Executive Director's Message

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and as we head into 2026, I wish you and your families a very happy, healthy, and joyous new year.

2026 will be a busy year in regards to advocacy, the political landscape and its impact on public education. We continue to pay close attention to the developments in Washington, D.C. and the many changes and the potential impacts. From a federal advocacy standpoint, we should keep a few priorities in mind if we happen to speak to our federal officials over the next several months. 

First and foremost, no cuts to any Title funding. Districts rely on these federal funds to meet the mandates they impose on us, and it is also important that funding remains formula based and not switched over to block grants to the States. This will negatively impact our region more than most. 

We also must continue to advocate for full funding of the IDEA mandates. The federal government does not come close to funding the amount as prescribed by their own law for IDEA, and every dollar underfunded by them is paid locally. So, when our elected officials discuss affordability this is an area where they can help ease the burden on Long Island and elsewhere throughout the country. 

There are other federal priorities that we will discuss but these are the main ones to become familiar with. Ask your business official how many federal dollars flow into your district, it’s a small percentage, but if those dollars decrease, the mandates will become more costly locally.

Our State priorities this year are many and some must be addressed this year. The requirements associated with zero emission busing must be delayed now! There are greater cost implications, infrastructure concerns and grid capacity issues. For those reasons it is critically important for the legislature to at a minimum push back the requirement for new vehicles purchased starting in 2027 to be zero emissions. 

In addition to many logistical issues, reports are now coming out that bus heaters are either not working properly or are turned off to preserve battery life in the colder parts of our State. Let’s pump the breaks on the zero emissions busing mandates this year!

I recently had a conversation with the Deputy Secretary of Education for Governor Hochul about the issue of UPK, and why so many dollars are left unspent in this grant funded program. 

I explained to her the grant funding of $5,400 per student for a full day program during a school year is not reasonable and we are having a hard time sustaining the program at this level. 

A full day UPK program is 900 hours during the school year, which breakdowns to a reimbursement of $6 per hour! Minimum wage for 2026 in New York is now $17 per hour, this rate needs to be increased. In addition to increased funding, greater flexibility with that funding needs to be in place. 

Some districts need to find space to host a UPK program so funds should be available for capital costs associated with the program, and in high needs areas, some families do not have transportation available to take advantage of this program, so these costs should be allowable as well. These are just a couple of issues with UPK that will help to make it more universal than it is now.

Last but certainly not least, is the issues of charter schools in our region and the financial impact on our districts. The fact that SUNY is allowed to have a greater say in the approval process for new charter schools and the renewal of existing charter schools makes no sense whatsoever. 

The State Education Department is charged by law to be responsible for the education system for K-12. The fact that SUNY can override a decision made by SED needs to change now! In addition, we need to change how charter schools are funded. The amount of tuition that is currently required to be sent by the home district is unfair and has made the charter school business very profitable for the operators with much less accountability and transparency to the taxpayers. 

As of now over $500 million dollars are paid to charter schools with public funds. Taxpayers have no say over their boards, or their budgets as it funnels public funds into a business model that is not accountable to those paying the bill.

These are just a few of the legislative priorities that we will be working on this coming year along with many others. We ask that you advocate with your federal and state officials for these priorities. We are always here to assist and answer any questions you may have, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

In closing, we look forward to seeing the continued successes that our districts on Long Island deliver to our students every day. 

I always say we have over 418,000 reasons why we have to get this right, and that represents every student that shows up to our doorsteps with hopes, dreams, aspirations, and for the opportunity of what education can do to change their life trajectory. 

Onward and upward into 2026!