NY State FY2023 Budget Offers Unprecedented Funding for East End Schools

The New York State Assembly passed a state budget for FY2023 on Saturday, April 9 that includes an unprecedented level of funding and support for education, including historic aid funding for East End schools

“By fully investing in our schools and our teachers, we can ensure that every child has access to a quality education,” State Assemblyman Fred Thiele said in an announcement about the budget on Monday. “I am immensely proud that this budget passed by the Assembly upholds the promise of fully funding Foundation Aid for the second year, delivers exceptional academic supports for recovering districts, and enhances early childhood education.”

The FY2023 budget provides the highest level of school aid funding in New York State history with a total of $31.2 billion in general support for public schools, up $2.1 billion from last year. The enacted budget also includes $21.3 billion in Foundation Aid, up $1.5 billion from last year and a guaranteed 3% minimum increase for all school districts. Districts receiving less than 3% in total aid accounts for the past completion of certain state-funded projects.

Local East End districts will receive the following in state aid:

Hampton Bays: $11,224,010: (27.55% increase)
Southampton: $3,295,660 (11.18% increase)
Bridgehampton: $1,009,728 (21.27% increase)
Eastport-South Manor: $39,043,728 (1.55% increase)
Tuckahoe: $1,136,626 (.69% increase)
East Quogue: $1,747,404 (7.89% increase)
Oysterponds: $542,335 (29.31% increase)
Fisher Island: $300,877 (.53% increase)
Southold: $2,196,221 (10.05% increase)
Greenport: $2,423,532 (25.31% increase)
Mattituck-Cutchogue: $3,148,568 (4.16% increase)
Riverhead: $56,345,179 (16.31% increase)
Shelter Island: $683,620 (5.03% increase)
Remsenburg: $653,886 (5.09% increase)
Westhampton Beach: $2,753,791 (8.23% increase)
Quogue: $419,655 (2.17% increase)
William Floyd: $169,082,728 (15.47% increase)
Center Moriches: $16,363,019 (21.19% increase)
East Moriches: $7,133,621 (4.03% increase)
East Hampton: $3,743,942 (9.79% increase)
Amagansett: $429,428 (7.69% increase)
Springs: $2,282,660 (11.76% increase)
Sag Harbor: $2,025,650 (7.42% increase)
Montauk: $957,379 (.04% increase)

The budget also ensures young children and parents can access the high-quality pre-kindergarten programs they depend on with an additional investment of $125 million for a total of $1.1 billion in total funding, Thiele reports. This increase is expected to provide program access to more than 17,500 4-year-old children and, in the next three years, add enough funding to ensure universal pre-kindergarten in every school district.

Thiele notes that the budget includes $100 million in matching funds over two years for districts to address student wellbeing and learning loss in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Districts will be able to utilize this funding for mental health professionals, after-school programs, and extended school programs.

The budget also includes measures to bolster teacher recruitment and retention, ensuring New York continues to hire and support teachers. New funding will provide for the creation of a teacher residency program, expand alternative teacher certification programs, and temporarily waive the income cap for school retirees willing to return to teaching.

Finally, the budget makes significant strides towards creating a better climate future for our children. The state will provide $500 million through the Environmental Bond Act to support the purchase of electric school buses, with the goal that all buses on the road will be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Districts will also be supported in modernizing and investing into more eco-friendly infrastructure through the Clean Green Schools provision of the Bond Act if voters support it this November.