Why Valley Stream superintendents warn of rising demands, shrinking resources at Valley Stream Legislative Breakfast

If there was ever a reason to be at school on a Saturday morning, it would be for this: Valley Stream’s top education leaders rubbed shoulders with lawmakers at nearly every level of government to field sharp questions from a packed cafeteria of parents and residents.

Hosted by the Valley Stream Council of PTAs, the annual Legislative Breakfast sets the table for a rare, candid forum on the most pressing issues in education—and the increasingly tangled politics surrounding them. Naturally, breakfast bagels and coffee were on the house.

This year’s legislative panelists included State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, a Republican, who sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Democratic Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, Nassau County Legislator Carrie Solages, and Congressman Laura Gillen. As per usual, the topics discussed were wide-ranging: from the future of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies to the harrowing traffic conditions on local roads. The over arching theme, however, was the pressure of limited school resources to meet rising demands.

Amid new threats from the White House to defund schools with diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and programs, Trustee Gerardo Caveliere pressed lawmakers on how the state could protect individual districts given the uncertainty and lack of clear guidance.

Alice Moreno/Herald

Superintendents decry rising demands, dwindling resources

Roxanne-Garcia France, District 30 Superintendent, was tapped to speak on behalf of her fellow superintendents and board of education members. In her speech, she passionately outlined an extensive list of education policy reforms aimed at widening the pool of district resources, including:

• Secure long-term funding to safeguard student data with robust cyber security protections
• Allow retired law enforcement to serve as school safety personnel without salary caps
• Secure sustainable, inflation-adjusted foundation aid for schools while preserving the hold harmless provision
• Address funding disparities for English Language Learners, special education, and the growing impact of funding shifts to charter schools
• Increase the 4 percent on unrestricted reserve funds to ensure budget flexibility
• Advocated for affordable implementation of a zero-diesel emission school bus transition

Some of the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s latest policy proposals to revise state funding have hit a nerve with educational leaders, not least in Valley Stream. The five-year phased elimination of the “hold harmless” provision, which guarantees districts receive the same or more foundation aid funding, even if their population declines, has been a particular point of contention.

Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages promised that concerns about the electric school bus transition mandates are being heard and solutions are forthcoming.

Alice Moreno/Herald

Few answers about electric bus transition

Starting in 2027, New York school districts will be required to halt purchasing diesel buses and have their fleets fully switched to electric by 2035. While the state offers partial reimbursement for the buses, the measure has sparked widespread concern over affordability. When lawmakers were pressed about establishing a more robust funding pathway to cover infrastructure, facility upgrades, and staffing needs, they offered few clear solutions.

“When we implemented the program, it was a different world, we acknowledged that,” said Solages. “We weren’t going through Covid. We didn’t have hyperinflation. There was an interpretation that everyone would be driving an EV vehicle.”

Solages said lawmakers are working to revise the program without putting an undue burden on school districts and local governments without providing specifics.

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