Schumer: Federal Education Dollars for LI Schools Are Protected After Major Push

LongIsland.com

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that, after his public push, over $16 million in at-risk federal education dollars for Long Island school has been protected.

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Albany, NY - July 16, 2015 - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that, after his public push, over $16 million in at-risk federal education dollars for Long Island school has been protected. Earlier this week, Schumer launched a major push to block any Senate amendment that significantly cuts Title I funding in the Every Child Achieves Act. Schumer explained that the original Senate amendment would have radically changed the current formula used to allocate Title I education funds to K-12 schools. These funds are the largest source of federal funding for elementary and secondary education and are key to every state’s ability to improve educational opportunities, particularly for children in New York State.

Schumer successfully worked with Senator Burr, Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray to secure a compromise to the amendment. Schumer insisted that all funds be “held harmless’ – meaning the new formula would not apply to any of the existing funds New York receives. In addition, Schumer secured a further improvement to require that the new formula not be applied until Title I funding reaches an annual level of $17 billion. Currently, Title I is funded at approximately $14.5 billion.

Schumer explained that this compromise ensures that New York’s funds will not be cut next year and will only have an impact on funding above $17 billion, which means New York would be seeing an increase in funding overall.  Schumer said that it is good news that this money has been protected because without this funding, Long Island school districts, and districts across New York, would be financially overwhelmed and unable to provide critical services to students who most need them.

“As a proud product of the New York public school system, I know how great our state’s schools can be when given the tools, resources and funding to succeed, and that’s why I fought so hard to prevent this proposal from slashing millions in funding from New York’s public schools,” said Senator Schumer. “Our teachers and students work too hard to have the rug pulled out from under them over summer vacation and I am pleased that we were able to successfully beat back this proposal.”

This week, the Senate considered the Every Child Achieves Act on the floor, which would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, the ESEA was considered at the time the most far-reaching federal overhaul of the national education system. Its purpose was to provide quality education to students of all income levels by providing grants and federal resources to schools across the nation, particularly to districts serving low-income students. Since its enactment, the ESEA has been reauthorized every several years, with substantial changes being made as federal education policy has changed. The most recent, notable change was made in 2001 when the law was reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In April 2015, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee unanimously passed a bipartisan rewrite of the ESEA called the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015. This legislation was meant to address many of the shortcomings of NCLB. This bill was passed in the Senate this week.

One of the amendments considered could have had a devastating effect on the New York public education system and could have left millions of students and teachers without the critical resources needed to succeed. Schumer led a public campaign against the particular amendment, sponsored by Senator Richard Burr [R-NC], as it would change the formula currently used to determine Title I funding allocations for state and local education agencies.

Specifically, this amendment would have radically and immediately changed the formula that is used by the federal Department of Education to allocate Title I funding to K-12 schools. Schumer explained that, incorporated into the ESEA are several key provisions that cover a wide spectrum of federal education policy, including a critical provision called Title I. The Title I program allows the federal Department of Education to distribute federal funds to school districts and local education agencies (LEA) that serve a high number or percentage of low-income students..

Schumer said these Title I funds are the largest source of federal funding for elementary and secondary education, and are key to every state’s ability to improve educational opportunities. These funds are particularly important for children across New York State, where approximately 687 school districts receive more than $1 billion. 

On Long Island alone, there are 122 school districts that receive more than $45 million in Title I funding. Without these funds, Schumer said New York school districts would have been financially overwhelmed and unable to provide critical services to students who most need them. If cut, Schumer said that it could have forced school districts across New York State that have long-received Title I funds to lay off teachers, cut supplemental educational programs, or make other dramatic cuts to their services provided to students. 

On Long Island, the amendment would have cut education funding for 122 school districts by $16,868,000 or 37.17%.

Schumer has publicly opposed any amendment that cuts federal Title I education funding, but this amendment is particularly damaging. Title I education funds are in part based on a state’s average per pupil expenditure. States that invest significant resources in their education system are rewarded and incentivized to do so through the federal formula. In addition, another part of the Title I formula is an effort factor that looks at how much a state spends relative to per capita income (PCI).  States that spend a high percentage on education relative to PCI are rewarded by taking effort into account.  The proposed amendment would both remove the state average per pupil expenditure and the effort factor in the Title I formula. This means that this change hurts states that both spend a lot on education and states that have high effort relative to PCI. 

This amendment would have eliminated much of the formula funding structure, specifically the PCI provisions and the ‘effort’ factor that still rewards poorer states for showing a willingness to invest in education. It would instead reward states that do not invest as much in education, in essence taking money from low-income students in one state and give it to low-income students in another state. Schumer said this methodology is flawed and not the right way to change federal policy.

