School aid in focus at public hearing on Long Island next week

A potential shake-up of the state's system of distributing school aid is stirring talk on Long Island and elsewhere, even though any decisions on the issue are still months away. 

On Tuesday, education leaders from across the region are to gather at Weldon E. Howitt Middle School in Farmingdale for a hearing on the state's foundation aid formula. That's the biggest source of state funding to districts, providing $3.6 billion on the Island this year alone.

The hearing is one of five being held around the state by the Rockefeller Institute of Government, an Albany-based think tank. Gov. Kathy Hochul has instructed the institute to conduct a $2 million analysis of aid funding and come back with recommendations for change by December.

The institute's review was authorized last spring, after the governor and state lawmakers agreed on a statewide school aid package for 2024-25 but deadlocked on major related issues. One sticking point was Hochul's push for an end to the state's "hold harmless" policy, which guarantees that districts would be spared any loss of aid from one year to the next, even if their enrollments were falling. 

Hochul had contended the longtime policy was equivalent to "paying for empty seats." Lawmakers rejected that argument and responded that a sudden end to the policy would deprive districts of "critical stability."  

A focus on 'hold harmless'

The institute's public hearings, which began July 16 in Manhattan, will run through Aug. 14 in the Albany area. Meanwhile, some fiscal experts, school representatives and others around the state have begun issuing proposals of their own on how aid funding might be changed. 

Many of those recommendations focus on the "hold harmless" policy. 

This week, for example, Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, came out with a plan that urged a gradual approach to elimination of "hold harmless." 

"We are recommending that any adjustments that need to be made due to a decade-long change in enrollment be made with a phased-in approach, with a minimum of a three-year phase-in period," Vecchio states in a position paper provided to Newsday. "This will allow school districts to adequately plan and adjust to changes in expected aid."

Vecchio suggested that any losses of "hold harmless" money could be made up through other changes in the state formula that would help compensate districts for growing expenses. These include mental health services for students, along with extra security guards and cybersecurity measures. 

Joseph Dragone, a retired assistant school superintendent for business, who assisted Vecchio in his analysis, agreed on the need for a smooth transition. 

"There's got to be a glide path," Dragone said. 

Not all advocates favor a gradual solution. 

The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan civic association, put out a 21-page statement at the first hearing in Manhattan, declaring that the state should quickly phase out the provision "to align Foundation Aid with district enrollment."

The statement was similar to one issued by the group four months earlier, when it backed Hochul's plan to eliminate "hold harmless" within a year. 

Stevan Marcus, a research associate based in the commission's Albany office, told Newsday in a phone interview that his organization would be somewhat flexible in its attitude toward any future elimination. Marcus did not specify a preferred number of years.  

Anticipating local scrutiny

Any reduction in "hold harmless" money is likely to encounter some local resistance. A Newsday analysis found that full elimination without compensation could mean an overall loss of nearly $44 million for 56 districts on the Island alone. Newsday's review drew on figures provided by New York State United Teachers, a union umbrella group, based on data from Hochul's original budget proposed last winter. 

Other school leaders on the Island, contacted by Newsday, offered views that differed at least in subtle ways.

Harold Dean, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, messaged to say that his organization "urges against the elimination of the Save Harmless provision."

"This provision has, and continues, to play a critical role in ensuring that our schools are able to maintain the necessary resources to provide a high-quality education," Dean said. He added that a phaseout could be considered, but only if elimination was unavoidable.

Paul Defendini, president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, said that while any effort to smooth out the elimination of the "hold harmless" provision might appear a step in the right direction, it could still result in net losses to districts. 

Farmingdale's hearing, like others, begins at 2 p.m. Tuesday for invited speakers. For others who register to participate, it will begin at 5:30. Members of the public interested in speaking can sign up using the institute's registration form.

Written comments can be submitted at surveymonkey.com/r/FA-Written-Comment.

By John Hildebrand

john.hildebrand@newsday.com@johnhnewsday

John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.