(Albany) Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (D - Ulster, Dutchess) announced he helped pass a 2012-13 state budget that increases school aid by $805, four percent more than last year. That includes a $111.5 million increase in Foundation Aid, a $400 million increase in the Gap Elimination Adjustment restoration and a full restoration of $239 million for expense-based aids.
The spending plan will provide school districts with $200 million more than what the Governor had originally proposed. Ulster County schools will see a $4.6 million boost compared to last year's budget.
State Education Aid for Schools in the 101st Assembly District:
| School District | 2011-2012 State Aid | 2012-2013 State Aid | 2012-2013 Increase | Percent of State Aid Increase 2011-2012 |
| Kingston | $35,508,333 | $36,947,193 | $1,438,860 | 4.05% |
| Highland | $6,798,356 | $7,055,545 | $257,189 | 3.78% |
| Rondout Valley | $14,361,839 | $14,659,257 | $297,418 | 2.07% |
| New Paltz | $7,466,146 | $7,732,573 | $266,427 | 3.57% |
| Onteora | $5,809,937 | $5,912,459 | $102,522 | 1.76% |
| Wallkill | $16,678,650 | $17,309,878 | $631,228 | 3.78% |
| Ellenville | $11,520,323 | $11,902,093 | $381,770 | 3.31% |
| Rhinebeck | $1,586,275 | $1,618,749 | $32,474 | 2.05% |
"Every child has the right to the highest quality education we can provide," said Assemblymember Cahill. "We came through on our promise to increase school aid because our children deserve the educational resources that will best prepare them for a rapidly changing world."
The final budget also:
"The property tax cap combined with the slow economy has forced too many of our schools to consider drastic measures in order to manage mandatory increases in payrolls, health insurance and retirement contributions," said Assemblymember Cahill. "The budget agreement we worked out with the Governor will help ease some of the burden by sending more aid directly to the districts that need it most."
In recent years, districts in the Hudson Valley region have exhausted their fund balances and taken significant steps to reduce costs. Many have had to layoff teachers, cut positions, increase class sizes and eliminate arts and athletic programs. Some communities have been forced to close entire schools.
The Executive Budget proposal sought to establish a $250 million competitive performance grant program. Under the new plan, $125 million will be dedicated to performance grants spread out over the next two years.
"Consolidation of services and regional collaboration is an essential piece of the long term solution to modernizing the way we deliver education services, but it will take a lot of time and planning to make sure it is done right," said Assemblymember Cahill. "Teacher Centers are a great example of how centralizing training resources can save money and provide a higher quality of service, which is why we provided funding to keep them up and running."
Assemblymember Cahill pointed to the Commission on Health Care Facilities established in 2005 to restructure New York's hospitals and nursing homes as a model for streamlining the education system. The Commission's work resulted in a comprehensive plan to consolidate and merge facilities across the state.
"When we established the Berger Commission we gave our hospitals nearly two years to develop plans to provide a more efficient and better quality of care to our communities at a lower cost," said Assemblymember Cahill. "We should do the same with our education system by adopting legislation like the 21st Century Schools Act (A.416) which would develop a statewide modernization plan."
The 21st Century Schools Act is designed to curb school spending through shared services and consolidation by maximizing the utilization of BOCES and increase cooperative participation, using expanded regional approaches to pay for bigger ticket items like transportation, special education and health care.