Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) announced that important funding for education was included in the New York State 2021-2022 budget he helped pass. Statewide, the budget includes a $3.1 billion increase overall in education funding as well as a $1.4 billion increase in Foundation Aid with an additional agreement to fully fund the Foundation Aid formula over the next three years. In total, education received $335.2 million, and Foundation Aid increased by $9.9 million for the 115th Assembly District.

“This past year has been challenging for both teachers and students, with our schools being forced to adapt to a distance-learning model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Assemblyman Jones said. “This was a costly and stressful process, which is why I fought to secure much-needed funding for our schools to help districts reopen safely and provide resources to help students who have struggled academically, emotionally, and socially over the past year.”

In addition to increases to Foundation Aid, the budget also restored funding for essential teacher programs and provided $94.2 million for libraries with an additional $20 million for library construction grants. Additionally, the state legislature was able to secure $105 million expansion of full-day prekindergarten, providing pre-K funding to 210 districts who do not currently receive state-funded full-day Pre-K.