SCHENECTADY — City school board members recently heard mostly encouraging news during an early preview of the budget for the 2026-2027 academic year, even though they won’t be voting to adopt the spending plan until April.
Terry Gillooley, the district’s chief financial officer, displayed a bar graph during a presentation at last week’s school board meeting, showing that the district is projected to receive nearly $170 million in state foundation aid for the upcoming school year — an increase of about $10 million from what it received this year.
State aid makes up the majority of the district’s overall aid, he said, adding that other financial relief is used for “expense-driven” costs, such as transportation, special education programs and building-related projects…