NYSUT leader Melinda Person on the changing role of public schools

It’s summer break for New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person and her members. Still, she is preparing to speak in Guilderland at her old high school for the final Foundation Aid public hearing on Wednesday. Person is hoping to communicate her members' needs and concerns. As the leader of the largest teachers union in New York, Person saw a will they or won’t they battle over the future of school aid manifest into a Rockefeller Institute study due in December. The SUNY-based think tank was charged with giving school funding recommendations to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature after they came to a compromise during the budget process that resulted in no cuts to school funding. Public sentiment is being collected and policy analyzed, but Person and others are in agreement that the school funding formula needs an update. 

But Person thinks changes have to recognize schools’ needs for a firm financial footing and the ability to comfortably plan their futures. Districts now serve a role that transcends education, serving as part of the social safety net in some regions, and providing mental health and other community services. 

Though it’s months away, she expects to go into the 2025 state legislative session with strong support for schools from all sects of political ideology, a rare case in Albany politics. The only problem could be Hochul. Last year she proposed an adjustment to the formula to reflect student rosters, manifesting in potential budget reductions for many schools in New York. She backed off that proposal, however, and she has fully funded Foundation Aid while in office. 

Person connected with City & State over the phone for an interview to chat about the state of New York schools, her outlook on what districts will need from a new study and a brief trip down memory lane. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

What are you seeing people wanting to convey through these recent public hearings on the school funding formula?

Well, we've had members testify at every single hearing that's happened so far, and there's been some real consistency in that they've all been asking for the Legislature and the governor to update the Foundation Aid formula. It was created in 2007, and many of the elements of the formula are still using data from back in those days, and some are even from the 2000 census. So updating the formula has been a key theme in terms of using the latest data that's available to us. But also another key theme has been that we are considering the evolution of education over time and the type of services that we're providing our schools. A lot of our members have been talking about how our schools have really become the social safety net for families in our communities, and that our schools are now providing food, clothing, family support and taking care of many needs beyond sort of the traditional reading, writing and arithmetic that many might think is all that happens in our schools these days. So the additional mental health supports and services that are provided, there's just been a lot of increased needs that kids are coming to school with these days. If you're going to have a formula that takes those things into account, you really need to update it with the latest studies, and the successful schools model that they originally used back in 2007 is way out of date.

Has the fear of what would happen to districts’ budgets lessened somewhat with the state-commissioned Rockefeller Institute study on the horizon?

I mean, when you take into consideration the updating of all of the elements of the formula, it's going to cost more, not less, and so the way that this particular study has been structured, and the sort of the language and the law that focuses on fiscal sustainability rather than the constitutional right to a quality education, I mean, that's a fundamental difference of opinion in terms of what is our obligation here. So when the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case was decided and settled, the state agreed to provide a sound basic education for all kids, and the cost of providing that sound basic education is where we should focus.

Do you feel as though once lawmakers have this report in their hands next session, that they'll be willing to push back against the governor in a strong way, as far as making sure schools have what they need, because they seemed really unified last year?

I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that this report is going to disappoint us. I don't want to presume what the results are going to be. I know that there will be multiple studies and analyses that come out and that this isn't the only one. Back in 2007 when we wrote the formula, there were multiple analyses to consider, for the Legislature to look at. And I imagine it'll come together similarly as they update the formula this time around.

Do the fiscal needs of schools change by region in New York, or is that sort of one central set of priorities?

Oh, it definitely changes by district and by region. Regional costs are something that have to be considered in a formula that distributes school funding. These are all things that Foundation Aid attempts to take into consideration. There's a people need index, there's a regional cost adjustment. These are already in the formula and could arguably be changed and tweaked and updated, but they're important elements to make sure that the district distribution of resources is aligned with the district's needs. 

Since the housing deal got hammered out last session, do you see this being the top priority for lawmakers in 2025? 

I’m not sure. The governor, in her first two years of office, made education funding a top priority and fully funded the Foundation Aid Formula for the first time in 30 years, right? So we know that our governor has a history of being a champion for education funding, and we hope that she continues to do so.

Do you think that the beginning of her reelection campaign might play into that too?

The beginning of the campaign? You're already talking about 2026, look at you. I'm just trying to get through 2024. I know we'll be working together with the governor on issues like cell phones and a variety of youth mental health initiatives. You know, I don't think the funding for schools has to be a contentious issue. We have such support on both sides of the aisle in both houses for fully funding our schools, and so I'm not expecting that the governor would be any different.

You mentioned cell phones and mental health. What are some of the things you and members want to see addressed from a policy standpoint within schools, outside of school aid? 

One of the things that we're working very closely with the governor and legislators on right now is a conversation about the role of smartphones and other technology in schools, so I think that will likely be a hot topic in the next legislative session.

Is that something that parents are buying into?

So far, we have found that when there's active engagement with parents about the impact of technology and smartphones, including earbuds, watches and all of the associated tech. When we talk to parents about the impact of technology and these other distractions on learning, on their students, their children's mental health and even on safety concerns, we can all agree that we want what's best for the kids and for our students. So there have been these listening sessions that the governor has been having that I'm sure you've been following, and I think there's a consensus that we need some state leadership on this issue.

Beyond just revamping an updated formula, what can be done to financially stabilize some of these districts?

I know what's really important to our school districts is predictability and stability in the funding from the state, and they need to know that the rug’s not going to be pulled out from under them the next year if they want to start a new program or hire a teacher, right? There needs to be some level of stability so that they can function and operate a program and a school district. So giving districts that kind of consistency and not having funding be not only unpredictable, but history has shown us that we've had a transition adjustment, a gap elimination adjustment and there's just been one when the state has a financial crisis. The schools are thrown into a similar financial predicament as well, and we would love to see that stop.