Budget Hearing on Governor Spitzer’s Proposed 2007-08 State Budget
Susan A. Agruso, Superintendent
of Schools
Good Morning and thank you for this opportunity to talk with you.
First, I want to applaud the Governor for his efforts to address the funding concerns raised by school districts. His proposal is a step in the right direction.
I am especially pleased to see additional money for universal pre-kindergarten. Currently about 40% of our 4-year-olds are enrolled in our preK program funded through universal and targeted preK grants. Our goal is to enable all four-year-olds to have this opportunity, which teaches them the skills critical for success in school. I ask the legislature to support this funding increase and to move toward full funding for preK.
One area of concern that I would like to raise with you is the funding formula for state aid. We need a clear explanation of how foundation aid is calculated. This formula is simply too complicated for most to understand. The “guaranteed” 3% increase sounds good, until you factor in decreases in other aid categories. For example, our wealth ratio increased a few years ago. As a result of that change, my district is slated to have a $400,000 decrease in transportation aid even though we transport more students today and costs are up. This decrease, along with decreases in some other categorical aid, means that our overall projected state aid increase for next year is only about 1.8%, a lot less than the 3% we keep hearing about.
The problem for us is that the wealth ratio masks the true needs
of our students. A portion of my
community is fairly well off, but our district also has a community that was
recently declared the most economically depressed region in
The state aid we receive is insufficient for us to provide the special services and interventions our neediest children must have. As a result, we must supplement these supports from our general fund, diverting funds from other students and limiting our ability to offer our students programs that other districts take for granted. We embrace our responsibility to teach all children who attend our schools. However, the State has a responsibility to provide sufficient aid to districts like ours with high proportions of educationally needy students. The current and proposed funding plans fall far short. We need your support to right this inequity.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this request.