By Dan Murphy
Assemblyman Nader Sayegh is in his second year representing Yonkers in the 90th Assembly District, representing Yonkers, and his first term in Albany has been an active and productive 2 years both for him personally, and for the people he represents in the City he has served for many years on the Yonkers Board of Education before being elected in 2018.
First and foremost, Sayegh is working on the State budget and its implications and funding for the City of Yonkers and the Yonkers Public Schools. Governor Andrew Cuomo recently released his proposed 2021 spending plan, and Assemblyman Sayegh called on the Governor to increase education funding for
In the budget, the Governor proposed an increase of $826 million in total education funding, with an estimated $704 million going towards Foundation Aid. Sayegh pointed out that this figure still amounts to 17% less than what is in the current 2020 budget. This would bring total education expenditures from New York State to $28.5 billion.
In the proposal, the Governor outlined an initiative where school districts in New York State would be required to prioritize funding to schools that the state deems to be underfunded rather than the assessment made by a school district. “The idea that the proposed education funding in the Executive Budget is sufficient is beyond belief. An increase of three percent isn’t sufficient for the exceedingly high costs that high-need school districts like Yonkers Public Schools currently face,” said Sayegh.
Another state budget question raised by Sayegh is a plan which would allow the state to determine which schools in qualifying school districts would be awarded additional need-based aid. “This is a classic example of overreach. School districts interact with their schools, educators, and students every single day. They know their needs much better than Albany does. School district autonomy is a hallmark of our public education system, we should keep it that way.”
Assemblyman Sayegh encouraged his colleagues to change the entire state school funding formula which is outdated and allows for inequity in funding to many school districts across the state. “The current formula places too much emphasis on the wealth of the county in which the district is located. Often, a district like Yonkers is located in an affluent county like Westchester County and is shortchanged despite having a student population where nearly 80% of students are recipients of free or reduced-price lunch. Where is the correlation when the wealth of a district is contrary to the wealth of a county?”
Sayegh has proposed legislation that will focus on enhancing funding for school districts that meet five criteria relating to 1) Student Enrollment, 2) percentage of special education students, 3) Percentage of English Language Learners, 4) Wealth of the county, and 5) The Percentage of Students who are recipients of Free and Reduced Lunch. This legislation is in line with the Governor’s goal for a full revision of the funding process, therefore promoting equity.
In addition, his bill Bill (A.8700) has a Harmless Clause which will ensure that districts will not be negatively impacted by any changes in the formulation of aid. This legislation ensures that districts across New York State which are underfunded will now be put on equal footing with comparable districts across the state.
Assemblyman Sayegh appreciates the Governor’s recognition of bringing equity to the educational playing field and supports efforts to encourage the state to give districts owed Foundation Aid and their students the foundation aid their students desperately need and require to provide their students with a quality education. “Our school districts already stretch every dollar as far as they can. It’s unreasonable to subject them to the annual rollercoaster of guessing how much funding they might receive for the next fiscal year. Until the legislature is fully committed to meeting our current funding obligations and revamping the underlying inequitable formula, we owe them some consistency.”
Sayegh has also been busy making sure that Yonkers community groups and organizations that serve thousands get small but important state grants to continue their work. Last month, Sayegh hosted his first annual Health Fair and Flu Shot Clinic at his District Office.
In the midst of the flu season, Sayegh assembled leading physicians from across the community to provide valuable insight to residents about what they can do to protect themselves and their families this season, and free flu shots were provided by Robert Jacobson Pharmacy. In addition, Assemblyman Sayegh will be joined by Kelly Chiarella to present a $12,500 grant to the Yonkers Office for the Aging to be utilized to expand programming from the Office of the Aging to seniors across the district.
This week, Sayegh was able to deliver a $25,000 grant to the Yonkers Public Library to renovate community rooms, which have historically been hotspots that facilitate local engagement.
Assemblyman Sayegh has also started an Agency of the Month recognition, highlighting agencies including FSSY’s JCY-Westchester Community Partners division was honored as Agency of the Month during National Mentoring Month.
The event was held at School 13 with key community stakeholders, including electeds, parents, children and mentors in attendance. Our Director of JCY-WCP, Anietra Guzmán-Santana accepted a Citation from New York State Assembly, while students and mentors received Certificates of Merit.
Assemblyman Sayegh shared moving remarks in which he recalled the start of the Reading Buddies After School program at School 13 in 1986/87, when he was Principal there. He praised our work and the impact of our programs on the youth of Yonkers.
