Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - School districts have been making drastic budget cuts, as the state flirted with changes in funding formulas. However, the changes were not included in the FY 2025 budget, which Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a deal was conceptually reached late Monday.
Jack O'Donnell of O'Donnell & Associates says there were pushbacks in Hochul's proposals.
"Seeing strong pushback on the Governor's proposal from school districts across the state, as well as from, specifically, teachers unions calls that have been picked up by State Legislators. So with the Assembly and the Senate, I think [they took in schools] pushing back very hard against it," said O'Donnell in an interview with WBEN.
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The biggest concern, according to O'Donnell, is that changing the formula in the middle of the year is really hard for districts and where they are.
"We've also heard from a lot of districts that even if they've had their population, or their enrollment stay steady, their costs continue to go up just to just like all the rest of us between inflation and trying to find different products and supplies and construction, all those costs continue to go up for the school districts," O'Donnell explained.
Brian Fessler of the New York State School Boards Association says concerns have been two fold.
"There were a number school aid-related proposals that she made as part of her executive budget proposal in January," said Fessler.
He adds the other reason is districts have been trying to put budgets together with limited information.
Fessler says some districts have put out layoff notices.
"One of the pieces of that is an announcement of layoff notices doesn't, by itself, guarantee those layoffs will occur. But a lot of districts, under the terms of their contracts with teachers and other employees within the district, a lot of those contracts require advanced notice of layoffs, often in the 60-to-90 day range in advance of the beginning of the new school year for budget purposes, which is July 1," Fessler explained.
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He adds the end of COVID funding was another factor.
"I think most districts used and are using those dollars appropriately, and effectively knowing that they're one time use funding. So I think districts have generally been able to plan around that reality or upcoming reality," Fessler believed.
Fessler says that doesn't make the decision easy.
"Those dollars are, for the most part, funding programs and services that are being used and ideally have value to the staff and the students in the school districts. So even if a district knew that program was temporary, the upcoming loss of those programs or potential loss of those programs, is not easy," Fessler noted.