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District outlines $25–26 Contract for Excellence allocations, emphasizes focus on early literacy and high-need schools
Summary
Deputy superintendent and staff presented the district’s 2025–26 Contract for Excellence plan, which aligns roughly $22 million in required set‑aside funding to categories including time‑on‑task, pre‑K, English‑language learners and staffing supports targeted to the district’s neediest schools.
District staff presented the Newburgh City School District’s Contract for Excellence plan for the 2025–26 school year and explained how state‑required set‑aside amounts will be allocated across schools and program categories.
Rothman, the presentation lead, told trustees that the Contract for Excellence (a state requirement tied to school‑age aid) is not additional state aid but a required set‑aside from existing state aid. He said the set‑aside the district is required to hold for 2025–26 is “close to $22,000,000” and that the following school year (2026–27) is projected to increase further.
Key allocations and priorities
According to the presentation, the state requires district plans to allocate funds across specified categories (often described as “buckets”). The Newburgh plan aligns funds to categories that include time on task, high‑school restructuring, teacher and principal quality, pre‑K programs and services for English‑language learners (ELL). The district noted that state rules require 75% of the Contract for Excellence funds to be directed to the top 50 neediest schools; allocations by school were included in the presentation and posted to the district website.
Staffing and initiatives supported
The presentation listed positions and initiatives the Contract for Excellence funds are intended to support for 2025–26: assistant principals, guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists, pre‑K teachers, teaching assistants, parent coordinators and coordinators for restorative justice. The district also named programmatic supports and intervention strategies tied to improving reading proficiency, attendance and graduation rates.
Why it matters: The Contract for Excellence money must be budgeted in specific categories and is monitored by the state; directing most funding to the district’s highest‑need schools is a statutory requirement the district must follow. The plan sets priorities for staffing and instructional interventions that, according to staff, are intended to improve outcomes for ELL students and early learners so they arrive at kindergarten better prepared.
What the presentation did not specify
The presentation referenced school‑level allocations that were “on the district website” and said the information had been submitted to New York State. The meeting record does not show the board taking a separate vote on the presentation itself; it was presented as part of the budget development process and informational agenda items.
Next steps
Staff will proceed with implementation as shown in the plan and will submit required documentation to NYSED as part of the district’s state aid compliance. The plan will be reflected in the district’s operating budget documents and in school‑level staffing and program decisions for 2025–26.