                             Total Number of School Districts That Would Have Lost Title I Funding (All of NYS) : 687*

                                       Total Title I Funding That Would Have Been Cut (All of NYS) : $303,827,000*

That Would Lose Title I Funding (All of NYS) : 687*

Total Title I

Long Island Money That Would Have Been At-Risk ($ measured in thousands)

 

County

School District

Estimated FY2015 Title 1 Grant Funding Provided By U.S. Dept. of Ed

Estimated FY2015 Title 1 Grant Funding Under Proposed Amendment

Estimated Funding Gap Under Title 1 Funding Formula Change

Percentage Difference Under New Title 1 Funding Formula

Nassau

Locust Valley Central School District

$167

$126

-$41

-24.54%

Nassau

Long Beach City School District

$437

$323

-$113

-25.99%

Nassau

Lynbrook Union Free School District

$176

$117

-$59

-33.71%

Nassau

Malverne Union Free School District

$235

$161

-$74

-31.63%

Nassau

Manhasset Union Free School District

$87

$0

-$87

-100.00%

Nassau

Massapequa Union Free School District

$189

$0

-$189

-100.00%

Nassau

Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District

$172

$0

-$172

-100.00%

Nassau

Merrick Union Free School District

$98

$59

-$39

-39.45%

Nassau

Mineola Union Free School District

$198

$134

-$65

-32.65%

Nassau

New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Union Free School District

$114

$79

-$35

-30.66%

Nassau

North Bellmore Union Free School District

$71

$0

-$71

-100.00%

Nassau

North Merrick Union Free School District

$40

$0

-$40

-100.00%

Nassau

Oceanside Union Free School District

$336

$234

-$102

-30.35%

Nassau

Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District

$138

$107

-$31

-22.70%

Nassau

Plainedge Union Free School District

$103

$0

-$103

-100.00%

Nassau

Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District

$127

$0

-$127

-100.00%

Nassau

Port Washington Union Free School District

$333

$238

-$96

-28.72%

Nassau

Rockville Centre Union Free School District

$274

$189

-$85

-31.14%

Nassau

Baldwin Union Free School District

$481

$329

-$152

-31.52%

Nassau

Bellmore Union Free School District

$35

$0

-$35

-100.00%

Nassau

Bethpage Union Free School District

$93

$0

-$93

-100.00%

Nassau

Carle Place Union Free School District

$80

$50

-$30

-37.50%

Nassau

Roosevelt Union Free School District

$939

$659

-$280

-29.84%

Nassau

Roslyn Union Free School District

$195

$119

-$76

-39.14%

Nassau

Seaford Union Free School District

$79

$0

-$79

-100.00%

Nassau

Sewanhaka Central High School District

$806

$553

-$254

-31.44%

Nassau

Syosset Central School District

$389

$275

-$113

-29.20%

Nassau

Uniondale Union Free School District

$1,365

$969

-$396

-29.02%

Nassau

Valley Stream Union Free School District 13

$180

$127

-$53

-29.62%

Nassau

Valley Stream Union Free School District 24

$303

$197

-$106

-34.90%

Nassau

Valley Stream Union Free School District 30

$264

$197

-$67

-25.49%

Nassau

Valley Stream Central High School District

$440

$288

-$152

-34.50%

Nassau

Wantagh Union Free School District

$80

$0

-$80

-100.00%

Nassau

West Hempstead Union Free School District

$295

$194

-$101

-34.23%

Nassau

Westbury Union Free School District

$1,112

$795

-$317

-28.52%

Nassau

Hewlett-Woodmere Union Free School District

$286

$182

-$105

-36.59%

Nassau

East Meadow Union Free School District

$483

$330

-$153

-31.67%

Nassau

East Rockaway Union Free School District

$109

$67

-$42

-38.22%

Nassau

East Williston Union Free School District

$63

$0

-$63

-100.00%

Nassau

Elmont Union Free School District

$602

$412

-$190

-31.51%

Nassau

Farmingdale Union Free School District

$382

$273

-$108

-28.43%

Nassau

Floral Park-Bellerose Union Free School District

$96

$39

-$57

-59.15%

Nassau

Franklin Square Union Free School District

$111

$78

-$33

-29.93%

Nassau

Freeport Union Free School District

$1,642

$1,224

-$419

-25.50%

Nassau

Garden City Union Free School District

$127

$0

-$127

-100.00%

Nassau

Glen Cove City School District

$865

$624

-$242

-27.92%

Nassau

Great Neck Union Free School District

$623

$440

-$183

-29.36%

Nassau

Hempstead Union Free School District

$2,690

$1,920

-$770

-28.64%

Nassau

Herricks Union Free School District

$135

$0

-$135

-100.00%

Nassau

Hicksville Union Free School District

$519

$377

-$142

-27.41%

Nassau

Island Park Union Free School District

$95

$74

-$21

-22.10%

Nassau

Island Trees Union Free School District

$158

$107

-$51

-32.48%

Nassau

Jericho Union Free School District

$161

$115

-$46

-28.77%

Nassau

Lawrence Union Free School District

$876

$628

-$248

-28.26%

Nassau

Levittown Union Free School District

$253

$0

-$253

-100.00%

Suffolk

William Floyd Union Free School District

$1,790

$1,314

-$476

-26.61%

Suffolk

Middle Country Central School District

$811

$533

-$278

-34.28%

Suffolk

Longwood Central School District

$1,016

$696

-$320

-31.51%

Suffolk

Miller Place Union Free School District

$316

$177

-$140

-44.09%

Suffolk

Montauk Union Free School District

$51

$22

-$29

-56.58%

Suffolk

Mount Sinai Union Free School District

$62

$0

-$62

-100.00%

Suffolk

New Suffolk Common School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

North Babylon Union Free School District

$431

$274

-$157

-36.43%

Suffolk

Northport-East Northport Union Free School District

$187

$0

-$187

-100.00%

Suffolk

Fire Island Union Free School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

