It is not clear yet what the recent settlement of a seven-year-old lawsuit brought against New York State over Foundation Aid means for Pioneer, the district's assistant superintendent told the Pioneer Board of Education.
At the board's Oct. 19 regular meeting, Nick Silvaroli said the suit was filed during the Cuomo administration for not fully funding Foundation Aid. However, Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced an agreement to settle and discontinue the case New Yorkers for Students' Educational Rights brought against the state in 2014. The suit charged that New York was violating students' educational rights by not ensuring every school had sufficient funding.
Settling the case means that in addition to the $1.4 billion increase in school aid in this year's state budget, schools in New York will see about $2.5 billion more over the next two years.
The state created Foundation Aid in 2007 but it was never fully funded because of the recession that began in 2008.