The Buffalo Public School District is expected to receive an increase in state under the new budget agreement. The city school district will see a more than a 4.3 percent increase in aid.
They’re expected to receive $23.3 million more in state funding. The funding announcement comes as the school district faces a more than $50 million budget deficit. Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Pamela Brown says the increase in aid will help with some funding gaps, but not all.
“That will certainly help to offset that budget deficit, but it won't help cover it completely. So, we are continuing our discussions with the school board to make sure we know what our priorities are. We look at our strategic plan and see the strategies are that we're going to use in order to increase student achievement," said Brown.
Brown says the district will do its best to stay far away from cuts that would directly affect students in the classroom. She says they are “very grateful” for the increase as they explore ways to cut the school budget.
"We certainly want to make sure that we are staying as far away from making cuts to the child's experience inside the classroom as possible. That is our top priority, because that is where our student achievement has the greatest potential to increase and that is our core mission for our district," said Brown.
The District balanced its budget the last couple of year's by using its fund balance. The final school district budget plan is expected to be adopted by May 25th.