Chalkbeat NY | Under changes to a state funding formula pushed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City’s public schools have been bracing to receive hundreds of millions less than they would have received otherwise.

The city’s public schools are expected to receive about $314 million less than they would have under the current formula, known as Foundation Aid, according to figures provided by the office of State. Sen John Liu, the chairman of the state senate’s New York City Education Committee.

The city will still see an overall increase in Foundation Aid next year of $539 million, bringing the total to $10.46 billion, according to state budget documents. A Hochul spokesperson emphasized that total state funding for public schools across New York is poised to hit $37.6 billion, a $1.7 billion increase.

Nearly all observers and policymakers agree that the state’s two-decade-old Foundation Aid formula, which accounts for the majority of state funding for public schools, needed an overhaul. A report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government commissioned by the state and released last year also called for significant changes. But Hochul’s tweaks have disappointed many advocates.

“The federal guidelines make no adjustments for the local cost of living; they are the same in the five boroughs as in a rural community upstate, a Midwestern suburb, or a small town in the Sunbelt,” wrote Kim Sweet, the executive director of Advocates for Children, a group that works with low-income families. “While an overhaul of the outdated formula is sorely needed, the limited changes make matters worse.”