HFM BOCES and local school districts urge lawmakers to recalculate state aid formula 

 

March 21, 2011

JOHNSTOWN – HFM BOCES and its 15 component school districts sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday asking him not to add any more money to the proposed state budget.

It would be fiscally irresponsible to do that, school officials wrote in their two-page letter to the governor.

“We think your proposal to reduce overall school funding by 2.7 percent is both reasonable and appropriate,” their letter said. “We agree that school leaders should be asked to make prudent fiscal decisions and to find efficiencies wherever and whenever possible.”

The letter, which was signed by HFM BOCES District Superintendent Patrick Michel and the 15 superintendents of the component schools within HFM BOCES, acknowledged that New York State is facing unprecedented fiscal challenges.

“We are not asking you or the Legislature to increase the state budget for next year,” they told Cuomo. “What we are asking you to do is recalculate how state aid is distributed so that the schools in greatest need are not being forced to bear the largest cuts.”

The governor said in a press conference on Thursday that school districts should be able to absorb the reductions in school funding that he included in his proposed 2011-12 state budget. To read more of the release, click here.

For a list of cuts to local school districts, click here.

New York State must find a way to pay back nearly $2 million in back taxes owed to three area school districts. For more information, click here.

You can see more information on the Save Our Schools (SOS) section of the HFM BOCES website.