Marlboro to see more State Aid and Universal Pre- K

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 5/12/21

State Senator James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D-Newburgh) held a joint press conference at the Marlboro Elementary School on Monday to formally announce increases in …

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Marlboro to see more State Aid and Universal Pre- K

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State Senator James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D-Newburgh) held a joint press conference at the Marlboro Elementary School on Monday to formally announce increases in funding in a number of key areas.

Skoufis pointed out that the state, “has been shortchanging Marlboro for many years,” in the amount of Foundation Aid they receive. He said in this year’s state budget Marlboro will see a 24% increase in state aid from last year.

“In raw terms that’s a 1.8 million increase in base aid,” he said. “This is not a one shot, this is in the base now, not just this year, but next year and the year after, in perpetuity. Next year we’ll try to build on it, but they can take it to the bank that this is new and sustainable money – for classrooms, for educators, for extra curricular programs, for getting all of our kids back into the classrooms safely coming out of this pandemic, which is a costly venture as any school official will tell you.”

Skoufis added to the good news; pointing out that within the $1.8 million there is $270,000 earmarked to fund universal pre-kindergarten that will pay for 42 new, full day pre-k seats this September. He added that this is also, “not a one shot” deal but will happen each year moving forward.

Skoufis and Jacobson were also able to have a $155,000 state fine against the district waived because of a clerical error due to missing a deadline to submit certain paperwork on an old capital project to the NYS Education Department.

Skoufis said because of the new state aid money, school taxes will be going down by 3.03% in Marlboro.

“That is basically unheard of, not just in Marlboro, but anywhere in this region or anywhere in the state,” Skoufis said. “The school district will be able to increase programming, will be able to better fund our classrooms and cut taxes in the process. It doesn’t get a bigger win than that. This is a huge set of victories for the Marlboro school district.”

Assemblyman Jacobson said the increase in school aid, “did not come out of the air,” He credits Superintendent Mike Brooks and Town Supervisor Al Lanzetta for their ongoing advocacy for their district and town.

“This is a 24% increase, that’s incredible,” he said. “It’s impressive that you are already giving some of the money back to the taxpayers, which is something that is unheard of. As far as pre-k, it’s so important because it’s probably the one thing that the most determinative of the outcome of students as they function and thrive as adults.”

Superintendent Brooks said Marlboro is known for their relentless pursuit of excellence.

“Yes I am relentless on this and our board of education has challenged all of us to be fiscally responsible and to make sure that children are at the front in all the decisions that we make. With the delivery of this aid package, this is what allows us to keep fantastic programming in the gem of the Hudson Valley, which is Marlboro,” he said. “Come here for the wine, come here for the apples and stay here for the community. It is a fantastic place to be and I am proud to be the shepherd of all of this, but honestly our board of education challenges us to do better every single day. With this aid package and with the way we have been able to stabilize our finances, we can reduce taxes and maintain high quality programming and we’re seeing our graduation rates soar. We’re producing fantastic children.”

Town of Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquado, complemented all who have made this possible, pointing out that Supervisor Al Lanzetta and Superintendent Michael Brooks, “are very easy to work with and any past divisions have all been resolved. These people are communicators and have only one thing in mind, the interests of the students in this district.”

Marlboro School Board President Frank Milazzo thanked Sen. Skoufis and Assemblyman Jacobson for their help and support of this critical matter.

“We’ve been fighting this fight for foundation aid to be able to assist the taxpayers,” he said. “This is a great school district, we offer a lot of programs because the community is very supportive.”

Elementary School Principal Patricia Walsh said the school is proud to now offer pre-k.

“Universal pre-k is one way to help level the playing field for our incoming kindergarten children and we are very fortunate that in addition to the academic components that it will help, reading and math skills, it will also help with social and emotional skills and cognitive development in many other areas,” she said. “Thank you to everyone for making this happen, we are beyond excited.”