JACKSON-PLUMSTED – As the deadline for finalizing school district budgets nears and the State Department of Education has announced that any applications for loans for the 2024-2025 school year would be denied, local districts are looking for a solution.
Jackson Superintendent Nicole Pormilli recently testified before a Senate budget committee hearing in Trenton. She told lawmakers that Jackson “has been among the hardest hit by state aid cuts prescribed under the school funding formula known as S-2.”
She also noted that her district has asked parents, staff and other members of the community to help educate decision-makers in Trenton, including the governor and commissioner of education, about what this means in Jackson.
“We are hopeful that continued advocacy will result in a solution. I have to believe that anyone who truly understands what this will mean to the students of Jackson will help us to find a way to preserve what our students deserve,” she said.
Pormilli added, the district has already cut 214 positions including administration, and has also made cuts to sports, coaches and extra-curriculars, reduced advanced placement offerings and high school electives, and is unable to properly maintain its buildings. The cuts were necessary over the years due to monumental state aid losses and rising expenses outside of the district’s control.
Among the concerns shared by school officials are items that are outside the definition of being part of a “thorough and efficient” education that could be at risk. The list includes:
- elementary class sizes soaring to 30
- middle school and high school class sizes at 35-40
- closing schools
- no athletics
- no clubs, band or theater
- no School Resource Officers and a significant reduction of security officers
- no courtesy busing
- no academic supports outside of the classroom
- limited or no Advanced Placement courses
- no late buses
- no facility improvements
- significantly reduced electives.
“All of that combined does not even reach $30 million,” she said. “This is heart-wrenching. We need them to know what this kind of loss would mean for our kids and our community.”
Plumsted Superintendent David Ytreboe said, “our district faces a $2.4 million shortfall for the 24-25 school year. The Department of Education advised the district could get an advance payment on its state aid to allow it to continue operating within this budget deficit.”
“The district would pay the State Aid advance payment over the next 10 years and have a state monitor to review purchasing and operations,” Ytreboe said in a letter to residents.
He added, “our Board of Education and administration did not take this option lightly, but our choices are limited. The district has lost over $6.8 million in State Aid since 2019. The district cut 82 staff members, programs, extracurricular activities, and Advanced Placement courses to sustain these losses over the last six years.”
“The cuts in staff, programs, extracurricular activities, and classes have taken away valuable opportunities from our students. Even though the district made these difficult choices, we still have a $2.4 million deficit. We do not have a spending problem; we have a revenue problem through no fault of our own,” Ytreboe said.
“The S-2 cuts have been and continue to be catastrophic for the district. Additional spending reductions will be harmful and result in additional staff cuts, eliminating some academic programs and offerings, athletics, co-curricular activities, and field trips. The situation is dire,” he added.
Further information can be found at the school district’s website at newegypt.us.
