Tax Cut and Investment For Schools Announced

MARLBORO – Senator James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D-Newburgh) joined Marlboro School District leadership and local officials to announce an unprecedented tax cut for residents and a transformational investment for the district on Monday, May 10.

Speaking from Marlboro Elementary School, Senator Skoufis and Assemblyman Jacobson discussed key provisions they secured for the Marlboro School District in the recently enacted state budget. Chief among this needed relief is a tax levy reduction of 3.03%, a nearly unheard-of tax cut that will put money directly back into residents’ pockets. With an overall increase of $1.8 million in state school aid – including $270,000 in first-time universal pre-kindergarten funding to support 42 new pre-k seats this fall – this state support marks a turning point for Marlboro students and educators. Skoufis and Jacobson were also able to waive a $155,000 state fine that Marlboro would have been forced to pay for a years-old paperwork error.

Beyond the bounds of the school district, lawmakers committed a whopping $65 million for southern Ulster County schools, representing a 10.3% increase in school aid funding – the largest increase in history. Skoufis’ district also received $6.4 million to expand universal full-day pre-k throughout the 39th; again, the largest-ever investment of its kind.

“After an impossibly trying year for students, parents, and teachers, Marlboro families can breathe a sigh of relief today,” said Senator Skoufis. “The district’s financials demanded bold, meaningful action, and we took up the call. I am proud to announce this unprecedented tax cut and massive school aid injection, and as a new father myself, I fought hard to deliver pre-k education for all of our youngest residents. The fight doesn’t end here, but Assemblyman Jacobson and I will forge ahead in years to come.”

“While 2020 held extraordinary challenges for school districts everywhere,” noted Assemblyman Jacobson, “I am proud that we have delivered an historic level of school funding, including funding for pre-k, and that Senator Skoufis and I were able to secure a waiver for the penalty against the Marlboro Central School District. This will allow Superintendent Brooks and his team to devote their full resources to helping students learn as we transition to a post-pandemic world.”

“We are grateful for the efforts of Senator Skoufis and Assemblyman Jacobson in securing two new funding streams for the Marlboro Central School District,” said District Superintendent Michael Brooks. “By adding a new state-funded pre-kindergarten program, Marlboro children and families will benefit from a formal early education foundation in a pre-k program. Additionally, and in a significant way, both our representatives have delivered for the taxpayers of Marlboro by shepherding a plan to fully fund the state’s obligation to Foundation Aid that Marlboro has been due for years. Senator Skoufis and Assemblyman Jacobson have provided an economic boost in aid which has been desperately needed for years. The additional funding allows us to maintain high quality student programming while at the same time delivering a budget for our community that reduces the tax levy.”

“Offering a pre-k experience for Marlboro’s youngest learners is one way to level the playing field for all our incoming kindergarteners,” added Marlboro Elementary School Principal Patricia Walsh, “ensuring that all our 4 year olds have the same opportunities as their peers – regardless of economic disparities.”

Senator Skoufis and Assemblyman Jacobson remain committed to ensuring all students have access to a high quality education.