It’s time New York state gives local schools the money it owes them.

Earlier this month, Mayor Stephanie Miner and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to pay back the $5.8 billion dollars the state owes schools.

In 2006, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity sued New York state for providing inadequate funding for its students. The New York State Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the CFS and said the state was violating it’s students rights to a “sound and basic education.”

To comply with this ruling in 2007, the state committed to provide $5.5 billion in Foundation Aid, which would be paid out by 2011. As of August 2014, $4.9 billion of that money had yet to be paid out. Syracuse is owed $87.1 million of that funding, based on the original commitment, and it needs that money now.

The Common Core State Standard, a legislation that set new requirements for public schools, has increased the cost of education in the past several years. However, the city still receives the same amount of money from the state as it did in 2008–09. As a result, the city’s school budget is being filled by $25 million from its savings. This pattern cannot continue.

The funds are already overdue, and the longer this capital is withheld from schools the worse the problem becomes. As more students enter the public school system, there are more students cycled through below-standard classrooms. For the past several years the graduation rate for the Syracuse City School District has consistently hovered around 50 percent.

There are obvious failings in the education system, and Syracuse has plans to allocate the $87.1 million to address those needs. The city is pursuing longer school days, creating more position for teachers and improving science, education, engineering and math education for students. But without proper funding the city cannot actualize these goals.

In a response to Miner and de Blasio’s letter, Cuomo pointed out that New York, “spend(s) more per pupil than any other state in the nation, yet our students remain in the bottom half when it comes to results.”

Cuomo has also put forth his own education reform, which puts pressure on teachers and advocates for state-run charter schools. Instead of building new schools, Cuomo should invest in the teachers and schools that are already present.

The Syracuse City School District is in desperate need of reform. But rather than Cuomo withholding funds and forcing his own proposal on schools, he should pay up.

Published on March 18, 2015 at 12:10 am