Hochul’s 2026-27 budget announcement touted full funding of the state’s Foundation Aid formula for area schools. Hochul’s budget proposes a total of $39.3 billion in school aid, the most in state history. Chautauqua County schools will see an overall 1.96% increase in Foundation Aid in Hochul’s budget, with state lawmakers potentially increasing that amount during upcoming budget negotiations, from $257,981,731 in 2025-26 to $263,046,598. Only five districts will see more than a 1% increase in Foundation Aid: Dunkirk (3.11%), Falconer (1.86%), Jamestown (1.64%), Fredonia (5.02%) and Westfield (6.85%). The full proposed state aid runs can be found on the chart on Page A3.

Hochul said her proposal ensures each school district will receive an increase in Foundation Aid.

“The school aid proposal includes a one percent due minimum for 461 school districts — many of who would’ve otherwise not received a year to year increase under Foundation Aid formula,” said Blake Washington, state budget director. “There’s no additional revisions to the formula. There’s no data updates or anything of that nature, which we did a couple last year.”

The record spending on education that Hochul touts is largely coming as part of a 53% increase in universal pre-kindergarten aid that brings total state spending on universal pre-kindergarten to $1.6 billion. Chautauqua County schools will see a 33.85% increase in universal pre-kindergarten aid in 2026-27. The only school districts seeing less than a 10% increase in universal pre-kindergarten aid are Frewsburg, which will receive 1.11% more under Hochul’s proposal, and Dunkirk, which saw an 11.88% decrease from $2,478,781 to $2,184,324.

Hochul said the state was spending $832 million on child care subsidies when she took office. She is proposing $4.5 billion in the 2026-27 budget. Washington said part of the investment in child care is found in universal prekindergarten funding increases. The full proposed state aid runs can be found on the chart on Page A3.

“Childcare, certainly in a home-based setting, for example, or in a congregate setting, but also through pre-K itself,” Washington said. “It’s not just childcare, it’s also educational services of course. But this, when you invest in pre-K, you shave off a year of childcare expenditures that would be otherwise paid through a voucher. The state of New York is well on its way for pre-K universally. We’re at roughly 76% throughout the state of New York and this budget provides for new resources to make sure that every district in the state of New York, the 674 districts in the state of New York, all are providing pre-K for for families that wish to avail themselves of it by the 2028 school year, beginning in the 2028-29 school year.”