Daniel T. Connor
Superintendent

227 Main Street
Goshen, NY 10924
(845) 615-6720

Budget News

Governor’s budget proposal calls for $1.47 million reduction in aid to Goshen Schools

February 3, 2011 - Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal for the 2011-12 fiscal year includes a reduction of $1.47 million in state aid to Goshen Schools from the current school year.

The Governor announced on Tuesday a $1.5 billion year-to-year reduction in education aid for New York schools in order to compensate the state’s almost $10 billion deficit.

The district is in the midst of budget planning for 2011-12 and will continue to refine its projections in the next coming weeks; however, the Governor’s proposal confirms what district officials have suspected all along – that this will be another tough year for Goshen Schools.

“Like many districts, we will have to make some tough decisions,” said Superintendent Daniel Connor. “State aid allocations are dropping to levels seen several years ago, and the federal stimulus money that helped with aid shortfalls over the past two years is no longer available.”

In fact, under the Governor’s proposal, the district is slated to receive $10,552,880 in state aid for the 2011-12 school year – an amount that is only $244,539 more than what the district received in 2006-07.

In addition, the Governor’s proposal also reduces aid to summer special education by approximately $600,000, or from 80 percent aid to as little as 10 percent. According to Assistant Superintendent for Business Robert Miller, the summer special education program is mandated by the state for certain students.

Overall, the district is looking at a total aid cut of approximately $2.1 million – and more cuts may arise. “At this point there may be other reductions built into the Governor’s budget document that we aren’t yet aware of,” said Miller.

To view a brief summary of the the major elements of the Governor’s state aid proposal for 2011-12, click here (PDF).