EDUCATIONAL

RACISM
ANDREW CUOMO’S RECORD OF
UNDERFUNDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS
IN BLACK & LATINO COMMUNITIES
PUBLISHED SEPT. 2018 The Alliance for Quality Education is a coalition mobilizing communities across
the state to keep New York true to its promise of ensuring a high-quality public
REPORT PREPARED BY: school education to all students regardless of zip code. Combining its legislative
Marina Marcou-O’Malley and policy expertise with grassroots organizing, AQE advances proven-to-work
Operations & Policy Director strategies that lead to student success and echoes a powerful public demand for a
Alliance for Quality Education high-quality public school education for all of New York’s students.
 EDUCATIONAL
RACISM
ANDREW CUOMO’S RECORD OF
UNDERFUNDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN
BLACK AND LATINO COMMUNITIES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The numbers tell the truth: the schools with the most need are being shortchanged the most.
American history has confirmed this time and time again, even though it was supposed to be
rectified with Brown v. Board of Education. Educational racism explains the fact that two dozen
school districts are owed the most Foundation Aid by the state.

• Foundation Aid was created in response to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, which
went through all levels of the courts in New York State over the course of thirteen years.
In 2006, the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, ruled that the state was violating
its own constitution by chronically underfunding the neediest schools. The Foundation Aid
formula was enacted into law by the legislature in 2007. It a needs based funding formula
driving more funding to school districts that have more students in poverty, more students
with disabilities, and more English Language Learners.

• According to the New York State Education Department and the Board of Regents, and
based on current law, the state owes school districts $4.2 billion in Foundation Aid.

• Two thirds of the districts in New York State are still owed Foundation Aid. By contrast, 100
percent of high needs school districts with majority Black and Latino students are owed
Foundation Aid.

• There 25 school districts that are both high need and majority Black and Latino.

• The students in these 25 districts represent 80 percent of the Black and Latino (Latinx)
students in the state and 69 percent of the economically disadvantaged students in the state

• These 25 school districts are owed 62 percent ($2.6 billion) of all Foundation Aid. The
failure to fully fund Foundation Aid results in the failure to adequately fund schools that are
majority Black and Latino.

• Research proves that increases in funding improve student outcomes. A 10 percent increase
in funding results in 10 percent increase in graduation rates.1

• The graduation rate for these 25 school districts is 69 percent compared to the 95 percent
graduation rate wealthy districts in New York State have. Just 13 percent of the graduates

1 Jackson, C. K., R. Johnson, and C. Persico. (2015). The effects of school spending on educational and economic
outcomes: Evidence from school fi nance reforms. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 131(1): 157–218.

PAGE 3
Report | educational racism| september 2018

in these 25 districts earn an Advanced Regents diploma whereas 58 percent of

the graduating cohort in wealthy districts earn an Advanced Regents diploma.
The spending gap between wealthy and poor school districts in New York State is
nearly $10,000 per pupil and has grown by 24 percent under Governor Cuomo.2

• Governor Andrew Cuomo has consistently argued against fully funding

Foundation Aid. In 2017, Cuomo attempted to repeal the Foundation Aid formula.

• Andrew Cuomo’s failure to fund Foundation Aid perpetuates systemic educational

racism.

Systemic racism in education = educational racism.

Systemic racism is “a system of social structures that produces and reproduces

cumulative, durable, race-based inequalities.”3 Systemic racism in education is best
described as educational racism.

In New York State, the chronic underfunding of schools, and the unwillingness to
recognize and rectify the impact that this practice has, results in disparate outcomes for
students. Regardless of the intent of a policy or law, if it is results in inequities, then it
has a discriminatory impact.4 New York State has one of the most inequitable education
funding systems in the nation. It ranks 49th in the nation.5 This huge inequality, that is
largely based upon race, is an example of systemic educational racism. The conclusion
that Governor Cuomo’s policies perpetuate educational racism is based upon the
impact of his policies.

FOUNDATION AID:
ITS ORIGIN AND WHAT IS MEANT TO DO
The Foundation Aid formula was implemented in 2007 as the statewide settlement
of the lawsuit known as the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. Parents sued the state citing
chronic underfunding of the schools their children attended, which constituted a
violation of New York’s constitution. The case went through all levels of the courts over
the course of thirteen years. In 2006, the Court of Appeals, the highest court of the
state, found in its final ruling that the state was violating its constitution by failing to
provide “a sound basic education” to all children.

