Legislative Support Requests
On behalf of the students of the Syracuse City School District, I would like to thank you for updating the Foundation Aid formula to incorporate updated census and poverty data. As you continue to investigate how to revise the Foundation Aid formula, we strongly encourage the state to use increased weightings for Special Education and English Language Learners (ELL). This is the year to update the formula to ensure that State funds will be allocated to students who need it most. Especially now as the federal stimulus funds have expired. Syracuse City School District students are on the rise to academic recovery and success. With your continued support, we can ensure that our Syracuse City School District students have the resources and supports needed to lead them to success. Thank you for believing in our children and showing your support with financial resources long-term. With this being stated, the increased needs of children post-pandemic continue after the stimulus funds have expired. Therefore, your continued advocacy and financial support is crucial.
Consider the following support requests for 2025-26 to provide additional help to SCSD students:
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Update the Foundation Aid Formula
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| As you continue to investigate how to revise the Foundation Aid formula, we strongly encourage the state to utilize increased weightings for Special Education and English Language Learners (ELL) for equitable funding. Logically, this is the year to update the formula to ensure that State funds will be allocated to students who need it most as the federal stimulus funds have expired. We appreciate your support in updating the census and poverty data used to allocate additional resources to our District |
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Increase School Health Services Aid
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School Health Services aid has not kept pace with student health and medical needs for years. This gap has widened as a result of the pandemic. SCSD funding of $1.08 million covers the cost of 15 nurses, yet we employ more than 48 nurses and 33 health aides at $6.84 million to provide essential services to all schools in the City of Syracuse including Charters and private schools. Nurses are critical to the daily operation of our schools and should be fully funded.
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Increase Special Services Aid (CTE)
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Provide Special Services Aid for 9th grade students enrolled in Career & Technical Education courses. The current formula only funds students in grades 10, 11 and 12. Additionally, increase the cap on the per pupil rate by 10% for inflation. Data is currently being collected and reported on 9th grade CTE students and this investment will provide opportunities for students to be college and career ready.
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Increase Instructional Materials Aid for Inflation
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| These funds provide critical access to educational materials and the rates have not increased since the 1990s. We ask that instructional material aids including library materials, textbooks, software, and hardware aid are increased for inflation and that resident enrollment is used instead of attending enrollment to support all students in the district. |
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Limit Charter School Approvals and Freeze Charter Tuition Rates
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| Limit Charter School saturation to 10% in urban centers and discontinue SUNY Charter authorizations. This allows for school choice while limiting the financial burden on public school districts. In Syracuse, charter school enrollment has increased to 10% in recent years costing nearly $42 million. Students enrolling in charter schools are coming from every school and grade level in the District, making it nearly impossible to offset additional tuition expense with reductions in existing District programs and classrooms. |
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Advance Payment of Supplemental Charter School Transitional Aid to the Current Year
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Supplemental Charter School Transitional Aid is paid on a one-year lag. If the State would pay this aid in the current year, it would provide a one-year pick up in 2025-26, and then will help with cash flow thereafter. The District is mandated to pay Charter Tuition prior to receiving Foundation Aid (or risk having it intercepted) and then must wait a year before receiving Charter School Transitional Aid.
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Adopt Federal Purchasing Threshholds
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These funds provide critical access to educational materials and the rates have not increased since the 1990s. We ask that instructional material aids including library materials, textbooks, software, and hardware aid are increased for inflation and that resident enrollment is used instead of attending enrollment to support all students in the district.
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Remove the Community Schools and C4E Set-Aside Restrictions on Foundation Aid
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| The Community Schools and Contracts for Excellence (C4E) set-asides restrict how SCSD uses $38.2 million of the general-purpose Foundation Aid to a narrow range of specific services and programs, and places significant additional reporting requirements on the District. Funding for these services and programs should be allocated through a separate state aid allocation and should not restrict a portion of general-purpose Foundation Aid funds at a time when flexibility in responding to post-pandemic challenges is critical as we are no longer receiving pandemic federal stimulus funds. |
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Fund Another Round of Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA)
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| The pandemic emphasized just how crucial technology has become to education. SCSD doubled the number of devices deployed district-wide, added staff and enhanced infrastructure to support the additional bandwidth, safe internet access, number of devices, training for staff and students, hardware, and software to ensure that virtual learning could be supported. By funding another round of SSBA, the State would provide funding to replenish devices and sustain infrastructure for the future of education. |
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Fund Initiatives to Combat Chronic Absenteeism
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| The pandemic emphasized just how crucial technology has become to education. SCSD doubled the number of devices deployed district-wide, added staff and enhanced infrastructure to support the additional bandwidth, safe internet access, number of devices, training for staff and students, hardware, and software to ensure that virtual learning could be supported. By funding another round of SSBA, the State would provide funding to replenish devices and sustain infrastructure for the future of education. |
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Extend the NYS Retiree Incentive
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| Extend the NYS retiree incentive program, which allows the District to fill crucial instructional positions, considering the continued staffing shortages statewide. |
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Fund Additional Learning Time for Students
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Investing in our students’ futures means supporting academic and social-emotional programs before school, after school, during school breaks, and throughout the summer. These initiatives not only foster learning but also enhance overall well-being.
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