New York Governor Kathy Hochul released the executive budget for Fiscal Year 2023. The $216 billion dollar budget includes several positive proposals for New York state yeshivos and nonpublic schools. The budget allocates $295 million for nonpublic schools, an increase of 18%.
This includes:
· $193 million for mandated services.
· $45 million for health and safety projects. This is triple last year’s $15 million allocated for the Nonpublic School Safety Equipment (NPSE) program. In addition to enhancing the security of our children at schools, an increasing concern today, the program will expand to include additional allowable expenses, such as critical repair and maintenance of school facilities.
· Authorizing any unmet federal Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) to be used to reimburse schools for allowable pandemic related costs through the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund (GEERS), so that these federally allocated funds can still be used by nonpublic schools.
· $55 million for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) instruction.
· $25 million for Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes Grant
· The unprecedented quantitative and qualitative expansion of the NPSE program and the commitment to retain the significant amount of remaining EANS funds for nonpublic school use were two primary requests by Agudath Israel and its coalition partners to the Governor’s office this legislative session. Mr. Shlomo Werdiger, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Mr. Chaskel Bennett, Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, and Rabbi Avrohom Weinstock personally met with the Governor on these two issues, and members of that group, with the addition of Rabbi Yehoshua Pinkus, similarly met later with NYS Budget Director Robert Mujica. Agudath Israel is grateful that the Governor was receptive to these requests, and appreciates her support to our community.
Note that this is only a proposed budget and, of course, it must be negotiated with the State Senate and State Assembly. The final budget is scheduled for passage before April 1st.
May we merit siyata diShmaya in the final enacted budget.
