Teachers' Bus Tour Targets State School Aid Shortfall

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — New York State United Teachers brought its new Fund Our Future statewide bus tour to Westchester County Thursday. The goal is drawing attention to the impact a lack of state funding has had on schools statewide.

New revenues that will enable the state to tackle educational inequality, among other pressing needs, are essential for the state's public schools, NYSUT leaders said. In White Plains, the district is owed $12.8 million in Foundation Aid, creating many challenges for educators, and the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Union Free School District has been forced to scale back popular and successful vocational career prep programs at Achieve Alternative High School due to a lack of state funding.

The bus tour visited both the White Plains and Hawthorne Cedar Knolls school district. State lawmakers joined them: Shelley Mayer, Amy Paulin and David Buchwald in White Plains and Tom Abinantiand Peter Harckham Hawthorne Cedar Knolls.

State Sen. David Carlucci (Rockland-Ossining) said he supported their advocacy, adding that District 38 is owed more than $80 million in foundation aid.

"The schools in my district are not being funded equitably based on their zip code," he said. "It’s an injustice to our children. Every year, we must fight for what our children are entitled to, and then our schools are forced to do more with less. We are making our case known to the Governor, and I thank every parent who stands in the cold and rallies for our children in the call to fully fund Foundation Aid."

As the state budget takes shape, the Fund Our Future bus tour will stop in school districts around New York that, like White Plains and Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, have been underfunded by the state, NYSUT officials said. Additional tour dates and locations will be announced in the near future.

Meanwhile, union officials said they are looking forward to reviewing the governor’s call for school funding equity in greater detail in the coming days and weeks, and to reviewing his budget proposal when it is released.

"We have long been supporters of providing much-needed funding to poor schools and the more than $3.4 billion in Foundation Aid owed to districts statewide. Addressing the inequality in our school system, and the rampant income and wealth inequality that exists across the state, are critical priorities, and we look forward to working with the governor and legislature to address the needs of students and their families this session," said NYSUT spokesperson Damien LaVera.