Calls for an increase in federal education funding have long been made in the United States. Historically, the federal government has been frugal with its school funding; only about 8% of school funding comes from the federal government, according to May 2021 statistics from The National Center for Education Statistics. Compared to other developed nations, the U.S. spends the least amount of its gross domestic product on education at 4.96%. It is up to each school district to allocate the other 92% of funds necessary to keep its schools open. 

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    The Education Data Initiative reports that in New York, K-12 schools spend $23,321 per pupil for a total of $62.98 billion annually. Out of that almost $63 billion, only $3.09 billion is from the federal government. Advocates for more funding are hoping now that the decades-long lawsuit demanding New York to give equal funding across districts has been settled, schools will finally get the money promised to them for years. 

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   "This settlement closes a long chapter of inequity, and demonstrates my administration's commitment to wiping the slate clean and fully funding public education using a responsive model that takes districts' unique needs into account,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul to Spectrum News. 

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    Hochul continued, saying more school funding will also be included in next year’s budget. 

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    The settlement will have a direct in the Syracuse City School District. Although the state agreed in March to provide the extra funding, the settlement now requires it to do so. Syracuse.com reported in April that Syracuse schools will receive $90 million over the next three years.

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    Syracuse Superintendent Jaime Alicea told Syracuse.com that the money means “we will finally be funded equally and it will help us to offer the resources our families, students and staff need and deserve.”

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    For public schools, acquiring the money necessary to run the school is a long process that doesn’t end once the money is secured. In New York, community advocates have expressed concerns that critics will view the extra funding as a waste. 

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   “Some of the schools don’t know how to handle this additional money because they’ve never had the additional money. They’ve been told their whole existence to do more with less,” said Natasha Capers, Director of the Coalition for Educational Justice, to City and State New York News. 

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    For poorer school districts who rely more heavily on state funding, the incoming money is a better option than other methods used to allocate fundings. For example, some states will use a “recapturing” model where they set a spending cap, and recapture money from property-rich districts who did not need state aid and are spending more than the cap allows. The money is then given to school districts that require more state funding. This comes with a price: because the money is being redistributed to other districts, local schools do not improve, which can create a decline in property values. 

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    The additional funding won from the lawsuit is just one step towards improving Syracuse schools and other schools in New York. For long-term growth, it is up to the federal government to provide.