Politics & Government

State 'Over' Calculated Extra $2 Million in Aid for Hen Hud Schools

NY State reported that Hen Hud would receive $2.2 million in state aid, about $2 million above the actual amount they will receive.

Press Release fromm the On Wednesday, January 18, 2012 the Executive Office of the Governor released preliminary state aid projections for schools for the 2012-13 school year. In the supporting documentation, the state aid “runs” indicated that Hendrick Hudson would receive an additional $2.2 million in aid for the upcoming school year.  This would amount to a 46.2% increase over 2011-12.

State aid increases of this size are unheard of. After reviewing other aid projections for Westchester County Schools, it was clear something was amiss. With schools in Westchester receiving anywhere from -2.52% decrease (Greenburgh) to just over a 10% increase (Katonah-Lewisboro) clearly a 46% increase was beyond expectations and cause for further review.

Assistant Superintendent for Business, Mr. Catalan, has contacted multiple entities in the State Education Department and BOCES. Upon reviewing their calculations, the State Education Department admitted they had made a mistake in multiple categories; BOCES Aid, Building (New Construction) and Transportation. We will receive a letter from the Head of the Department of Finance, Andrea Hyary, indicating the error will be corrected in the final aid runs. BOCES aid has been corrected. In total, NYS “over” calculated our aid by close to $2 million.

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Our projections are in fact much lower than those released by the Governor and our financial position going forward remains largely unchanged. We are still anticipating a total increase in NYS Aid to be in the range of an additional $100K – 300K. 

We will continue to fight for our fair share of funding from New York State advocate for meaningful reforms that will relieve some of the financial burden placed on our school district and districts across the state.

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