'Hold harmless' preserved

On Board Online • April 29, 2024

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

Three weeks after the April 1 statutory deadline, the Senate and the Assembly passed bills that will increase school aid in the 2024-25 school year by $1.3 billion, or 3.8%. That includes a $934 million increase in foundation aid (operating aid) and $366 million through full funding of expense-based aids.

"No school district will receive less foundation aid in 2024-25 than it received during the current school year," said NYSSBA Executive Director Robert Schneider. "That is notable because Gov. Hochul had proposed ending a longstanding practice called 'hold harmless' or 'save harmless.'"

After negotiations with the governor, the Legislature agreed to spend $2 million to commission a study of the foundation aid formula. The study will be done by SUNY's Rockefeller Institute of Government, which is led by former state budget director Robert Megna, in consultation with state agencies.

The authorizing language requires consultation with school boards. A recommendation for changes is due by Dec. 1, 2024. "We have advocated for an update to the foundation formula for years," Schneider said. "We look forward to participating in the study, although we would have preferred the State Education Department to be the lead of this effort."

The governor proposed an inflation factor of 2.4%, and the enacted budget sets it at 2.8%. "That's lower than the 4.1% called for in current law," said Brian Fessler, NYSSBA's director of governmental relations. "It's important to recognize that half of the districts in the state will be getting flat foundation aid funding, and a 2.8% inflation factor does not come close to meeting the ever-expanding demands that public schools face."

For a detailed analysis of the state budget by NYSSBA's Governmental Relations Department, go to bit.ly/3UexyLN .