Sullivan West Central School District Advocates for Return of $2M in State Funds

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget would slash state aid for about half of all school districts in New York, but rural districts could bear the biggest burden, including the Sullivan West Central School District.

According to Sullivan West Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Bressler, the district may lose nearly $2 million. She told The New York Times that news left her feeling physically ill.

The New York Times reports the cuts are part of the $233 billion spending plan that Gov. Hochul unveiled in January, which would alter the Foundation Aid formula, the complex method New York uses to determine how much state aid is distributed to individual school districts. The plan requires the approval of the State Legislature before it goes into effect.

Tim Bruno spoke to Dr. Bressler while was in Albany meeting with legislators in hopes of preventing the significant cuts.

UPDATE: After her meetings on March 4, Dr. Bressler sent us an update via email:

“ We met with Assemblywoman Gunther, who was very sympatric to our cause. We then met with representatives from Senator Shelley Mayer Office and Assemblyman Michael Benedetto’s Office both the Chairs of Committees on Education respectively. The message overall was that next week the NYS Senate and Assembly will release their One House Budget Proposals which are expected to propose fully funding “save-harmles” aid as it has been done in the past. This would be a positive step in the right direction; however, we will still have to wait and see if it is accepted by the Govenor and done in a timely manner. We just need to keep the conversation going and the necessity of an on-time budget in focus.”

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