by Dr. Gladys I. Cruz
District Superintendent, Questar III BOCES
Let’s look ahead at some of the items impacting public education in the coming months.
School funding
School funding will continue to be a focus of conversations in Albany and across the state. Last January, Governor Hochul sought to remove “save harmless” in the Foundation Aid formula. This provision, which prevents districts from receiving less funding than it did the prior year, would have impacted more than 300 districts this school year. Ultimately, the Legislature rejected this change, and the Governor and Legislature agreed to fund a Foundation Aid study by the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
The Rockefeller Institute held five listening tours across the state to gather feedback on the formula, which accounts for about 70 percent of state aid that is distributed to schools. Much of the feedback centered on the fact that the Foundation Aid formula is outdated (such as using poverty data from the 2000 Census).
The institute’s final report – issued last month – recommended several changes, from updating certain calculations to phasing out the safe harmless provision over time. Following the report’s release, Governor Hochul was quoted that she now opposed cutting funding to some schools with declining enrollment.
Last month, the state Board of Regents issued its state aid proposal, which like the Rockefeller report is non-binding. The Regents called for an increase in Foundation Aid to account for updated poverty rates, regional cost index, and economically disadvantaged counts.
As mandated by the state constitution, the Governor will present her executive budget proposal later this month – the start of the state’s annual budget cycle, with its April 1st budget deadline. School boards will then adopt spending proposals in mid to late April and residents will vote on their local district’s proposed budget on Tuesday, May 20.
Cell phones
The debate over cell phone use in schools also continues locally and across the state. New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) has called for the Governor and Legislature to provide consistent, statewide restrictions on cellphone use during the school day. The organization cited the harmful impact of social media and the distraction on learning.
The Governor, which has also expressed similar concerns, conducted a listening tour on this issue. She has indicated that she will look to implement a statewide policy during this legislative session.
Until now, the decision has remained a local one for school boards. For example, Schoharie CSD implemented a ban two years ago which included smartphones, flip phones, smartwatches and earbuds. Opponents have argued that cell phones can be valuable resources, both for learning, and communicating during an emergency.
If implemented, New York would join five other states in passing legislation to ban or restrict students’ use of cell phones statewide or direct local districts to form their own policies. This includes Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia. Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country, voted to implement a ban starting this month.
Regionalization
School districts locally and across the state are meeting with their local Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to work on regionalization plans as part of a statewide initiative. Regionalization – which was the focus of my November column – seeks to address challenges like declining enrollment, budget constraints, and inequitable access to resources. Local districts can choose to participate in opportunities to continue to build on the spirit of the cooperative by developing programs and services together. Each of the 37 BOCES will send an interim progress report to the New York State Department of Education on their region’s work and conversations by April 1.
The output of this initiative, the regional plans and recommendations, seek to highlight the work local districts are already doing, uplift the work they are planning to do, and identify the resources and supports they need to carry out their plans—especially those they wish to recommend the state consider in shaping future budget and legislative priorities, and policy/regulation changes.
We are committed to making this more than a compliance activity with the state, but rather a means to improve the outcomes, opportunities, and operations of our local school districts. Together, our conversations will help to inform local decision making in meeting the needs of all students and strengthening our public education system.
This column will appear in the Register Star and The Daily Mail newspapers.