2  http://www.aqeny.org/2018/03/20/new-data-shows-record-level-school-inequities-gap-wealthiest-poorest-stu-
dents-grown-cuomo/
3  Lawrence & Keleher (2004). Structural Racism. https://www.intergroupresources.com/rc/Defi nitions%20of%20
Racism.pdf
Race, Power, and Policy: Dismantling Structural Racism  https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefi les/race_pow-
er_policy_workbook.pdf 
4  https://www.naahq.org/sites/default/fi les/naa-documents/government-affairs/protected/recent-hud-actions-re-
garding-disparate-impact.pdf
5  https://www.thenation.com/article/how-unequal-school-funding-punishes-poor-kids/; http://apps.urban.org/
features/school-funding-do-poor-kids-get-fair-share/?link_id=2&can_id=9cbc219690344488b53b3bf9d05b4b81&-
source=email-statement-aqe-responds-to-cuomo-distortions-about-cfe-school-funding-equity&email_referrer=&email_
subject=statement-aqe-responds-to-cuomo-distortions-about-cfe-school-funding-equity

PAGE 4
In response to this ruling, newly elected Governor Spitzer and the legislature enacted
into law the Foundation Aid formula. While the CFE case was specific to New York City,
the Foundation Aid formula provided a statewide solution. The Foundation Aid formula
is based on student need and drives more funding to high need, low income school
districts. The state committed in 2007 to infuse $5.5 billion in new aid to schools
to redress the chronic underfunding of schools in low income communities and in
communities of color.

Foundation Aid is key to the capacity of high need school districts to offer
programming, material, and hire staff to meet their students’ needs and prepare them
for college and career. Foundation Aid is the state’s operating aid that school districts
depend on to provide educational programming.

The Foundation Aid formula is designed to level the playing field between wealthy
districts and low-income districts, so that those districts with higher student need, and
those with less local school revenue, receive more funding from the state. The State has
failed to adequately fund the formula, leaving low-income high need districts behind
and especially leaving behind districts that are majority Black and Latino (Latinx). The
Foundation Aid formula was funded for two years when the state infused $3.5 billion
into schools, the majority of which went through the formula. The graphic below
explains how it is intended to work,6 taking into consideration students in poverty,
students with disabilities and English Language Learners. The Foundation Aid formula
also takes into consideration a school district’s ability to raise local revenue from its
local school property taxes.7

HOW THE FOUNDATION FORMULA WORKS

ACCO U NTING FO R TH ESE FACTO RS:

AVERAGE COST OF NEEDS OF STUDENTS

E ACH S T U D E NT CO U NT S A S :

A SUCCESSFUL
ONE STUDENT
SCHOOL
SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENT (+1.41)

STUDENT LIVING IN POVERTY (+0.65)

REGIONAL STUDENT RECEIVING FREE/REDUCED

PRICE LUNCH (+0.65)
COST INDEX
F RO M TH E U . S. D E PARTM E NT O F LA B O R ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER (+0.5)

MINUS

EXPECTED LOCAL CONTRIBUTION

BA S E D ON LO CAL INCO ME & P RO P ERTY W EALTH

EQUALS

FOUNDATION AID
6  Of course over the years, the Foundation Aid has been manipulated and changed to meet the budgetary constraints 
of each year, or the unwillingness of the Governor and the State Senate to prioritize investing in public schools.
7  For all districts that are not considered a large city, districts such as Albany or Brentwood.

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Report | educational racism| september 2018

According to the State Education Department (SED), New York owes districts $4.2
billion in Foundation Aid.8 Sixty-two percent of this funding is owed to school districts
that are defined a high need by SED and have 50 percent or more Black and Latino
(Latinx) students. Only 25 school districts out of 674 in the state are both high needs
and have 50 percent or more Black and Latino (Latinx) students. The table below
shows how much Foundation Aid these 25 districts are owed, the percent of Black and
Latino students they educate and the percent of economically disadvantaged students
they have.

