Foundation Aid should meet promise of public education for all students
he fifth and final Rockefeller Institute hearing on New York’s Foundation Aid education funding formula brought educators and advocates from across the state together at Guilderland High School on Aug. 14, all pounding the drum for a more consistent and equitable approach to state aid for schools.
The aid formula is a vital mechanism for driving state support toward schools but some of the elements — like those defining district demographics and poverty levels — have not been edited since the formula’s creation in 2007, Person explained. She also urged the institute to consider the changing role schools play in communities and the emerging needs of students.
Kevin Coyne, president of the Brentwood Teachers Association, spoke to just that in his testimony at the Farmingdale hearing. “In communities like Brentwood, schools are the central hub. We provide all services normally associated with schools, but our community needs drive us to go above and beyond,” Coyne said. “Our schools are family centers, with pantries for food and clothing, counselors to provide help with housing, jobs, and connections that will assimilate families into our school community. These expenses, on top of the rising costs to educate students, place an enormous financial burden on our school community that can only be met by a Foundation Aid formula that accounts for our special circumstances.”
The hearings, which took place in Manhattan, Buffalo, Farmingdale, Laurens and Guilderland and opened the floor to school families, teachers, staff, administrators, school boards and elected officials, are part of the Rockefeller Institute study of the funding formula. The study was commissioned by the Legislature in April with the tacit goal of modifying the formula to better meet the needs of today’s students.
“To ensure equitability, you must base your calculations on current data,” said Richard Nigro, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, during his testimony in July in Buffalo. “If you were to create a home budget based on grocery and gas prices from 2006 or 2016, you’d find it impossible to keep your cupboards stocked or your gas tank full. By updating the Foundation Aid formula and committing to fully funding it, New York would be ensuring our schools have what they need to best serve our children and our communities.”
NYSUT members urged the institute to update the data behind the formula but also to recalibrate how they interpret that data, taking into account rising costs and inflation, new expenses associated with special education and the influx of English language learners, and the regional disparities that make a one-size-fits-all solution so problematic.
“In a rural district like ours, we naturally have more students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who come in needing extra supports. This has increased in the past several years, and we need more interventions to help close the widening gap that often separates them from their peers in wealthier districts,” said Alyssa Hardy, president of the Bainbridge-Guilford TA, during her testimony at the Laurens hearing in August.
The state’s decision to study the issue came just one year after schools were fully funded for the first and only time since the formula was established.
“We were just starting to see the effects of what meeting some of the proper funding requirements could look like,” said Cordelia Anthony, president of the Farmingdale Federation of Teachers, during her testimony in July. “Now we are already worried about having to go back to not being funded appropriately. We don’t need a complete overhaul of the formula right now, but we can make sure that the formula is based on updated and more accurate census data. I know that could help us better serve our Farmingdale community and provide for all of our students’ needs.”
The final report, which will include the Rockefeller Institute’s findings and policy options, is due to the Governor and Legislature in early December.
To watch NYSUT members and leaders testimony, go to nysut.cc/foundationaid.