Long Islanders are hopeful they’ll soon be paying less in school taxes thanks to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s announcement that the state is committed to paying billions of dollars in what is being called Foundation Aid to districts across New York.

The legal fight over Foundation Aid goes back to the early 1980s with school districts arguing New York wasn’t paying its fair share and that the burden fell on local taxpayers.

“This has been a long struggle,” says Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association Executive Director Lorraine Deller.

Deller says the next hurdle to overcome is revamping the formula used to allocate the money.

“The recognition that costs are higher for schools down here is the key thing for the formula itself to recognize,” Deller says. “Without that we will not see an equitable distribution.”

Around $20 billion is expected to be given out to districts over the next three years.

The Brentwood School District says the money is sorely needed and will be used to hire staff and add to student programs.

“It’s just speculation here, but it could be anywhere between $45 million to $50 million per year for the next three years,” says Brentwood Schools Superintendent Richard Loeschner.

It will be up to state legislators to decide on a formula to divvy up the money.

The extra state money is in addition to millions of dollars in federal relief money that is supposed to be coming.