Yonkers, NY: 22% of students have special needs; 50% increase in SPED costs in 4 yrs

Mar 3, 2026, Yonkers Times: Yonkers Public Schools Face $101 Million Budget Gap for 2026-2027 | Yonkers Times

 Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and Superintendent of Schools Anibal Soler, Jr. head to Albany tomorrow to meet with State representatives and New York State’s Division of Budget to advocate for additional funding to help close a $101 million budget gap for 2026-2027.

Driven by a structural gap created by an outdated Foundation Aid Formula used to calculate funding for New York school districts and rising special education and health care costs, Yonkers Public Schools face drastic cuts in programs and services for the next school year.

“Albany, fund our schools now,” says Mayor Spano. “The successes of Yonkers schools are in jeopardy. Yonkers taxpayers can no longer foot the bill that Albany has long ignored because of the inequitable funding formula. The system is broken. We need action in Albany to prevent cuts in the advancements our schools have made over the last decade.”

The $101 million budget deficit stems from the Foundation Aid Formula that does not recognize the unique needs of the District and underfunds Yonkers annually, compounding the GAP each year. While New York State fully funded the Formula last year, it did not change how the formula is calculated. As stated in the State-commissioned Rockefeller Institute Report, updating the Yonkers Regional Cost Index to reflect the Yonkers District’s location in Westchester County would close a $17 million annual gap, or $47 million under the Comparable Wage Index approach. Without reform, Yonkers faces reductions to programs and services despite the District’s strong testing and graduation outcomes.

Mayor Spano added, “The Rockefeller Institute’s Report very clearly outlines how to help Yonkers schools, so we are asking our partners in government to heed the advice of the Report and get it done. Grouping Yonkers along with our upstate sister cities, where the cost of living and wages are not that of the State’s third largest city, located in the most expensive county in the State, doesn’t allow us to get ourselves out of this hole. We need immediate intervention now.”

Mayor Spano and Superintendent Soler also cite rising Special Education costs, growing 50% in the last four years ($84 million), including special education out of district tuitions that are up 17% year-over-year ($11 million). Additionally, health care costs have risen $12 million annually.

Superintendent Anibal Soler, Jr. added, “Yonkers Public Schools is facing a $101 million budget gap — not because of mismanagement, but because of a structural funding formula that does not reflect the true cost of educating children in Westchester County. We serve over 23,000 students, 73% of whom are economically disadvantaged, 22% of whom have disabilities, and 13% of whom are English Language Learners — and we have achieved a 90% graduation rate, the highest among the Big 5 cities. . . .

Special Education Services: Increase high-cost special education aid and invest in special staffing to meet mandated services and complex needs. Without this support, service delays grow, compliance risk rises and more costly placements increase. . . .