School officials across Long Island say the spending plan proposed in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's state budget is leaving them short-changed.
Local school district administrators say the state is not spending enough money on education. They say the money that is coming is not being handed out fairly, either.
Cuomo said in his address Tuesday that school aid will increase by about 4 percent,with a proposed increase to education spending at about $807 million.
In North Merrick, with a school district budget of $27 million, Superintendent David Feller says Cuomo's figure is just a drop in the bucket.
"Given that the funding formulas are really skewed against Long Island districts, that amount of state aid is really just not going to be sufficient for us to meet our needs next year," Feller told News 12. "It's a major concern."
For the next couple of weeks, state lawmakers from Long Island say they will be lobbying the state for more money for local districts.
The state Board of Regents had recommended a $1.3 billion increase while the Alliance for Quality Education had pushed for even more than that, $1.9 billion for schools.