Local School Districts Projected to Lose Millions in State Aid

In an effort to close a projected $10 billion budget gap without raising taxes or borrowing, the governor announced that $1.5 billion in education aid being slashed statewide.

Locally, the proposal is to cut Hampton Bays’ state-aid budget by 15 percent; Westhampton Beach by 11.04 percent; East Quogue by 18.06 percent; and Quogue by 15.39 percent.

Looking at the numbers, currently, the Hampton Bays School District is receiving $43,814,560 in state-aid.  If the governor’s proposal is approved, the district’s state-aid budget will be dropped by $702,087.

Of the proposal, Lars Clemensen, superintendent of Hampton Bays Schools, said, “The Governor's proposal would clearly have a negative impact on Hampton Bays and almost all districts. His framework creates the challenge of compensating for a potential 15 percent state aid reduction, while our board of education works to maintain the positive and significant progress made for students and families in recent years.”

Clemensen said the board of education will be making strong pleas to legislative representatives to “do all they can on behalf of the taxpayer while mitigating the negative impacts of a proposal like this.”

Richard Benson, superintendent of the Quogue Union Free School District, shared Clemensen’s sentiments. 

He said, “Although we do not rely heavily on state aid to fund our spending plan, this proposed decrease amounts to .6 percent of the overall budget.  If the state legislation and governor are successful in implementing a property tax cap of 2 percent, the .6 percent would certainly impact our budget preparation.”

“With so many unfunded mandates, contractual increases in salaries and increases in health insurance, it may be difficult maintaining programs and instruction at our current level,” he added.

Currently, the Quogue School District receives $7,255,882 in state-aid. The governor’s proposal seeks to reduce that amount by $42,280.

The East Quogue and Westhampton Beach School District’s are looking at similar loses. 

Under current funding, Westhampton Beach receives $48,967,747 in state-aid.  The governor is proposing to reduce that number by $207,763.  And the East Quogue School District, which obtains $21,389,881 in funds through state-aid will see their state-aid slashed by $192,000.

Of the proposed cuts, Les Black, superintendent of the East Quogue school district said, "The Governor's proposed cuts to education, if approved, will have a devastating impact on public schools.  In E Quogue, we stand to lose $192,000.  While this does not compare with the dollar loss of larger districts, it does represent a 17 percent reduction in state aid."

He added, "School districts rely on two essential sources of revinue - state aid and property taxes.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure-out where this is headed."

The superintendent of the Westhampton Beach School District was not available as of press time.