Most Long Island residents are unaware of the major flaw in New York’s state aid formula, which gives some LI and other NYS students $11,000 and more in Foundation Aid, while other school districts, such as Port Washington, get less than $1000 per student.
In total state aid, some school districts get close to $20,000 per student in overall state aid, while others, like Port Washington, get less than $2,000 per student.
The key part of state aid is Foundation Aid using a formula based upon average resident income, not median resident income.
School districts with a few multi-millionaires have much higher average resident income than other school districts while the typical (i.e., median or middle) resident income difference is far less.
In fairness, the formula should be based upon median incomes, not average incomes greatly affected by a few very wealthy residents.
But Gov. Cuomo has failed to take meaningful action to correct this indisputable unfairness in the state aid formula.
However, I do want to thank our Sen. Elaine Phillips for trying to address this problem, but without success because of other opposing politicians.
Yes, low income school districts should definitely get more state aid per student than higher income school districts. But the difference should not be 10 to 1 or higher, but rather 5 to 1.
In other words, the higher income school districts should get at least one-fifth as much per student as the lower income school districts.
Today, low income school districts get 75 percent or more of the average NYS cost per student while high income school districts get 5 percent or less.
Let’s make state aid 15 percent of average. NYS student costs for higher income school districts and 75 percent of average costs for lower income school districts.
The average cost per NYS student, excluding special needs students, is about $20,000.
Again, thank you, Sen. Phillips, for your efforts, and I ask Gov. Cuomo to please wake up and make this needed change in New York’s Foundation Aid formula.
Frank J. Russo Jr.
President, Port Wash. Educational Assembly
