State Aid to Local Schools Will Be Slashed Less Than Anticipated

Local school districts will receive a cut in aid under the budget deal Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature struck this week — but the cuts are nowhere near as severe at the governor .

The legislature approved a $270 million restoration to state aid under the final budget, which includes a total of $19.6 billion for the state’s more than 700 school districts, according to Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., I-Sag Harbor, who represents the South Fork in Albany.

At , where the governor's proposal called for an 11.97 percent cut in aid, the final cut will be only 5.87 percent, or $143,409. The cut represents 0.25 percent of the district's $57.2 million budget for 2010-11.

In , which faced a 16.06 percent cut, the final cut will be 9.85 percent, or $82,332. The cut represents 0.49 percent of the district's $16.5 million 2010-11 budget.

was looking at a 16.47 percent cut, but the final cut will be 7.29 percent, or $38,155. The cut represents 0.38 percent of the district's 10.0 million 2010-11 budget.

, a school district in a community , only receives nominal aid from the state.

Thiele said Cuomo’s proposal would have cut aid on Long Island by 4 percent more than the state at large.

Under the final budget, Long Island’s traditional share of school aid, though reduced, will be in-line with what has been received in the past, according to state Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, R-Port Jefferson, whose district includes the East End.
"I fully expect that the dollars restored to the education budget will be put into the classroom and not taken from programs for our children,” LaValle was quoted as saying in a statement from his office. “This is the time to start redesigning the education process so that taxpayers are getting the maximum investment for their dollars. "

“This final budget agreement demonstrates the Legislature’s continuing commitment to education, even during a fiscal crisis,” Thiele said in a statement. “Education was one of the few areas with substantial restorations. Further, fairness was restored for Long Island. These additional aid dollars will mitigate cuts to education locally as well as property tax increases.”

The state’s budget plan contains a two-year appropriation for education and will increase aid at the rate of increase of personal income growth in 2012 or about $800 million, according to Thiele.