ALBANY — State funding for Columbia County schools was reverted back to its 2023 levels after Saturday’s passage of the 2024-25 state budget by both the Senate and the Assembly.
The $237 billion budget includes the restoration of the hold harmless provision, which ensures school districts receive the same amount of funding each year, a $934 million (3.9%) increase in Foundation Aid, and a total of $36 billion in school aid.
The budget also provides funding for a study from the Rockefeller Institute to examine the Foundation Aid formula, and prepare for changes next year.
Foundation Aid, an equation enacted in 2007, is the main source of funding for public schools. The equation takes into account the wealth of the district and student need to distribute state funds.
Initially, state funding for schools in Columbia County was set to decrease $6.3 million due to cuts in Foundation Aid funding.
The school districts with the largest expected decreases in funding, had the Foundation Aid been cut, included the Taconic Hills Central School District, with a 26.4% decrease, down from $12.8 million to $10.1 million, and the Germantown Central School District with 16.9% loss, down from $5.7 million to $4.8 million.
“We’re really thrilled that all of the advocacy that had been done turned out positive for all school districts,” said Lynnette Brunger, Taconic Hills Central School District superintendent of schools.
Taconic Hills Central School district will receive $8.2 million in Foundation Aid funding for the 2024-25 school year, which is the equal to the amount it received for the 2023-24 school year.
The planned study into the Foundation Aid formula is a good thing, Brunger said.
“It gives us time to start planning and look ahead,” she said. “We may not have the same funding in 2025-26, and it gives us the time to start with a zero-based budget and take a look at different options.”
The district was waiting for the state budget to be passed to determine if its budget for the 2024-25 school year had to be changed, but planned on the Foundation Aid being restored, Brunger said.
“At this point, we had planned on keeping everything,” she said. “We’re glad to not have to use our unreserved funds. We had to use some, but not as much as if the changes went through.
“We’re really grateful we didn’t have to change programming or employees or anything really important for the classroom or our students,” she said.
The Hudson City School District allocation would have decreased 10.5%, down from $26.8 million to $24 million. The approved state budget allocates $17.8 million in Foundation Aid funding to the district, identical to its 2023 funding.
“We take our role as the financial stewards of our community very seriously,” Hudson’s Superintendent of Schools Juliette Pennyman said in a statement. “The district, along with members of the Board of Education, Questar III BOCES, NYSED (New York State Education Department), and more, worked tirelessly with elected officials to advocate for change. We thank everyone, including our community members, who pushed for change and reduced the impact of the governor’s original plan for school aid.”
An updated presentation on the Hudson City School District 2024-25 budget will be given at tonight’s Board of Education meeting, Pennyman said.
The New Lebanon Central School District would have seen a decrease of 6.8%, down from $3.9 million to $3.6 million.
The only school district in Columbia County with an increase in funding was the Ichabod Crane Central School District, with its state aid going up 6%, or $1.1 million, from $19.6 million to $20.8 million.
Chatham Central School District would have seen a total decrease of about 9.9%, including about $900,000 less in Foundation Aid. With the approved state budget, the district will not lose 9.9% in funding, and its Foundation Aid will remain at $5.3 million.
“Restoration for us is huge, for Chatham,” said Chatham Central School District Superintendent of Schools Sal DeAngelo. “The cuts in foundation aid equaled over $900,000. This provided an opportunity for us to not have to go into our reserves, or make cuts to our instructional content, so we’re very pleased.”
The Chatham Central School District Board of Education was going to approve the district’s $35.6 million budget at its April 9 meeting, but wanted to wait until the state budget was decided, DeAngelo said.
“We felt that they would resolve and have adjusted the budget by then,” he said.
DeAngelo said the board made a slight change to the tax levy, decreasing it from the initial 2.98% to 2.89%. The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the district budget at its meeting tonight.
The state budget brings substantial funding back to the 41st District, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-41, said in a statement.
“Although not all of our proposals survived three-way negotiations, I’m proud of the positive investments we’ve achieved for the Hudson Valley and New Yorkers across our state,” she said.