"Fix it, fund it, it's not fair," Auburn students chanted outside the Syracuse Center of Excellence Tuesday. "Let's make everyone aware."
The Foundation Aid Formula was created for school funding in 2007. It weighs a district's poverty, educational and regional costs, and property values to determine how much state revenue it receives. Some local educators say it's using math to solve a social problem.
Now, 12 years later, they want to change that formula.
"I'd love to hear from someone in this room who's ecstatic about foundation aid and just wants to keep it exactly the way it is," said state Senator John Liu, smiling. "Everybody wants to change foundation aid one way or another. And it is not going to be easy changing the formula in a way that's going to make everybody happy."
Emerson Brown, an eighth grader at Auburn Junior High School student, sat at the roundtable with more than 20 adults.
"Vital programs have been cut, staff have been cut, teachers have lost their jobs," she told state senators Rachel May, Liu, and Shelley Meyer.
She said schools like Auburn need money to keep the arts.
"Creative expression through music, art, or theatre is often the only discipline where many students find success,” Emerson said.
But every person at the table had a change to suggest.
Educators said there are more children struggling with mental health than ever before. Representatives from the Syracuse City School District said the ratio of councilors to students is 500 to 1. The recommended ratio is 250 to1. There are more English-language learners and students with disabilities.
"The needs of our students have increased greatly," said Auburn School Board Member Ian Phillips.
Many districts in central New York have reached their property tax caps. They are dependent on state funds.
There will be two more round-tables in the state, followed by a public hearing in December in New York City, where anyone can testify or submit written comments.