Auburn high school students rallied in Albany to address a significant shortage in funding. Officials have advocated for additional funding for several years.
The Auburn School District received around $18,000 per student, and the New York State average is $24,000 per student. Students, staff, and teachers traveled to Albany to make their case for additional funding.
The school board says the funding formula doesn’t favor small city districts, so they’ve been getting less money from the state.
“The gap has widened so significantly, that we get about 75 cents on the dollar compared to the state average,” Ian Phillips, Auburn School District board member told CNYCentral. He says the district has had to cut instructional staff, reduce art and music offerings, and a building was shut down.
Lucy Noble is a junior at Auburn. She spoke at the Capitol steps. “I feel like without this funding, all of these things could be put at risk, and I would not want that to happen for my classmates, or any student that comes to school after me,” Noble explained. “It’s important for everyone to get the same level of education too, so other school districts who are getting these funds, and we aren’t. We’re missing out on things.”
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