Legislators debate cuts proposed by Hochul’s 2025 Executive Budget
Senator Michelle Hinchey leads rally on Friday, March 22 opposing cuts to education funding in the Governor Hochul’s proposed FY 2025 Executive Budget for New York State.
KINGSTON — In the final weeks of budget negotiations, State Senator Michelle Hinchey led the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), parents and school superintendents from schools across the 41st Senate District to call for changes to Governor Kathy Hochul’s Proposed Executive Budget for 2025, which cuts last year’s state record $34.5 billion in public education funding by $419 million.
The cuts would impact all of the state’s nearly 700 school districts, say opponents of the budget; they note that the cuts to education would most heavily impact high-needs districts and small, rural areas.
The cuts are due to a change Hochul has proposed to the state Foundation Aid Formula, which, at over a decade old, is still used to determine school district funding.
Schools in the Mid-Hudson region would be hit hardest by the change, with a 4.2% decrease in total funding, a cut of over $31 million dollars.
In Hinchey’s district alone (parts of Greene, Columbia and Ulster counties as well as northern Dutchess), the cuts would total $25.7 million if the proposed budget is enacted in its current form.
State Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha of Assembly district 103, which includes Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and parts of Ulster County, partnered with Hinchey in organizing the March 22 rally.
In our schools
Robert Farrier, business administrator at the Webutuck Central School District, said that if enacted, the cuts would impact Webutuck CSD’s academic programs, though which ones and how much has not yet been determined.
Elliot Garcia, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Personnel of the Millbrook Central School District, said that the proposed state budget “has certainly influenced our budget planning for the 2024-25 school year.”
He said that Millbrook CSD had also overestimated the state funding that Millbrook CSD could expect this year (school year 2023-2024) .
“Given that fact, we must plan for the coming school year as if our state aid package will be unchanged, and could potentially be reduced,” he said. He said that the problem “is further compounded by the reality that over 60% of our budget contains expense increases which are either fixed or contractually obligated.
“With that being said, we are being very conservative with our budget projections for next school year,” he said. “We continue to fine tune the proposed budget for the 2024-25 school year to identify any and all opportunities to responsibly reduce our proposed expense budget in kind in order to maintain our existing programs.”
Dr. Brian Timm, Superintendent of the Pine Plains Central School District, said, “The proposed cuts to Foundation Aid by Governor Hochul are extremely impactful to a number of school districts across the state,” including Pine Plains CSD.
He added, “I wouldn’t say at this point that anything in the proposed budget would negatively impact student lives,” but continued, “we are making adjustments to the Pine Plains CSD budget for 2024-2025.”
Timm said that Pine Plains CSD will look at adjusting some services with BOCES and faculty and staff health insurance, but would mostly offset differences by reallocating appropriations funds — “a one time cost to the district that would present a problem moving forward,” said Timm. “It’s not sustainable.”
Legislators’ alternative
On March 14, the Senate and Assembly passed a one-house budget resolution which proposes amendments to Hochul’s proposed Executive Budget including the restoration of the “hold harmless” provision, which ensures that school districts are allocated at least as much aid as they received the previous year, regardless of declines in enrollment.
The budget resolution proposes $747 million in aid to school districts throughout the state (as opposed to the $507 million increase proposed by Hinchey’s budget).
Legislators are also requesting a review of the Foundation Aid formula.
Earlier in March, Hochul’s budget director, Blake Washington, said that a revenue consensus meeting with the State Legislature determined there is $1.3 billion in tax collections coming to the state which had not been previously allocated, which could be used to negate the changes to the Foundation Aid.
“We are hopeful that some if not all of the Foundation Aid is returned for the 2024-2025 school year and that the Foundation Aid Formula is revised,” said Timm.
The final enacted budget will evolve from negotiations between Governor Hochul and the legislative branch.
The budget deadline for New York State is April 1.
Members of the North East Town Board discuss proposed zoning code revisions during a meeting at North East Town Hall in Millerton on Monday, Jan. 19.
