READER’S VIEW: Hochul’s proposed elimination of ‘hold harmless’ sparks battle for educational equity
In the past few weeks, all eyes have been on dissecting Gov. Hochul’s $233 billion Executive Budget, with several of her proposals inviting concern, including the governor’s plan to eliminate “hold harmless” Foundation Aid funding for schools.
“Hold harmless” protections were instituted to ensure no school gets less Foundation Aid than they did the year before. Overall, the elimination of this provision will provide schools with half of what was proposed by the Board of Regents last fall.
Despite fully funding the Foundation Aid formula for the first time in last year’s budget, the governor now proposes to decrease this aid for many schools, leaving 337 school districts across the state scrambling. Current estimates forecast half of all school districts will see a decrease in this aid, affecting one out of every two schools. In Saratoga County alone, six districts face cuts to their funding.
My district — which largely consists of small and medium suburban schools, but also several smaller rural school districts with falling........
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