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To The Editor:
This past Friday, the New York State Legislature passed the 2016-2017 budget. I am proud to announce that so many stood with me and made sure that our voices were heard, and key policy changes were included in this year’s budget that will benefit the Ossining School District moving Working with the school district, this budget will include an increase of Foundation Aid funding by $627 million.
For Ossining specifically, this means an 8 percent year over year increase in operations funding. When capital funding and building aid are taken into account that percentage rises to 16 percent, further ensuring that Ossining will have the tools it needs to prepare our students for success both inside and outside of the classroom. This increase in funding could not have happened without the advocacy of the community of Ossining. Additionally, the budget will direct the State Education Department (SED) to examine the process for determining the number of eligible students that receive free and reduced price lunch for the purposes of calculating school aid.
This formula re-calibration will ensure a more accurate representation of a given population for use in state school aid formulas. This means that SED will more accurately take into account the unique nature of districts such as Ossining where there is rising enrollment or reduced wealth factors. As always, I will continue to advocate for the needs of the Ossining School District in order to provide our students with a sound education.
-Senator David Carlucci 38th Senate District
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