N.Y.'s school aid hearings are done. What's next? DCCC spends six figures in NY-22

And hospitals would face new requirements when they intend to close through a bill passed this year.

Good afternoon — it’s Wednesday and National Creamsicle Day.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024

TODAY’S CAPCON:

• The last of five hearings on how New York funds school districts was held Wednesday. What does that mean?

• Campaign cash is flowing in the race between Rep. Brandon Williams and Sen. John Mannion in NY-22.

• Brannan enters what’s becoming a crowded race for New York City comptroller.

• A bill would add new requirements for hospitals when they intend to close a department or facility, like the closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

🌧️ Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Mostly clear, low 60s. New York City: Mostly clear, high 60s. (National Weather Service)

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(Will Waldron/Times Union)

✏️ Hearings on N.Y.’s school funding formula are done. What’s next?

🍎 Lawmakers pushed back on changing the formula this year, instead opting for a gap to gather more information.

It was a wild week at the state Capitol in early April after Gov. Kathy HOCHUL pitched changes to how the state distributes funding to school districts.

She wanted to change something called the Foundation Aid formula, which is a very complicated flow chart of math that determines how much each district receives from the state.

• The formula considers things like income ratios, certain poverty measures and how much the district itself can contribute.

The problem wasn’t so much that Hochul wanted to change the formula. It was how she wanted to do it. Everyone was very mad.

Her issue with the current formula was how it allowed some districts to receive more funding than they were perceived to need based on enrollment.

• That led to some districts with deep reserves, which Hochul has been critical of.

But if the state had adopted Hochul’s plan, an analysis from the Times Union found at the time that about half of New York’s schools would face funding cuts.

In the end, the decision was tabled until next year. The Rockefeller Institute at SUNY was asked to hold hearings, research the issue, and issue a report.

That report will then be used by Hochul and lawmakers to consider changes to the formula in next year’s state budget, which is due March 31.

The last of those five hearings was held Wednesday in a suburb of Albany, where top education leaders testified.