Local districts among highest per-pupil cuts in state aid

By Meghan E. Murphy
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 02/08/11

School districts in the Mid-Hudson would be hit with among the highest 
per-student aid cuts statewide under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget proposal.

Local districts would see aid cuts per student of more than double those of 
wealthier districts, according to an analysis by the Alliance for Quality 
Education.

The districts' per-pupil cuts are also on average at least $200 more per student 
than those in the state's largest five cities.

Last Tuesday, Cuomo unveiled a state budget proposal that cuts $1.5 billion in 
aid to schools.

Since, his approach has been criticized as impacting high-need, most commonly 
poorer, districts more than wealthier school districts.

School fiscal policy expert Bruce Baker crunched the numbers and found that 
districts with high income wealth ratios experience the lowest cuts per student 
in Cuomo's proposal.

The Alliance for Quality Education data also shows that average-need districts 
are cut to a greater degree than others. Every district in the mid-Hudson, with 
the exception of Tuxedo, is deemed either of average or high need by the state.

"There's no way to make a cut of this magnitude without disproportionately 
affecting the neediest students," said Billy Easton, executive director of the 
Alliance for Quality Education.

Yet, a group of nine Long Island senators with a powerful voting block told 
Newsday last week they would oppose the cuts as unfair to the districts in their 
region. State Sen. John Flanagan cited double-digit percentage cuts ranging from 
10.4 to 16.5 percent for several low-need Long Island districts.

Cuomo's proposal does cut aid progressively, meaning higher-need districts see a 
smaller percentage cut, Budget Division spokesman Jeffrey Gordon said. Poorer 
districts see higher per-pupil dollar cuts because they collect more total in 
state aid than wealthier districts.

For example, Middletown's 9 percent budget cut amounts to $5.6 million, compared 
with a 14.6 percent cut to Long Island's Northport, equaling a $1.5 million loss 
in aid to that district.

"We're going further and further back to the 1950s where there were two distinct 
classes of students: those that have and those that have not," Middletown 
Superintendent Ken Eastwood said.

While Baker calls for Albany to redistribute aid from wealthy to poor districts, 
Easton doesn't want to see a regional battle over education dollars.

Instead, Easton called on legislators to reduce school aid cuts and continue a 
temporary income-tax hike on residents making more than $200,000.

"The governor's budget has the priorities backwards. He prioritizes tax cuts for 
the wealthiest 3 percent of New Yorkers over the needs of kids," Easton said.

mmurphy@th-record.com