Support requests:
Update the Foundation Aid Formula
As you continue to analyze the recommendations from the Rockefeller report on revising the Foundation Aid formula, we strongly encourage the state to increase weightings for Special Education students for equitable funding. Reasonably, 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 following the recommendations for updating the census and poverty data, and increasing the weightings for English Language Learners (ELL) which allocated additional resources to our District.
Increase School Health Services Aid and Fund School-Based Mental Health Clinics
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 49 nurses, 5 LPNs, and 34 health aides at an expense of $6.58 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. School-based mental health clinics are vitally important to the well-being of our students. Funding this initiative will enable the SCSD to address students’ mental health needs immediately and provide supports that these students wouldn’t receive otherwise.
Increase Instructional Materials Aid for Inflation
Rates have not increased since the 1990s. These funds provide critical access to educational materials including library materials, textbooks, software, and hardware. We ask that instructional materials aids are increased for inflation and that resident enrollment is used instead of attending enrollment to support all students in the District.
Fund Transportation Aid for K-8 Students at One
Mile and Fully Aid in “Safety Zones"
For years, the Syracuse community has expressed significant concern about the safety of our children, some as young as 4 years old, who walk 1.5 miles to school or walk through high traffic areas that are unsafe. Winters in Syracuse are harsh, with heavy snowfall and frigid wind-chill temperatures and many children navigate through high-crime areas and busy intersections. We are requesting funding for transportation for all students up to 8th grade at 1 mile and without any mile limitations in “Safety Zones” be considered.
Limit Charter School Approvals and Freeze Charter Tuition Rates
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 $43.6 million. Students enrolling in charter schools impacts every school and grade level in the District, making it nearly impossible to offset additional tuition expenses with reductions in existing District programs and classrooms.
Advance Payment of Supplemental Charter School Tuition Aid to the Current Year
Supplemental Charter School Transitional Aid is paid a year after the District expends these funds. If the State would pay this aid in the current year, it would provide a one-year pick up in 2026-27 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.
Adopt Federal Purchasing Thresholds
Doing so will reduce the administrative work involved in the purchasing process and will expedite ordering timelines, which is critical in these times of supply chain disruption. Federal Uniform Grant Guidance CFR 200.320 requires competitive bidding for purchases exceeding $250,000. Under current General Municipal Law 103, Districts must competitively bid Goods over $20,000 and Public Works over $35,000. Quotes would still be obtained up to the $250,000 limit to encourage competition but with far less administrative processing. SCSD is larger than many cities and municipalities so has much larger dollar value purchases.
The SCSD would benefit tremendously if GML 103 was amended to reference federal bid limits or higher SUNY purchasing thresholds were applied to the Big 5 School Districts.
Remove the Community Schools and C4E Set-Aside Restrictions on Foundation Aid
The Community Schools and Contracts for Excellence (C4E) set-asides restrict how the SCSD expends $68.8 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.
Fund Another Round of Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA)
The pandemic emphasized just how crucial technology has become to education. The SCSD doubled the number of devices deployed districtwide, 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.
Fund Initiatives to Combat Chronic Absenteeism
In 2024-25, nearly 43% of SCSD students were chronically absent. To improve attendance, we have implemented a districtwide Show Up to Glow Up: Rise & Thrive attendance campaign and Attendance Teams at every school costing $2.1 million. Current funding provides 29 Program Aides and an Attendance Coordinator who make home visits, phone calls, and reach out to parents when students are absent. Attendance Teams at each school review student absences and provide school-based incentives to promote and recognize regular attendance. Regular attendance is fundamental for the long-term success of all students and additional funding is requested to continue these initiatives.
Consolidate and Increase Per Pupil Pre-K Funding
Combine Statewide and Universal Pre-K funding into a single application and funding source while increasing the per pupil allocation to reflect inflationary effects and the increased cost of operating these vital programs. This will provide the appropriate resources that our students require and reduce the administrative burden on Districts, enabling them to focus more on the needs of our children.
Fund Additional Learning Time for Students
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 provide additional learning but also enhance and foster overall well-being. Funding for these programs in prior years was supported by the New York Education Department but much of this funding is now going through the Office of Child and Family services which has created complex administrative burdens and are not specific to the needs of school districts and our students. We request that funding for these programs increase and they are distributed through the NYS Education Department which has knowledge and understanding of how these programs improve student learning and growth.
