Albany schools brace for losses
200 to lose their jobs Friday; district implores state to clarify its plans for aid cuts
With no new information from the state on how sweeping aid cuts will affect Albany city schools, more than 200 teachers, administrators, and staff members will lose their jobs on Friday.
The Albany school board last week sought clarity from the state on the dollar impact of anticipated school aid reductions, but without new developments on the stalled federal stimulus package, it ’s unlikely that school officials will hear back before the changes are finalized.
At its Sept. 17 meeting, the board voted to move forward with the staffing cuts but scheduled a tentative “special meeting ” to discuss the impact of new infor
mation from the Division of Budget in response to the board’s inquiry about recent public statements on withholdings for the 2020-21 school year.
The Division of Budget told news outlets last week that schools would receive September ’s aid amount in full, follow ing a public outcr y and a lawsuit from the state’s largest teachers union over the across-the-board cuts, which disproportionately fall on high-need school districts.
But state of f icia ls have yet to communicate those intentions to school districts, according to Albany schools spokesman Ron Lesko.
“We would always wait for of f icia l confirmation from the state before ta king any action. We’ve gotten absolutely no new information that would change what the board did last week,” Lesko said.
A letter from the district, emailed and mailed to the Division of Budget on Sept. 18, questions whether a 20 percent decrease in state aid will apply to expense-based aids and asks whether the reductions may be applied to tuition pay ments from the school district to the cit y ’s charter schools.
In the letter, Albany schools Superintendent Kaweeda Adams and Board of Education President Anne Savage note that the charter school reduction would have no additional cost for the state but would make a meaning ful difference in districts such as Albany.
“We appreciate your recent reaf firmation that the choices the state makes in the weeks and months ahead will be prioritized to minimize the impact on New York ’s most at-risk students and families. In order to continue to responsibly plan for our district, we would appreciate some clarification about how that commitment to equity will translate to dollars,” Adams and Savage wrote. “The sooner that such clarification and commitment comes, the earlier we can plan and the less impact any reduction will have on our students and families.”
According to the last of ficia l correspondence from the Division of Budget, dated Aug. 20, the Albany school district could still potentia lly lose 20 percent of its aid for the 2020-2021 fiscal year — even if the September payment remained whole.
The Albany City School District, which ser ves more than 10,000 students, is facing a budget gap of between $18.8 million and $25.6 million for the 2020-21 school year if the reductions continue throughout the year. The state is g rappling with its own fiscal crisis spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, projecting a $62 billion shortfa ll over four years.
Advocates and teachers unions note that f lat cuts disproportionately hit high-need districts that rely more heavily on state aid. Some are pressing state law makers to consider a wealth ta x to help fund public schools.
With no new information forthcoming from the state, Wednesday night ’s board meeting has been canceled.
The district has eliminated nearly 220 full-time positions and restr uctured two specialized schools: Albany International Center, which enrolls middle- and highschool students who are refugees and immigrants; and the Tony Clement Center for Education, an alternative hig h school track for at-risk youth.
At last week ’s meeting, teachers, administrators, parents, and students af fected by the cuts implored school leaders to hold of f on approving the cuts.
“Taking away these ... individuals that have built and maintained relationships with our students and families through a global pandemic, as well as the social unrest and violence that has occurred in our city throughout the summer, is a disastrous plan,” said Allison Brodie, the assistant principa l of Pine Hills Elementar y School, who is among those who will lose their jobs. “Please respect our community enough to get the f ull picture before making a decision that will impact us for years to come.”
The staffing and prog ram changes will save the district $16 million, sig nif icantly short of the reductions that will be necessar y if the state ultimately reduces the district ’s state aid by 20 percent.
In a statement to the Times Union responding to the Albany school district letter, Division of Budget spokesman Freeman Klopott reiterated that so far, only 1 percent of school aid has been temporarily withheld from the state’s more than 700 districts for the 202021 school year, and just 0.3 percent – or $789,000 – has been skimmed from the Albany district ’s annual state aid allotment.
Going for ward, any actions would ta ke district need into account, he said.
“Until we have clarity on the amount of federal assistance, it is premature to make any permanent spending reductions, at which point all options would be considered to limit the impacts of a federal fa ilure to act. ... In the absence of federal funding, we will work with the Legislature to ensure that all public schools — district and charter — are treated fairly,” he said.