Long Island school aid: Hochul proposes 3.8% increase for 2026-27

Long Island districts would see an increase of 3.8% in state aid under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal, which would allocate $200 million more to the region’s schools in 2026-27, a Newsday analysis found.

The proposed aid package for Island schools totals nearly $5.5 billion, according to aid projection figures released Tuesday.

If approved by the State Legislature, the governor’s proposal would boost funding for most Island districts, ranging from a 0.15% increase in Hauppauge to 34.4% in Amagansett. Other districts that would see big jumps are Montauk (24.6%), North Shore (23.7%) and Roslyn (19.5%).

Nine districts would see modest declines in their total aid, with the sharpest drop in Rocky Point, which could see funding go down 3.08%  from the current school year.

Scott O’Brien, superintendent of Rocky Point schools, wrote to community members Wednesday that the district had planned for the projected decrease, which he said was the result of “a one-time adjustment related to a deferred state aid payment.” He further explained the expected funding reduction does not create a budget shortfall and would not affect the district’s financial stability.

State aid makes up about 30% of the total revenue for Island schools, with the majority funded through local property taxes. School taxation makes up roughly two thirds of homeowners' tax bills.

Hochul's plan calls for a minimum increase of 1% in Foundation Aid for all districts. Foundation Aid is the largest source of school revenue from the state and represents “new money,” compared with expense-based funding that comes in the form of reimbursements, said Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.

Although the overall amount of Foundation Aid for the region would rise by 2.9% to nearly $4 billion under Hochul's budget plan, educators noted 73 of the Island’s 121 districts would only see the minimum increase.

“This is an encouraging first step but there’s still work to be done,” Vecchio said of the governor’s proposal.

Educators said districts face rising costs in insurance, health care premiums and special education and they would advocate for a bigger increase in Foundation Aid.

“A 1% increase in Foundation Aid, while helpful, doesn't help close the gap,” said Tim Eagen, superintendent of the Kings Park district and president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.

“The struggle for Kings Park and other districts has been that inflation has been higher than our revenue increases for the past several years,” Eagen said.

Consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 2.7% last December, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The governor has the first word on the state budget but not the last word,” Eagen said. “We didn't get any bad news ... And hopefully, if history repeats itself, our elected officials are able to get us to a slightly better place between now and April 1.”

The budget is to be adopted by April 1. Last year, it wasn’t approved until early May.

Emma Wallner, a spokesperson for Hochul, said in an email Wednesday the governor “has committed more funding to Foundation Aid than any of her predecessors, with every school district statewide slated to receive more aid this year under her current proposal.”

Wallner added the governor “looks forward to negotiating with her partners in the Legislature in the coming weeks to ensure every New York student has access to a quality education."

More pre-K funding

Hochul has set a goal this year that all 4-year-olds in the state can attend a full-day prekindergarten program by 2028. To achieve that goal, she has proposed raising per-pupil funding rate for prekindergarten students to at least $10,000, almost doubling the current reimbursement rate of at least $5,400.

The proposed funding boost was welcome news to many on the Island, where a growing number of children have been attending public-funded prekindergarten programs. The rising demand has so far outpaced supply and many schools have a waitlist due to lack of capacity.

Eagen said the additional funding could help ease districts' space constraints, because it might encourage community groups to respond to districts’ request for proposals to house prekindergarten programs. Districts like his would also no longer need to “subsidize” their prekindergarten programs, since it costs more than $5,400 a year to educate these young students, he said.

The governor also plans to require that the state Education Department provide districts with best practices in math instruction for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Her plan would send $2 million to the New York State United Teachers union and another $2 million to BOCES to train educators.

In addition, $5 million would be allocated for SUNY and CUNY schools to create or expand micro-credential programs in the science of reading or evidence-based math instruction.

“Funding alone does not guarantee outcomes,” Hochul said. “… I want better outcomes.”

Foundation Aid concerns

Advocates like B.A. Schoen, president of the advocacy group Reform Educational Finance Inequalities Today, said there is still a need to update the Foundation Aid formula, a complex calculation enacted in 2007-08. Parts of the formula are regularly updated and there were tweaks made last year. But many have called for an overhaul.

Joe Dragone, an adjunct professor at Hofstra University and former school business official, noted more than half the Island’s districts are “not on formula,” meaning they would see cuts in Foundation Aid due to factors such as declining enrollment or rising income if not for a provision known as "hold harmless" or "save harmless."

Educators and education advocates have long said the formula  has not kept up with rising costs and the issues schools face today.

“In 2006, we did not have the issues of cybersecurity. We did not have issues of physical security,” Dragone said. “We had not had yet the COVID pandemic resulting in mental health issues for our students, requiring us to hire more psychologists and social workers, etc. All of those costs are not reflected in the Foundation Aid amount.”