The Peru Gazette

Spending Plan Fully Funds Foundation Aid Includes $280 Million to Make School Lunches Free for all Students

From the office of NYS Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie 

Speaker Carl Heastie and Education Committee Chair Michael Benedetto today announced the Assembly’s State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2023-24 Budget would provide $34.3 billion in funding to General Support for Public Schools (GSPS), an increase of $3 billion or 9.7 percent, over the 2022-23 school year (SY).

“The Assembly Majority has always been a tireless advocate for our public schools and our students,” said Speaker Heastie. “Our budget reflects our continued commitment to ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality public education, regardless of where they live.”

“As an educator for more than three decades, I understand that an investment in the education of our students is an investment in the future of our state,” said Assemblymember Benedetto. “This budget prioritizes the needs of our public schools and our students to ensure that they are on the road to success.”

“Libraries are an essential resource in the communities they serve across the state,” said Libraries and Education Technology Chair Carrie Woerner. “The Assembly remains committed to ensuring that they are funded appropriately so that they can continue to provide the services and programs New Yorkers have come to rely on.”

The Assembly’s proposed spending plan includes $2.6 billion to fully fund Foundation Aid for the first time since the formula was created in 2007. In addition, the Assembly’s plan provides the State Education Department (SED) with $1 million for a Foundation Aid and prekindergarten funding formula study so that SED can recommend updates and changes to both formulas.

The budget also includes an additional $75 million for the Statewide Universal Full Day Prekindergarten grant program for a total of $200 million in new funding for prekindergarten programs in SFY 2023-24.

The proposal also includes $280 million in funding to make school meals free for all students in the state, as well as $2 million to expand the Specialized High School Test Preparation program to sixth grade in New York City.

Community schools provide support to both children and parents with services such as before and after school, summer learning programs, mental health programs and dental programs. The Assembly’s spending plan would increase funding for Community Schools Regional Technical Assistance centers by $800,000 for a total of $2 million to help support existing community schools and to help new schools become community schools.

The Assembly’s budget would also eliminate the governor’s proposals to remove the regional charter cap in New York City and to reissue the authorization of “zombie” charters.

The plan also includes a $2 million restoration and a $10 million increase of funding for Private Schools for the Blind and Deaf (4201 schools), for a total of $117.9 million.

Also included in the plan is an increase of $6.5 million in funding for Adult Literacy Education for a total of $14.3 million, which is an increase of $5 million over SFY 2022-23.

Seven years ago, New York became the first state in the nation to fund the My Brother’s Keeper initiative. The initiative focuses on family and community engagement, professional development, the expansion and development of exemplary school practices and models, and addresses issues related to restorative justice and racial disparities in education. The SFY 2023-24 Assembly Budget includes $18 million in ongoing funding for the My Brother’s Keeper Programs for a total of $144 million in funding since the program’s creation.

The Assembly’s proposed spending plan also makes critical investments in New York’s libraries. The budget would increase funding for libraries to the statutory level of $104.6 million, which is an increase of $5 million over SFY 2022-23. An additional $40 million is also included for library capital for a total of $54 million.

The Assembly also proposes to provide $1 million in funding to revive the Summer School for the Arts program and to increase funding from the Love Your Library account from $150,000 to $175,000 to ensure that every library system receives a minimum of at least $6,000 for summer reading programs.

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