Lost in all the noise of this week’s budget fight in Albany was a proposal from Gov. David Paterson that could fundamentally change the unfair way in which school aid is apportioned across New York State.
The change, which would benefit needier districts like New York City, is long overdue. It also is bound to face strong political resistance. Mr. Paterson should stick to his guns in December when he presents his budget for the next fiscal year.
Over the years, school aid in New York has been calculated with dozens of mind-bending formulas — income levels, taxing powers and so on. But year after year, no matter what numbers were plugged into the formulas, New York City invariably received about 39 percent of any increases in school spending, Long Island (championed by powerful state senators) got between 12 percent and 13 percent and the rest of the state the balance.