MILLERTON — The North East Town Board on Monday, Jan. 19, adopted a series of detailed revisions to its proposed zoning code overhaul, incorporating feedback from county and local agencies as well as public comments.
Zoning Review Commission Chair Edie Greenwood and the town’s zoning consultant, Will Agresta, participated in the meeting as board members reviewed comments submitted by Dutchess County Planning, the North East Planning Board, the town’s Conservation Advisory Council, and residents who spoke or submitted written remarks during the initial public hearing on Jan. 8.
Board members addressed the comments line by line, approving changes that Greenwood described as largely technical in nature, including revisions to definitions that did not align with state regulations and clarifications intended to improve readability and consistency.
Greenwood said a red-line draft showing the approved changes alongside the original text will be prepared.
Among the more substantive revisions was the decision to impose an overall size cap on accessory dwelling units. The board voted to limit ADUs to a maximum of 1,200 square feet and specified that they must be accessed from an existing driveway on the property. Board members also discussed adding language to clarify how ownership through an LLC or trust would comply with the requirement that the property owner reside in the principal dwelling.
The board also approved allowing retail businesses and restaurants in the so-called Irondale District, a small commercial area encompassing seven parcels along Route 22 near Winchell Mountain Road and Irondale Road.
Other changes included:
– Replacing the term “farm” with “farm operation” for consistency with state law.
— Revising drive-through regulations to allow additional lanes for banks.
— Tying requirements for landscaped islands in parking lots to the size of the lot.
— Adding expiration dates for site plan approvals.
— Removing references to “cage-type poultry farms.”
— Requiring 10% of parking spaces in lots with 30 or more spaces to be “EV-ready,” meaning the necessary infrastructure must be installed, but not necessarily a charger itself.
— Standardizing safety and maintenance requirements across all parking regulations.
— Clarifying that parking structures may be built above or below grade.
— Allowing farm machinery sales and rentals.
Greenwood told The News she expects the red-line draft to be completed and submitted before the end of next week. The Town Board is set to continue the public hearing on the proposed zoning changes on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. at North East Town Hall.
The following excerpts from The Millerton News were compiled by Kathleen Spahn and Rhiannon Leo-Jameson of the North East-Millerton Library.
January 24, 1935
About Millerton
Mayor and Mrs. William J. Brewer and Mr. and Mrs. Miles Jenks left on Monday for a month’s vacation in Florida.
Mr. Roy Ganung and daughter, Jane, spent Tuesday afternoon In Poughkeepsie.
Jean Silvernale is confined to home by illness.
Miss Blanche Bates is spending several weeks at the home of her brother, Edward Bates, at Pittsfield, Mass.
George Wooding of Thornewood spent Sunday at the home of his sister, Mrs. Harry Card.
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Decker and family moved to Lakeville on Sunday.
January 22, 1976
Snowmobiles Tresspassing[sic], Officer Says
Trespassing and riding on public roads are the major offenses committed by area snowmobilers this winter, New York State Conservation Officer Harry Wheeler stated this week.
He asserted that a number of snowmobile riders have been sighted traveling on public roads and soaring across private property without permission, both illegal acts.
January 18, 2001
Local Homes Added to Historic Register
COLEMAN STATION — Three houses in the town of North East were recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Oliver Barrett House, the Dakin-Coleman Farm and the Thomas Wheeler Farm, all located in the Coleman Station area, were selected by the New York state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to be listed individually on the register, though the entire Coleman Station Valley was considered for the recognition in 1993.
Millerton Sees Some Business Changes; Shops Move, Expand
MILLERTON- Two stores on Main Street in Millerton have interior changes in the works.
Leslie Hoss Flood has recently relocated her Amenia-based store to the basement of the Millerton Antiques Center. Ms. Flood’s shop had been in Amenia for about 15 years, where, in addition to selling used and antique furniture, Ms. Flood also ran an upholstery shop.
After removing several partitions and installing new lights, the basement store looks entirely new. Ms. Flood is pleased with the space, which offers more room in which to showcase her wares. She is also taking advantage of the additional area by creating a separate reupholstery room and a section to display in-stock fabrics.
