Hi John,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this week’s Foundation Aid school funding prep sessions. For those who couldn’t attend, we’re glad to have you here now. Your participation in this process is vital in ensuring that our kids and schools receive the resources they need.

As a reminder, the Rockefeller Institute is currently gathering feedback in order to make nonbinding recommendations on potential revisions to the Foundation Aid formula. Your input through this process will inform their final report, which will make recommendations to the State on modifying the current formula. It’s likely that these recommendations will factor into the Governor’s education budget proposal for the next fiscal year.

In our prep sessions, we covered the details of the Foundation Aid review process, explained what Foundation Aid does and doesn’t cover, and provided guidelines on how to effectively prepare and deliver your testimony, whether in-person or written.

Here are some resources to guide you through the testimony process:

  • Testimony Guide (English)
  • Testimony Guide (Spanish)
  • Prep Session Presentation (English)
  • Prep Session Presentation (Spanish)
  • Statewide Prep Session Recording
  • NYC Prep Session Recording

As a member of the public education community, your voice is crucial. Submitting written testimony to the Rockefeller Institute can take as few as ten minutes with our easy-to-follow testimony guide. Please submit your testimony online by September 6.

For all hearings, stakeholder testimony will begin at 2pm, and public comment for registered speakers will begin at 5:30pm. If you want to speak at a hearing, you must submit a speaker registration form beforehand. Each hearing will be livestreamed, so if you’re unable to attend in person, you can still tune in.

Upcoming hearing dates and locations include, find the livestreams hyperlinked:

  • July 16: Manhattan, NYC (High School of Fashion Industries)

  • July 25: Buffalo, Western NY (North Park Community School)

  • July 30: Farmingdale, Long Island (Weldon E. Howitt Middle School)

  • August 8: Laurens, Central NY (Laurens Central School)

  • August 14: Guilderland, Capital Region (Guilderland High School)

Please review these materials and plan to submit your testimony at your earliest convenience between now and September 6. Sharing your personal story can make a world of difference to our schools!

Thank you for your dedication to education justice across the state.

In solidarity,

Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari
Co-Executive Director
Alliance for Quality Education
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