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State Aid Numbers for Hen Hud Miscalculated

MONTROSE, N.Y. – Hendrick Hudson School District officials were shocked on Wednesday when they read preliminary numbers for state education aid projections in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive budget, which incorrectly indicated the district would receive an additional $2.2 million in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

“We suspected it was wrong right away. They’re looking into to see what happened, our counterparts at the SED,” said Rick McCormack, district spokesperson about officials at the State Education Department. “It would have been fantastic but let’s be real,” he said.

District officials anticipated an increase in state aid to Hendrick Hudson School District be anywhere between $100,000 and $300,000. State aid contributions to Westchester schools ranged from a decrease of 2.52 percent, in Greenburgh, to a 10 percent increase,  in Katonah-Lewisboro. The additional $2 million that was listed would have constituted a 46 percent increase in state aid to the district.

In a release issued Wednesday afternoon, school district officials said Enrique Catalan, assistant superintendent of business, contacted multiple entities at 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, New York State ‘over’ calculated our aid by close to $2 million,” said district officials, in the release.

McCormack said the district had already received several calls regarding the matter by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

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