Senate Republican Budget Officer Declan O’Scanlon has reached out to Democratic leadership with a request to restore school funding cuts. In a letter addressed to Senate President Scutari and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairman Sarlo, O’Scanlon urged action on S-4434 and budget resolution #164. These measures would provide $45 million in formula-based aid increases for nearly 100 school districts that have seen their funding reduced by approximately $300 million over the past seven years.
O’Scanlon’s letter highlights concerns about recent budgetary decisions. “Ironically, while withholding the $45 million in formula-based aid for the upcoming school year, the Governor is redirecting the same amount to dozens of new appropriations to favored schools and municipalities outside of any formula,” he wrote. He criticized this redirection as it follows a pattern where “$150 million of formula-based municipal aid” was previously diverted.
O’Scanlon further expressed his disapproval of these practices, stating, “Redirecting formula-based aid to pork—based on nothing more than favoritism—is more than just bad policy. It violates the constitutional requirement that the funding source (income tax revenue) be appropriated only by formula.”
The full content of O’Scanlon’s letter is available for public reading.
