The Foundation Aid formula is a vital mechanism for driving state support toward schools that need it the most, but some of the elements —like those defining district demographics and poverty levels — have not been edited since the formula’s creation in 2007.
Nearly two decades later, updating these measures and reevaluating other elements of the formula could finally give schools the right amount of resources to support all of our students.
The essential work of educating the next generation starts with adequate funding for our schools, and updates to the formula will benefit our students, their families and our entire communities.
NYSUT leaders and members are providing their personal insights based on their experience as educators and involved members of their communities. We've heard members passionately speak to some of our main points:
- The critical importance of school funding and how properly funded schools help entire communities.
- What does it look like when schools are properly funded compared to the years of underfunding and under-resourcing our public schools have experienced.
- How conditions in schools and with students have changed over the past several years: Students need more support, and our schools are taking on an ever-growing list of duties and requirements.
- Public schools are so much more than just places where children learn for a few hours a day—they are the centers of our communities and provide families with a wide range of supports.
- How any funding formula should consider the full scope of what schools do; not merely a standardized number applied equally across a diverse state.