The Port Byron Central School District could be in line to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid during the state's next fiscal year.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2018-2019 executive budget proposal released Tuesday has Port Byron among a handful of districts across the state that would see a net decrease in state funding.
Neil O'Brien, the district superintendent, said he believes that drop can be at least partially attributed to a 2015 lottery win in the area. O'Brien has been lobbying state officials for several years over the impact of retired electrician Richard Loveless' $42 million dollar victory could have on the state aid that Port Byron receives. That lottery win raises the district's combined wealth ratio, as a district's overall income impacts the amount of aid it receives.
Under Cuomo's plan, Port Byron could lose $358,035, or 2.83 percent, in total state aid without factoring in building aid. With building ad factored in, the decrease would be $763,154, or 5.43 percent. The total state aid decline would come even as the governor's budget has Port Byron receiving a 1.55-percent boost in foundation aid.
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