District superintendents meet with legislators on BOCES Advocacy Day
On Feb. 26, 2025, district superintendents from across the state met with lawmakers to advocate for the coalition’s legislative priorities and voice their support S.528 (Mayer)/A.3430 (Conrad) -An act to amend the education law, in relation to the salaries of certain teachers and aids employed by boards of cooperative educational services.
BOCES of NYS asks lawmakers to:
School Aid
- Fund the Foundation Aid formula to at least the levels proposed by the Executive, inclusive of updated poverty measures, hold harmless and a due minimum increase.
- Continue to investigate needed updates to the formula.
- Fully fund Expense-Based Aids.
Update the BOCES Aid Formula
- Update the decades old calculation that limits eligibility for BOCES aid to the first $30,000 in salary and allow for an increase to $60,000 in aidable salary over the next three school years.
Retain Retirees in the Workforce
- Extend for five years the authority of public sector retirees under age 65 to work for BOCES and school districts without pension penalties or income limits. Without an extension, this authorization expires at the end of the 2024-25 school year. At that time retirees under age 65 would only be permitted to earn $35,000 annually from a public entity before incurring a pension penalty.
Align Allowable BOCES Lease Terms
- Align the authorization for BOCES to lease space from public entities, including school districts, to match the terms for lease agreements with private sector entities. Under current law, BOCES may enter into 20-year leases with private entities but only 10-year leases with public sector entities.
Learn more about this year’s legislative priorities.