FOUNDATION AID OWED % BLACK & LATINO % ECONOMICALLY

DISTRICT
2017-18 ( NOV ) STUDENTS DISADVANTAGED
WESTBURY $ 41,170,730 97 93
ROCHESTER $ 111,770,258 86 91
WYANDANCH $ 21,389,063 98 91
BRENTWOOD $ 140,144,646 93 88
EAST RAMAPO $ 26,665,648 90 87
PEEKSKILL $ 13,906,816 88 83
BUFFALO $ 11,186,663 67 82
AMITYVILLE $ 102,910,545 90 82
CENTRAL ISLIP $ 65,471,860 92 79
SCHENECTADY $ 47,454,924 52 79
YONKERS $ 49,349,908 76 79
SYRACUSE $ 44,384,631 62 79
HEMPSTEAD $ 57,371,140 97 76
MIDDLETOWN $ 43,377,452 78 76
NEWBURGH $ 44,246,457 74 76
NEW YORK CITY $ 11,239,095 66 75
POUGHKEEPSIE $ 1,585,306,203 84 75
COPIAGUE $ 11,883,729 81 74
MOUNT VERNON $ 30,264,651 93 74
DUNKIRK $ 5,406,826 58 73
FREEPORT $ 48,947,816 88 72
PORT CHESTER $ 24,298,786 82 71
FALLSBURG $ 2,957,124 57 67
ALBANY $ 34,477,259 66 60
ROOSEVELT $ 22,422,210 100 51

Increasing funding equals better outcomes. Multiple research studies have provided
ample evidence on the importance of funding in educational outcomes. When funding
is increased by 10 percent, graduation rates increase by 10 percent. This impact is
particularly strong for students from low income families. When education spending is
increased sustainably and consistently, low income students are not only more likely to

8  http://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/fi les/1217saa1.pdf

PAGE 6
graduate, they are more likely to have higher wages as adults.9 Yet, in New York State,
the districts with great need are owed the majority of Foundation Aid.

“Low-income students benefit most from increased spending. On average, these

students spent about six more months in school, were 10 percentage points more likely
to graduate high school, had 13 percent higher wages as adults, and were 6 percentage
points less likely to live in poverty. Farther out, their family income increased by 17
percent.”10

Another study affirmed the link of increased spending with educational outcomes here
in New York State. Specifically, the study found that increasing spending per pupil by
$1,000 results in increases in math and English achievement.11 The authors write:

“As achievement gaps between privileged and disadvantaged students remain a

persistent source of inequality in society (Clotfelter, Ladd and Vigdor 2009; Fryer
and Levitt 2004; Fryer and Levitt 2006; Hanushek 1997; Reardon 2011), this study
provides a persuasive case that greater investment in education could help close these
gaps.”

A RECORD OF FAILURE
Governor Andrew Cuomo has a record of failing to fund public schools. When running
for governor in 2010 he declared:

“The way we fund education through the property tax system, by definition is going to
be unfair. And it is. The state is supposed to equalize or come close to equalizing with its
funding. That’s the CFE lawsuit that the state is yet to fully fund.”

Yet, since he took office in 2011, he has exhibited an unwillingness to fund public
schools and has argued that the state has met its Campaign for Fiscal Equity
obligations. During his first year in office, he cut taxes on millionaires and made cuts to
education funding that amounted to $1.3 billion.12 In the years following, his budgets
only provided minimal increases of Foundation Aid, despite of his claims of record
funding increases.

The increases that his budgets provided to schools barely keep up with inflation. In
fact, the Foundation Aid increase since 2011 in real dollars has only been $408 million
for the entire state, or an annual increase of $58 million, when inflation is taken into
account.13

9  Jackson, C. K., R. Johnson, and C. Persico. (2015). The effects of school spending on educational and economic
outcomes: Evidence from school finance reforms. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 131(1): 157–218.
10  Ibid.
11  Philip Gigliotti , Lucy C. Sorensen , Educational Resources and Student Achievement: Evidence from the Save
Harmless Provision in New York State, Economics of Education Review (2018), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econ-
edurev.2018.08.004
12  http://www.aqeny.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/AQE_whitepaper.pdf
13  For further explanation see http://www.aqeny.org/2018/03/20/new-data-shows-record-level-school-inequities-
gap-wealthiest-poorest-students-grown-cuomo/ . The analysis published in March 2018, shows that once adjusted
for inflation, the Foundation Aid increase for the last seven year since Cuomo took office have been minimal despite

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Report | educational racism| september 2018

In the 2017 Executive budget proposal, the governor proposed repealing Foundation
Aid, which would mean de facto erasing the commitment the state made to schools in
2007.

Advocates for public schools and the New York State Assembly have consistently
disagreed with the Governor’s budgets,14 pushing for fully funding the Foundation Aid
formula and meeting the constitutional obligation.

