Recently, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul released an executive budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, which reverses years of progress made toward full funding of state aid through the foundation aid formula.
This proposal will be harmful not only to the Walton Central School District, but to all schools in Delaware County and small, rural schools around the state.
What does the proposal include?
This proposal eliminates the “Save Harmless” provision for hundreds of school districts, and lowers the inflationary factor for all school districts, which would reduce foundation aid by more than $400 million statewide. This means some districts would get smaller increases than expected, and 45 percent of districts across the state would see cuts in their aid. Foundation aid is a critical component of school finances and is used to lessen the tax burden on communities.
The Save Harmless provision protects and assists small districts by preventing them from receiving less foundation aid than they did the prior year, and has been in place for nearly 50 years.
What could happen with this proposal?
The impact on small rural districts is immense. For the 2025 fiscal year budget Delaware County, which has 12 school districts, would lose nearly $5 million overall. Walton Central School District would receive approximately $150,000 less than the full foundation aid it would otherwise receive under the Save Harmless provision. Aid could be reduced even more in future years. State foundation aid is a critical component of our budget, and the proposed reductions will put a strain on our schools, which may lead to reductions in services and increased tax burden on the community.
How can you help? Voice your concern for the impact on schools!
At this point, the executive budget is only a proposal, and the state legislature will have to agree on any school aid proposals before passing a final state budget. Local, regional, and statewide education leaders are united against the proposed budget and are pushing for change, however it is critical that our state representatives and the governor hear from concerned students, parents, and members of the community. There is still time for action, and this is where our community can band together and help by making your thoughts known to our state representatives.
You can reach out via email or make calls to our representatives. To assist, we have provided links below to forms and letters that you can send, as well as the emails for our area representatives. Students, residents, and communities are directly impacted by this proposal, so we encourage you to take the time to make your concerns known. This is where we need to make sure our elected officials know how this will impact our kids, our schools, and our communities. Let them know what our kids stand to lose.
Advocacy pages
On the following pages, you can utilize the forms to send letters to representatives.
Our area representatives
Senator Peter Oberacker: oberacker@nysenate.gov
Assemblyman Brian Maher: maherb@nyassembly.gov
Assemblyman Joe Angelino: angelinoj@nyassembly.gov
Governor Kathy Hochul: https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form