Pasta-At-Large Expands
After acquiring the empty space, owner Sofia Okołowicz has expanded her business to provide “a little more elbow room inside.”
The front portion has been open since late November and, in recent days, Ms. Okolowicz has removed a wall and had electricity installed in the new area.
The college-age generation is grappling with inflation, increasing housing prices, climate change, and now mass corporate layoffs. In a world where geopolitical turmoil is increasing, the ground beneath their feet is shifting. Many believe their future is bleak.
My nephew, Joey, just got married. His wife lives with her parents, and he lives with his. While he makes good money as a pharmacy manager at a national chain drugstore, neither he nor his wife can afford even a down payment on a house in Long Island. They are moving in with the wife’s parents. Joey’s sister is also married with two children. They also live with their parents. Welcome to the American dream turned nightmare for almost 70 million young Americans.
The typical age range of Gen Z is 1997 to 2012. They are the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. They are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in America, with 48% being non-white.
Almost all of this generation is highly active on social media. Almost 60% are planning to pursue a college education. They are just as likely to identify as Republicans, Democrats, or Independents. As such, the present populist upheaval the U.S. is undergoing takes an inordinate toll on them. It may be why 91% of Gen Zers report experiencing symptoms of stress and anxiety.
While Wall Street opened the year celebrating the promise of a bright future, thanks to AI. Opinion leaders predict that artificial intelligence, robots, and space, among other technological breakthroughs, will dramatically reshape the way the world works. For college grads, all they see is a no-fire, no-hire labor market where unemployment among workers ages 20 to 24 continues to rise. It is now to 5.3% and even worse for those younger than that.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers predict the entry-level hiring crisis will worsen this year, rating job prospects as poor or at best fair. At a recent gathering of employers at the Yale School of Management, 66% admitted they planned to cut jobs or freeze hiring.
With an economy that is expected to grow by 3% in 2026, one would have expected the opposite reaction, but then you would not be reckoning with the impact of artificial intelligence on the job market. Potential employers are concerned and uncertain about how AI might reshape the workforce over the next few years, and rightfully so.
Most analysts believe that many white-collar positions, especially at the entry level, will be replaced by technological advancement. Underscoring that concern, many corporate giants, including Amazon, UPS, Target, and Google, announced layoffs affecting more than 60,000 jobs. And to many, that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Faced with taking fast-food jobs at minimum wage and lacking work experience in their hoped-for professions, 3 in 5 Gen Z workers are looking elsewhere for a job with some kind of reasonable future. Almost half of these young workers believe the blue-collar jobs may offer better long-term security than corporate work in the technology fields. The top sectors pursued by Gen Z include plumbing, automotive repair, construction, and electrical work.
I happen to agree with that belief, but unfortunately, Gen Z applicants face the same barrier to entry in their white-collar arena—lack of experience. Many job applicants, regardless of industry, are now required to have at least 3 years of experience and up to 5 years before being considered.
The lure of six-figure salaries in the blue-collar area is attracting more Gen Zs to vocational schools. However, what many conveniently forget is that earning that kind of take-home pay requires years of experience, a substantial investment in personal tools and equipment, and serious wear and tear on the body.
As I write this, in the next room, a 65-year-old builder I’ll call Scott, who is going in for his second knee replacement next month, is building another room in our condo. Assisting him is a young GenZer. There is a constant stream of chatter as Scott talks through his drywalling process. His helper listens intently. They seem eager to learn and ask questions as they work. He did the same when he placed the struts and erected the wall.
For several years, Scott has been involved in a local high school program that teaches vocational school grads his business, while they gain on-the-job experience and a paycheck. Scott and others like him are providing a solution one day at a time. He is one answer to the dilemma facing this struggling generation. This country needs more Scotts to hire and teach a young workforce in need.
Next week, I will highlight one area where many Gen Xers have found an alternative to home ownership. It holds risks but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get involved.
Bill Schmick is a founding partner of Onota Partners, Inc., in the Berkshires.Bill’s forecasts and opinions are purely his own and do not necessarily represent the views of Onota Partners, Inc. (OPI).
