This year, New York State will spend $34.4 billion on school aid, a 6.7 percent increase from last year. Furthermore, CBC’s analysis finds that:  

• Per-pupil State aid will increase 9.4 percent, to $13,868, as K-12 public school enrollment declines; 
• Despite this significant infusion of aid, New York lacks a comprehensive system to monitor educational performance and ensure accountability for reversing learning loss, accelerating student achievement, and narrowing disparities; 
• The State directs $3.1 billion of aid to wealthy districts that provide enough local and federal funding to support a Sound Basic Education (SBE) without State aid; 
• Another $10.5 billion of State aid is provided to districts in amounts exceeding what is needed to fund an SBE;  
• While the majority of State aid is targeted based on need, State support of the highest-wealth districts contributes to a disparity in per-pupil spending between these areas and New York’s lowest-wealth districts; and 
• Total spending from local, State, and federal funds is $84.9 billion ($34,272 per pupil), including $3.8 billion in extraordinary COVID-related federal aid. 

In the coming years, lawmakers will likely need to find billions in annual savings to balance the budget due to lower tax receipts projections. Reforming school aid—the largest area of State funds spending in the budget—could deliver significant savings. CBC recommends that the State:

• Direct increases only to districts with need and reduce aid to the highest-wealth districts that already self-fund an SBE;  
• Consolidate most expense-based aids into the Foundation Aid formula and improve how the formula allocates aid to districts based on needs; and  
• Monitor performance and hold districts accountable for achievement and improvement so that the State’s nation-leading spending may achieve commensurate learning outcomes for students.