Leaders of Questar III and Capital Region BOCES have joined together with the 47 school district superintendents in their service region to develop an annual legislative position paper.
The paper urges state leaders to consider six recommendations that would help school districts minimize the devastating loss of jobs and programs now being debated in communities throughout the region.
Coming on the heels of two very difficult budget years, the 47 school districts signing on to this paper are facing the prospect of a 9.8 percent reduction in state aid under the governor’s proposed budget. This represents a $135 million cut in state aid for public schools in this region.
Collectively, the 47 school districts eliminated 891 positions in the current year and are conservatively estimating the loss of another 981 jobs in the 2011-12 school year if the proposed state cuts are enacted.
Paul Padalino and Sally Sharkey are the co-chairs of the regional Superintendents’ Legislative Committee, which represents 47 school districts and 115,000 students in Albany, Schenectady, Schoharie, Saratoga, Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene Counties.
