Syracuse school district requests more state aid

As the Syracuse City School District goes into its budget process, it’s looking at a $24 million spending gap, a revenue problem stemming from years of stagnant state aid in the face of rising educational costs. The District’s Chief Financial Officer, Suzanne Slack, decided to name this year’s budget report after a weather event. She saw a news story about frigid temperatures this winter caused by the Polar Vortex. “It made me laugh because I really felt like here in Syracuse we’ve had a Polar Vortex for six years, because our foundation aid has been frozen just about that entire time,” Slack said. Foundation Aid is the school spending that comes out of the state’s general fund. It provides the bulk of school revenues and has risen two percent over six years. During four of those six years the aid remained frozen. While aid from the state has remained nearly the same, the districts proposed budget is $372 million, a seven percent increase over last year. Reasons for the increase range