Assemblyman Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood) recently announced that he passed the 2021-2022 New York State Budget, which invests critical funding in our local schools as well as vital programs and services for Long Island students.

“Our children deserve the best quality of education we can give them, especially following a year during which our schools and students were forced to rapidly adjust to distanced learning,” Assemblyman Ramos said. “I’m grateful to my Assembly colleagues for facilitating the passage of this critical education funding.”

In addition to allowing for $8.2 billion in federal funds from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and $3.8 billion in federal funds from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act to flow to districts over a multi-year period, the budget’s funding for education secures a 16% increase in Foundation Aid for Brentwood, a 19% increase in Foundation Aid for Central Islip and an over 20% increase in Foundation Aidfor the Bay Shore school district. Further, the budget includes:

• A commitment to fully fund Foundation Aid over the next three years;
• An additional $105 million for Pre-Kindergarten programs to get kids off to a solid start, with Brentwood receiving a 21% increase;
• $18 million in additional funds for the program My Brother’s Keeper to increase opportunities and eliminate barriers for young men of color, for a total of $108 million in funding since the program’s creation; and
• Additional support for the Jose Peralta DREAM Act to provide state financial assistance to undocumented college-bound students.

Assemblyman Ramos has consistently fought to fund our children’s future. As Long Island schools switched to distance learning last year, many low-income students struggled to learn from home without laptops, tablets and internet access. Ramos was successful in securing a quarter of a million dollars to provide these devices and services to Brentwood and Central Islip students. He will continue working in Albany to address inequities in public education so that every student has the opportunity to succeed.