Oysterponds Union Free School District

$33

$26

-$7

-20.13%

Suffolk

Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District

$952

$636

-$317

-33.25%

Suffolk

Port Jefferson Union Free School District

$42

$0

-$42

-100.00%

Suffolk

Quogue Union Free School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

Remsenburg-Speonk Union Free School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

Riverhead Central School District

$940

$486

-$454

-48.26%

Suffolk

Rocky Point Union Free School District

$196

$140

-$56

-28.70%

Suffolk

South Country Central School District

$980

$654

-$325

-33.22%

Suffolk

Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District

$46

$0

-$46

-100.00%

Suffolk

Eastport-South Manor Central School District

$111

$0

-$111

-100.00%

Suffolk

Amagansett Union Free School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

Amityville Union Free School District

$743

$503

-$240

-32.31%

Suffolk

Babylon Union Free School District

$63

$0

-$63

-100.00%

Suffolk

Bay Shore Union Free School District

$697

$450

-$247

-35.40%

Suffolk

Bayport-Blue Point Union Free School District

$232

$186

-$47

-20.13%

Suffolk

Brentwood Union Free School District

$3,826

$2,743

-$1,082

-28.29%

Suffolk

Bridgehampton Union Free School District

$17

$11

-$6

-37.25%

Suffolk

Center Moriches Union Free School District

$79

$62

-$17

-21.51%

Suffolk

Sachem Central School District

$768

$535

-$234

-30.42%

Suffolk

Sag Harbor Union Free School District

$125

$90

-$35

-27.99%

Suffolk

Sagaponack Common School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

Sayville Union Free School District

$88

$0

-$88

-100.00%

Suffolk

North Shore Central School District

$169

$127

-$43

-25.18%

Suffolk

Shelter Island Union Free School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

Shoreham-Wading River Central School District

$49

$0

-$49

-100.00%

Suffolk

Smithtown Central School District

$325

$0

-$325

-100.00%

Suffolk

South Huntington Union Free School District

$665

$424

-$241

-36.24%

Suffolk

Southampton Union Free School District

$126

$87

-$39

-30.68%

Suffolk

Southold Union Free School District

$48

$34

-$14

-29.16%

Suffolk

Three Village Central School District

$169

$0

-$169

-100.00%

Suffolk

Wainscott Common School District

$12

$0

-$12

-100.00%

Suffolk

West Babylon Union Free School District

$330

$221

-$109

-33.13%

Suffolk

West Islip Union Free School District

$288

$125

-$164

-56.75%

Suffolk

Westhampton Beach Union Free School District

$78

$42

-$36

-46.15%

Suffolk

Wyandanch Union Free School District

$711

$470

-$241

-33.86%

Suffolk

Central Islip Union Free School District

$1,500

$1,053

-$447

-29.79%

Suffolk

Cold Spring Harbor Central School District

$45

$0

-$45

-100.00%

Suffolk

Commack Union Free School District

$168

$0

-$168

-100.00%

Suffolk

Connetquot Central School District

$333

$155

-$179

-53.59%

Suffolk

Copiague Union Free School District

$1,038

$695

-$342

-33.00%

Suffolk

Deer Park Union Free School District

$407

$256

-$151

-37.11%

Suffolk

East Hampton Union Free School District

$130

$80

-$50

-38.46%

Suffolk

East Islip Union Free School District

$155

$0

-$155

-100.00%

Suffolk

East Moriches Union Free School District

$34

$0

-$34

-100.00%

Suffolk

East Quogue Union Free School District

$54

$38

-$16

-29.43%

Suffolk

Elwood Union Free School District

$223

$96

-$127

-56.95%

Suffolk

Fishers Island Union Free School District

$0

$0

$0

0.00%

Suffolk

Greenport Union Free School District

$142

$113

-$29

-20.13%

Suffolk

Half Hollow Hills Central School District

$501

$231

-$270

-53.87%

Suffolk

Hampton Bays Union Free School District

$227

$160

-$68

-29.80%

Suffolk

Harborfields Central School District

$114

$0

-$114

-100.00%

Suffolk

Hauppauge Union Free School District

$229

$88

-$141

-61.52%

Suffolk

Huntington Union Free School District

$633

$382

-$251

-39.66%

Suffolk

Islip Union Free School District

$206

$137

-$69

-33.65%

Suffolk

Brookhaven-Comsewogue Union Free School District

$310

$202

-$109

-35.05%

Suffolk

Kings Park Central School District

$107

$0

-$107

-100.00%

Suffolk

Lindenhurst Union Free School District

$544

$357

-$187

-34.43%

TOTAL

$45,379

$28,520

-$16,868

-37.17%

Methodology

* Data on Title 1 funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education.