Copiague schools to cut staff to close budget gap from lack of state aid

The district says it was not expecting to lose 20% of its aid, and received notice that it would continue.

News 12 Staff

Sep 1, 2020, 10:51 AM

Updated 1,494 days ago

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The Copiague School District has announced it is making cuts brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The superintendent announced in a letter to families on the district website last night that they were forced to cut teacher and staff positions, programs, and resources because of less funding from the state.
The district had to close schools and switch to remote learning in the spring and as it reimagined how to teach students this fall, it faced more challenges.
Officials say districts in the state knew there would be less aid because of the pandemic, and in Copiague they built it in to their budget. However, the district says it was not expecting to lose 20% of its aid, and received notice that it would continue.
Parents with kids in neighboring districts are fearful of what's to come for their schools.
State aid is what makes up about 50% of the Copiague district's revenue budget.
The district did not go in to specifics about where exactly cuts were made, they just say they tried to make it so students would feel as little impact as possible.