Assemblymember Wallace: Budget Makes Historic Investments in Education

“I’m proud to have delivered a budget that makes historic investments in public education and will help set young New Yorkers on a path to success. Our spending plan provides for an historic investment of $34 billion for public schools, which marks a nearly 10% increase over last year and will help ensure that educators have the resources they need for their students to thrive. Additionally, for the first time, New York State will fully fund Foundation Aid, ensuring high-need school districts have more equal funding and that those students have better opportunities. This budget also provides $150 million to expand universal prekindergarten and $134 million to expand free school meals to some 300,000 more students.

“The budget also rejects proposed tuition hikes that would have made SUNY less competitive, less affordable, and saddled SUNY graduates with many thousands in additional student loan debt. Instead, our spending plan provides for a nearly 13% increase in operating aid for SUNY and historic investments of capital funding to maintain, renovate, and expand SUNY facilities. Our spending plan also supports lifelong learning by providing a 2% increase in library aid.

“As a SUNY faculty member and parent to two children who attended public schools, I deeply appreciate the transformative power of public education. That’s why I advocated for and helped pass a budget that will help New York’s schools and students reach their full potential.”

Across Assembly District 143, local school districts will see the following amounts in total state aid:

  • Buffalo Public Schools.…………………………$924.9 million (8.7% increase)
  • Cheektowaga Central School District.………….$30.6 million (19.5% increase)
  • Maryvale School District……………………….$29.7 million (15.3% increase)
  • Cleveland Hill School District………………….$21.6 million (17.6% increase)
  • Depew School District………………………….$26.3 million (13.2% increase)
  • Cheektowaga-Sloan School District……………$21 million (12.3% increase)
  • Lancaster Central School District………………$51.9 million (11.5% increase)