Sunday, January 19, 2025
The needs of our public schools, teachers, students and parents are constantly evolving. Yet despite these changes, New York state continues to rely on an outdated funding formula based on old data.
This month, the Rockefeller Institute of Government released a comprehensive report analyzing the state’s intricate foundation aid formula, the mechanism that allocates operating aid to school districts across the state. Its recommendations demand our collective attention — not just mine, as a policymaker, but also yours, as educators, parents and taxpayers. Together we can advocate for a fairer, more effective funding system that meets the needs of today’s students.
New York’s foundation aid formula, devised in 2007, was designed to create a fair and predictable school funding system. In the 17 years since, however, the formula has remained unchanged, relying on outdated data, such as population figures from the 2000 census and antiquated measures of poverty and student needs. For Long Island, where property taxes are among the nation’s highest, this outdated system places an unfair burden on local taxpayers. Despite the fact that we host some of the state’s top-performing schools, the current formula fails to properly account for rising costs or the growing demand for mental health and special-education services.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s approach to addressing the outdated foundation aid formula during this year’s budget negotiations more than missed the mark. Her proposal to eliminate the “hold harmless” provision — which ensures that school districts do not receive less foundation aid than they have in previous years — may have made headlines, but it failed to tackle the core issue: The formula itself is fundamentally flawed. The governor didn’t take into account increased costs, and the reality that many expenses remain fixed, even as student enrollment fluctuates. The widespread unpopularity of Hochul’s proposed cuts, including opposition within her own party, ultimately led to the decision to commission the Rockefeller Institute to review the formula and provide recommendations in a report.
The report offers the following recommendations to modernize the foundation aid formula:
Allow districts to increase their unrestricted year-end fund balance to 10 percent.
Replace the current out-of-date poverty measures with new sources of community and family-level wealth metrics
Provide aid for English Language Learner students based on their level of need.
Update the Regional Cost Index so it provides a more localized measurement of labor market conditions.
Update measurements of the wealth capacity of school districts to better align their expected local share of school funding with current local economic conditions.
Eliminate the minimum $500-per-pupil foundation aid allocation for the wealthiest districts, and reallocate the $41 million that would be saved through this measure.
Remove funding for students with disabilities from the foundation aid formula, and consolidate all funding for those students under existing categorical aid structures.
While these recommendations warrant further analysis to assess the impact they would have on Long Island school districts, any changes to the foundation aid formula included in next year’s budget must be phased in gradually to prevent sudden disruptions in funding. Equally important, the process must be transparent, enabling school districts to plan effectively and adapt to adjustments.
The five public hearings held across the state during the research phase of the institute’s report underscored a consistent message from advocates and administrators: School districts and communities desperately need reliable and predictable funding streams from the state.
Education is one of the most critical investments in our future, and the way we fund it reflects our values and priorities as a state. Reforming the foundation aid formula is no small task, but it’s one we can no longer afford to delay. For Long Island families, the stakes couldn’t be higher, and we need to ensure that our schools are equipped to meet the needs of every student.
Ed Ra represents the 19th Assembly District
