Late New York budget leaves 'needy' districts guessing as school votes near
With school budget votes set for May 19, New York’s increasingly late state budget is forcing districts—particularly those more dependent on state aid—to make spending decisions in the dark. Lawmakers on Wednesday, April 29, approved their eighth temporary extender, bringing the cost of keeping government running past the April 1 deadline to $16.7 billion.
The holdup centers on policy items Gov. Kathy Hochul wants in the final plan, a process that has drawn sustained pushback this season, including calls to weaken the governor’s power in budget negotiations. That delay is rippling into local finances.
Most districts outside the state’s largest—New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers, Albany, Utica and Mount Vernon—have already had to adopt proposed budgets even without final state aid numbers. Military ballots for those smaller districts went out on Friday, April 24, and districts with upcoming votes were required to submit their “property tax report card” data to the state Education Department by Monday, April 27.
“They’ve had to adopt these proposals with incomplete information in terms of state aid,” said Brian Fessler, chief advocacy officer for the New York State School Boards Association.
“And for some districts, especially more needy districts across the state, their budgets are heavily dependent on state aid.” He added, “There’s pros and cons being conservative, and there’s pros and cons being optimistic.” Fessler noted that voter approval authorizes districts to spend up to a specified amount and does not require them to spend the maximum, offering some flexibility while state talks continue.
Foundation Aid—the formula that drives public school funding—is expected to increase next year. Hochul’s executive proposal sets a guaranteed minimum 1% increase, while the Senate and Assembly one-house plans propose a minimum 2% increase, a change Fessler said would apply to about three-quarters of districts.
Some Democrats in Albany have downplayed the effect of the delay. Sen. José Serrano said that in past years with late budgets, lawmakers have been able to “get it done before that critical moment.” Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow said districts will receive at least the minimum included in Hochul’s plan.
Still, Fessler cautioned that a 1% difference can translate into pay that keeps teaching positions or sports programs intact. “At best, it just creates inefficiencies,” he said of the uncertainty. “At worst, depending on the particular district situation, it can create post–state budget and post–school district budget vote complications.” For taxpayers, the stalemate clouds what they are being asked to approve.
Until the final state budget is enacted, both voters and school boards are weighing spending plans without a clear picture of how much state aid will follow, a gap that could force adjustments once Albany’s negotiations conclude.