By Hank Russell
An Albany-based think tank recently issued a report on the current condition of New York State’s Foundation Aid formula and determined that the way state aid is disbursed to the school districts is very outdated and needs to be updated.
Under the direction of the state budget, The Rockefeller Institute of Government completed its review of the Foundation Aid formula. “While the Foundation Aid formula is a vast improvement on the education financing approach previously used by the State, several of its components have grown stale,” said the think tank’s president, Bob Megna, in a letter to the state.
Over the summer, Rockefeller Institute of Government held five public hearings. “[T]hemes emerged about the technical aspects of the formula that needed to be addressed” weightings for English Language Learners (ELLs), outdated poverty data, the accuracy and specificity of regional costs, and that school districts are being asked to do things now that weren’t expected of them and weren’t even part of the funding equation nearly two decades ago,” Megna said.
The Institute pointed out that that the formula “needs to change from its current state,” adding the information used to determine aid is “outdated,” its model of measuring students’ needs and school districts’ wealth “outmoded” and its concept of student success and achievement “antiquated.”
In the report, the Institute said the current definition of “successful schools” has not been updated in nearly a decade. Part of the reason the definition is now outdated, according to the report, is the Board of Regents’ decision to eliminate the Regents exam graduation requirement.
Some of the recommendations made by the Institute include:
- Revising the “Successful School Districts” Calculation. That includes replacing the current student performance measurement with a three-year average district-wide pass rate on the state’s ELA and math exams in each grade from grades 3 to 8, selecting the top 50% of all school districts based on the aforementioned measurement as the pool of “successful districts” and using the proper existing method to determine the cost per pupil in each of the “successful districts.”
- Adjusting the Foundation Aid Amount. This is done by calculating the Consumer Price Index (CPI) applied to the Base Foundation Aid from a one-year to a five-year average of the Northeast Region’s rate. This, according to the Institute, will result in a more predictable and less volatile model. Additionally, using the regional rate of inflation will more accurately reflect the costs increases these school districts will face.
- Replacing the current outdated poverty measure with the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimate (SAIPE) rate, which counts children ages 5 to 17 in poverty, and use the three-year average, as recommended by the Board of Regents.
- Getting rid of the “current flawed” Free and Reduced-Price Lunch model and measuring the children considered economically disadvantaged. These include children in foster care, receiving refugee assistance and support from government programs.
- Adjusting formulas for determining teacher pay.
The recommendations will be reviewed by Governor Kathy Hochul, who will then decide whether or not to approve them.
Following the release of the study, Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) emphasized the need for a funding formula that better addresses the needs of modern schools, particularly in high-cost areas like Long Island.
Ra said the Foundation Aid formula has become outdated. Long Island, in particular, has seen its districts receive less funding than originally promised, with additional funds largely covering past shortfalls. The current formula also does not account for rising costs or the increased demand for mental health and special education services.
“The challenges facing our schools today are far different from when I was in school—advances in technology, evolving job markets and new opportunities all demand a new approach to funding,” said Ra, the ranking member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. “To view this as merely a matter of ‘balancing budgets’ misses the point entirely. Ensuring our children have the tools and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s world is our most important responsibility. The outdated funding formula is shortchanging our local schools, depriving them of the resources necessary for critical programs that are essential to our students’ futures.”