PTSA Legislative Commitee
Pittsford PTSA Advocates - Your Leaders In Action
The education reform landscape is New York State continues to change. Your state, regional and Pittsford PTSA leaders stay abreast of information on these issues and continue to advocate for our students.
PTSA Legislative Committee
The Legislative Committee of the Pittsford District PTSA serves as an advocate for improvements to our district with regards to funding and education policy. This committee is a resource for parents, teachers, students, and the greater Pittsford community.
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Legislative actions are an integral part of the PTSA dynamic. The committee’s mission aligns with New York State and National PTA goals of “supporting and speaking up for children—in schools, in communities, and before government bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children.”
Current Initiatives & Updates
What is Advocacy?
In the context of PTSA, advocacy is supporting and speaking up for children—in schools, in communities, and before government bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children.
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State laws have a major impact on education and child welfare. State and local PTSAs can play a pivotal role in promoting PTSA priorities by involving their members in advocacy to help secure adequate state and local laws for our students.
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A Message from Superintendent Pero: Help Advocate for NYS Aid to Maintain Programs- December 2024
Pittsford Central School District needs the community’s help in advocating for its fair share of NYS Foundation Aid. The District’s Advocacy Team has met throughout the fall and is comprised of teachers, clerical staff, parents, administrators and Board of Education members. Its focus has been on advocating for more NYS Foundation Aid, the District’s second highest revenue source. Foundation Aid is the aid all NYS schools receive to fund basic education operations. It accounts for 22% of Pittsford Schools’ total revenue.
Facts about NYS Foundation Aid with Pittsford Central Schools
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Since 2012 PCSD has been underpaid by over $100 million.
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PCSD receives the lowest amount of Foundation Aid per student in Monroe County.
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Pittsford receives less Foundation Aid than other Monroe County School Districts. Despite inflation, cessation of federal COVID funds, minimum wage increases, and costs of energy, PCSD received only $10,737 in additional Foundation Aid this year which equates to $1.75 per student.
The Problem
Pittsford Schools’ primary revenue source is capped annually (tax cap) and the District is not receiving an additional amount of NYS Foundation Aid necessary to maintain programs.
Current Status
Without a change to NYS Foundation Aid, Pittsford Schools will not be able to provide the exceptional educational experiences and robust programming that the District is accustomed to and that students deserve. As the budget process begins for next year, PCSD is forced to actualize $1.5 million in reductions. At the same time, PCSD is advocating for a consistent and predictable increase in NYS Foundation Aid. While the District will use additional reserves (savings accounts) to offset the lack of revenue from NYS, this is not a sustainable practice and will adversely affect future budgets.
Our Beliefs
Pittsford Central School District strives to continue its tradition of staying under the tax cap. Pittsford District taxpayers pay their fair share to support an educational program that is high performing and responsive to student needs. It is time to have a consistent, predictable state aid formula from NYS elected officials that everyone can support and be proud of. Our community should not have to pay more taxes because the NYS budget is not honoring its pledge to have the foundational aid formula fully run for Pittsford.
Advocacy Campaign
Many of our District leaders will be meeting with members of the New York State Assembly/Senate, Governor’s Office and NYS Education Department to share data regarding the District’s lack of funding and request an appropriate and fair increase in NYS Foundation Aid.
Action
Pittsford Schools’ Advocacy Team is asking you to advocate with them by contacting legislators via phone, email, mail or personal meetings.
Visit www.pittsfordschools.org/advocacy to access a sample letter you can use. Below are URLs to find your NYS elected official and their contact information:
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State Assembly: www.nyassembly.gov/mem/search
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State Senator: www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator
Thank you for your continued support of Pittsford Schools.
In 2019 our objective was to secure full foundation aid for all of our students. Currently, our Kindergarteners are considered .5 students, which equates to half of the necessary foundation aid funding from the state. Working collaboratively with our District Advocacy Team and Pittsford Cares, we aim to clarify this formula and further reduce the gap in funding for our schools.
District Advocacy Steering Committee updates can be found below in the Related Files.
How you can help
There are many ways to be an advocate! Here are some ideas:
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Meet with school leaders to discuss a topic of importance to the district
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Attend a school board meeting and/or serve on the school board
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Work with school and state leaders to implement strong family engagement policies
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Sign up for the National PTA Takes Action Network to get updates on important federal policies and send messages Congress
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Check the state PTA’s website to see if they have a network
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Write a letter to the editor to stress the importance of family engagement and other PTSA policy priorities
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