ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- From the Liberty Pole to the Rochester City School District headquarters, parents, teachers, students and other community members marched to fight against a variety of education issues Saturday afternoon. It was an event that took place statewide.

However, there was one topic organizers mainly focused on: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget which would get rid of Foundation Aid.

The Foundation Aid formula prioritizes funding for high-need districts like Rochester. It came about 10 years ago after a lawsuit argued public schools were underfunded. Organizer Eamonn Scanlon, who is with Alliance for Quality Education and Metro Justice, said Monroe County public schools are still owed $173 million.

“It’s a call to action because we really want to have a system that prioritizes every child regardless of ZIP code, income or race,” Scanlon said. “Right now we have vast inequity based off of where you’re born, where you live.  So we want to end that in New York State, create a system that’s really equitable and just for all.”

Rochester parent Pia Moller said her child attends School No. 53 and that school is owed nearly $700,000. She said they can’t afford extra-curricular activities, afterschool programs, and enough social workers or special education teachers.

“We could do a lot with that money,” Moller said. “We could create afterschool programs like tutoring to kids that struggle academically, but also kids that also need to be challenged more academically. We could create all kinds of programming to involve the community and parents.”

Monroe #1 BOCES sophomore and Special Parents Special Kids secretary Juan Collado helped organize the protest because he sees the impact the money could have.

“School No. 9 has more than half of the students are homeless,” Collado said. “We don’t have social workers to help them. We don’t have counselors to help people that are being bullied like me. I was before at East High School.”

Those there said they will pressure lawmakers until the budget, due April 1, is approved.

“A school is really a community institution,” Scanlon said. “Everybody knows that if we have good public schools, we have stronger communities.”