February 14, 2024
Dear New Lebanon Families,
On January 16, 2024, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul released alarming school aid projections for the 2024-25 school year during her executive budget proposal. The Governor has proposed large cuts to Foundation Aid, which makes up a significant portion of revenue for our school district.
From year to year, school districts’ operational and personnel costs increase. For example, insurance costs are projected to increase between 10 – 15%. Without an increase in state aid our district will need to make up the difference by either making budget reductions or increasing school taxes. According to the projected state aid runs, New Lebanon CSD’s state aid for the 24-25 school year is reduced by around 10% or $261,178.00. This very large reduction in aid would have a devastating impact on our school district.
For decades, New York State has guaranteed that school districts receive as much foundation aid as they received in the previous year, regardless of demographic changes. The Governor’s budget eliminates that protection and instead institutes a “transition adjustment.” This transition adjustment has resulted in a decrease in state aid for 45% of the school districts in the state. The schools that are seeing a decrease are primarily small rural school districts like our district.
These state aid proposals are projections/recommendations from the Governor’s office, which will now go to the New York State Assembly and Senate for approval. As your superintendent, I have been writing and voicing the district’s concerns to our local assembly person and state senator as soon as I received the news. I, along with fellow superintendents being impacted by these cuts, have met with local politicians to explain how these reductions will impact our schools and students.
If you would like to get involved in advocating for the district, please reach out to our elected officials by calling or emailing them using the information provided below.
Assembly Member Didi Barrett Assembly District 106
420 Warren Street
Hudson. NY 12534
518 828-1961
E-mail – barrettd@nyassembly.gov
Senator Michelle Hinchey
721 Broadway
Suite 150
Kingston, NY 12401
845 331-2083
E-mail – hinchey@nysenate.gov
For more information and updates on our school budget please visit our website’s budget page at: https://www.newlebanoncsd.org/district/budget/
For more information on how this budget is impacting districts around our region see the recent article from the Columbia Paper.
Very Fondly,
Andrew
Superintendent of Schools