Superintendent of schools planned to meet last week with local lawmakers in Albany

by Dan McClelland

Superintendent of Schools Jaycee Welsh was expected to be in Albany last week as part of “National Lobby Day,” meeting with Senator Dan Stec and Assemblyman Billy Jones to discuss prospects for more state aid for this and other school districts this coming school year.

“I’ll be expressing our concerns over Foundation Aid,” the fundamental state aid piece that is expected to take a big hit from Albany, she told the school board members at their meeting at the beginning of this month.

Also in her presentation to the two regional lawmakers will be the subject of “rising healthcare costs and the lack of affordable housing in our area.

She noted that if people interested in re-locating to Tupper Lake can’t secure affordable housing, it dramatically affects student enrollment in the district. “It’s hard to attract new families to our area when we don’t have the affordable housing to offer them!”

State aid is based in part on the student population of a school district.

“Those will be the three areas I’ll be focusing on in my discussions with our political representatives in Albany.”