of using the past year’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). For the past calendar year, the CPI in New York was 3.8 percent.

“While New York State may face financial challenges, we are not in a recession,” Mayer said. “We cannot look to cut corners with education funding – our schools and communities deserve better. As chair of the Senate Education Committee, I will fight on behalf of our students and parents, teachers and administrators, to ensure they receive the funding they deserve.”

The state’s budget gap is between $3 billion and $4 billion, which must be closed by the time the legislature approves the budget. The budget deadline is Apr. 1.

As proposed by Hochul, 23 of Westchester’s 40 districts would see a decline in Foundation Aid, which is typically the largest type of state funding schools receive.

State Sen. Peter Harckham (D-Lewisboro) said that six Westchester districts in his Senate district stand to lose total aid – Bedford, Katonah-Lewisboro, Croton-Harmon, Chappaqua, North Salem and Yorktown – while nine of Harckham’s 19 school districts would see Foundation Aid cuts for 2024-25 unless there is a groundswell of support to successfully fight it.

The Bedford Central School District stands to lose one of the greatest amounts in Foundation Aid, from about $5.2 million to $3.6 million. Total state aid to Bedford would fall more by $1.2 million.

Harckham said it is especially galling after the state spent several years phasing in the return of full Foundation Aid after it was cut about 15 years ago because of the Great Recession.

“Educating our students is the key to New York’s economic future and requires that we make these important investments in our schools, year after year,” said Harckham. “The state legislature worked to fully fund our public schools, and in 2023 we finally achieved this goal. Decreasing those investments is a step backwards and an insult to students, educators and taxpayers.”

Bedford’s Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Glass said the extent of the proposed reduction is distressing. While Bedford has some high wealth, many students have a broad range of needs, Glass said.

He vowed that the district would advocate for restoration of the aid with state lawmakers and other districts.

“It’s a lot of money,” Glass said of the reduction. “I’m very disappointed in this because we’re already dealing with the impact of the Consumer Price Index and having the 2 percent tax cap, and then a reduction of that aid makes the problem much, much worse, and there’s just no way these calculations are not going to impact our ability to deliver programs and learning.”

Other notable reductions in Foundation Aid are in Greenburgh, which stands to lose about $540,000 in Foundation Aid, nearly $700,000 would be lost in Harrison and more than $400,000 in Byram Hills.

One of the biggest increases in the county would go to Hendrick Hudson, which under Hochul’s proposal would increase Foundation Aid from $9.1 million to $11.4 million.

In Putnam County, four of the six school districts would see increases in Foundation Aid – Mahopac, Haldane, Putnam Valley and Brewster – while Carmel would see about a $34,000 decrease. The K-8 Garrison School District Foundation Aid would drop from $592,000 in the current year to $358,000 next year.

Mayer said it looked as though the governor tried to find a way to justify trimming expenses, but some of the deep reductions are hard to comprehend.

“I think they came up with a theory to save money, and it’s not a theory that makes sense,” Mayer said.

Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg (D-Ossining) said the plan was “ill-advised.”

“If we are looking to right-size education aid, ensuring that money goes where it is most needed, we should not start by abruptly removing a principle that school districts have relied upon for decades,” she said. “We should instead take this opportunity to review the Foundation Aid formula to make sure it is up to the task of serving our school children.”