School funding formula needs improvement

As the president of a private, rural college who has devoted much of my professional life to education, I am profoundly disappointed in the funding-formula changes in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2024-25 state budget and concerned at the very real damage they are already causing to public school districts in our region.

I understand and support the need for fiscal restraint.

I appreciate that the outsized investments in education of the past two years cannot be maintained.

What I do not support is a spending formula that slashes state funding to high-need rural schools.

The nearest school district to our Keuka College campus, Penn Yan, would see a 15% cut in state aid – some $2.5 million – under the governor’s proposed spending plan. Hammondsport would sustain a cut of more than 21%. Two other local districts, Marcus Whitman and Dundee, would be hit with 5% reductions.

These are underserved rural districts with large populations of high-need students. In Penn Yan, for example, 50% of students are eligible for the free lunch program (40% in the high school, 57% in the middle school, and 50% in the elementary school). Likewise, 50% of the students in both schools in the Hammondsport district are eligible for free meals.

The substantial reductions proposed in the governor’s budget would have real and painful consequences on these districts:

● Cuts to academic programs including STEM courses in science, technology, engineering, and math – the very disciplines New York should be investing in.

● Increased difficulty attracting and retaining highquality teachers – already a challenge in rural counties.

● Reductions in educational support services for higher-need students, such as supplementary reading programs.

● The potential for higher local property taxes – a last resort for local budget writers but a potential necessity when trying to close an unexpected gap in the millions of dollars.

The governor’s budget is not without its merits. The requirement that all high school seniors complete the FAFSA, for example, could provide tens of millions of dollars in additional financial aid a year to students.

But the formula used to allocate state funding to public schools needs a serious second look. With overall school aid up some $825 million in the draft spending plan, there is no defensible argument for reductions of 5%, 15%, or more than 20% in districts that educate students in some of the lowest-income areas of the state.

I urge state legislative leaders to use ongoing budget negotiations to advocate for a more equitable distribution of state resources to rural districts like those whose graduates Keuka College welcomes every fall.

Amy Storey is president of Keuka College.