Despite the governor’s attempts to eliminate it, Foundation Aid continues to be part
of current law. The amounts owed to school districts, as described in this report, are
based upon the requirements of current law.

Underfunding schools in New York State has negative and

disparate impacts for Black and Latino and low income students.
This is educational racism.

The Journey for Justice Alliance, a nationwide alliance of grassroots community,

youth, and parent-led organizations, “defines ‘education’ as the experience of
‘inspiration and information that prepares young people for successful adulthood and
to positively impact society.’ We assert that all students deserve the right to a public
school education that not only teaches them the basics of reading, writing and math,
but also serves as a porthole to the possible: the chance to see and experience a wide
range of academic and artistic paths to follow as they become productive adults. This
experience has been systematically denied to Black and Brown children in the United
States.”15

rhetoric to the opposite.

14  http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/government/5414-cuomo-record-education-fi rst-term-gover-
nor-new-york
15  Journey for Justice Alliance: Failing Brown v. Board: A continuous struggle against inequity in education. https://

PAGE 8
The failure to fully fund Foundation Aid in New York means failing to fund schools that
the majority of Black and Latino (Latinx) students attend. This translates into disparate
outcomes based upon race. Wealthy districts, where schools spend on average nearly
$10,000 more per pupil, graduate 95 percent of their students, with the majority of
them earning the Advanced Regents designation. In contrast, the districts that the
state classifies as high need and with more than 50 percent Black and Latino (Latinx)
students—districts which all have been chronically underfunded by the state--graduate
69 percent of their students with only 13 percent of them earning Advanced Regents
designation.

FUNDING & EDUCATIONAL RACISM

The failure to fully fund schools is perpetuating educational racism. Educational racism
is evident in many different ways in our schools. The most obvious example is the large
difference in graduation rates and the the lack of adequate educational opportunities
that many Black and Latino (Latinx) students have. A majority of Black and Latino
(Latinx) students attend underfunded schools, which often lack up-to-date textbooks or
technology, have overcrowded classrooms, and do not offer music and art every week
because of the lack of space or teaching staff. Many Black and Latino (Latinx) students
have been consistently deprived of programs that enable their White peers to graduate
high school and be admitted to the college of their choice.

“But today racism has gone underground and modern-day cross

burnings are done with a calculator. We see this in how New
York state manipulates school funding formulas and fails to
adequately fund our schools in our neediest communities like
the South Bronx, Syracuse and Utica or – in my own Long Island.
Assembly district – Brentwood and Central Islip.”16
—Assemblymember Phil Ramos

www.j4jalliance.com/failing-brown-fi nding-and-demands/
16  Assembly member Phil Ramos’ op-ed where he discusses educational racism.  https://www.cityandstateny.com/
articles/opinion/opinion/combat-racism-fund-needy-schools.html

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Report | educational racism| september 2018

Governor Cuomo has been unwilling to prioritize the needs of students in the high
need, predominantly Black and Latino (Latinx) school districts of our state.

Twenty-five school districts out of 674 educate 80 percent Black

and Latino (Latinx) students in the state, and 69 percent of the
students in the state that economically disadvantaged.

Governor Cuomo has been unwilling to prioritize the needs of students in the high
need, predominantly Black and Latino (Latinx) school districts of our state. Twenty-
five school districts out of 674 educate 80 percent Black and Latino (Latinx) students in
the state, and 69 percent of the students in the state that economically disadvantaged.
While two-thirds of the districts across the state are still owed Foundation Aid, 100
percent of these districts are owed Foundation Aid. In fact, these 25 school districts are
owed 62 percent of the Foundation Aid that has gone unpaid. The failure to implement
policies that prioritize the needs of Black and Latino students perpetuates educational
racism.

DATA AND METHODOLOGY

The data for this report was provided by the New York State Education Department
electronic school aid files for the November update for 2017-18. The data for the
demographic information is also from the State Education Department and can be
retrieved at https://data.nysed.gov/downloads.php. To calculate the Foundation Aid
districts are owed, we used the 2017-18 Foundation Aid amount published in the
November update for 2017-18 for school districts and subtracted it from the amount of
Foundation Aid these districts would have received had the formula been fully funded
and phased in. The amount of Foundation Aid that each district would have received
had the formula been fully funded and phased in is published in the same file SED
provides. The 25 school districts analyzed in this report met two criteria:

1. They are all high needs.

2. They all have 50 percent or more Black and Latino students.

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