FOR RELEASE: May 8, 2025
With adoption of the 2025-26 state budget, school boards now have much needed clarity regarding their state aid allocations.
NYSSBA is pleased to see lawmakers provide a substantial Foundation Aid package that ensures school districts receive a minimum 2 percent increase. We are also thankful to see the start of updates to some outdated aspects of the formula, particularly how we measure student poverty.
School boards also applaud an agreement in the budget that provides funding for New York’s schoolchildren to receive proper nourishment consisting of a free breakfast and lunch to set the stage for effective learning. This funding also relieves families of financial pressure to provide these meals for their children.
School boards are excited that the BOCES aidable salary cap will double over the next three years, which supports investment in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs across the state. And now that the expiration date for the authority to bring certain public retirees into our schools is extended to 2027, schools and BOCES will continue to have access to an important tool to help fill needed staff vacancies.
NYSSBA appreciates reforms to the zero-emission bus transition timeline for school districts, including the possibility of an additional two-year extension on the new purchase date and a mandated third-party battery range estimate protocol. We hope to see further reforms to this transition schedule, including district feasibility planning that considers demographic variabilities in relation to transition rollout, and state funding to help curtail rising zero-emission bus costs, which are outpacing inflation.
After a long wait, school boards appreciate state lawmakers’ thoughtful school aid reforms, the minimum Foundation Aid guarantees, an increase in the BOCES aidable salary cap, and much-needed steps toward a better zero-emission school bus transition.