ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester City Council heard from people upset about cuts in the Rochester City School District’s $1.1 billion budget on Thursday.
The budget was approved by RCSD almost a month ago but still needs to be passed by Rochester City Council. News10NBC’s Tom Kowalski reported from City Hall on the concerns.
Part of the 2026-27 budget includes cuts to positions like social workers and guidance counselors. This comes despite the overall budget increasing by $43 million.
The Rochester Teacher’s Association said starting next year, there will be 16 fewer social workers, 10 fewer counselors, 25 fewer teachers and 15 fewer home hospital tutors who help students on medical leave. The cuts have raised concerns from several neighbors and education advocates who say these positions are vital for student mental health.
“We need someone that’s able to connect our families and kids to other activities, to inspire and to try to try to rebuild them again,” one person said. “Because the problem is, we have a lot of these kids who are running out here just wild and unruly because they don’t understand their consequences until it’s too late.”
“So I think that a big thing that we probably could do is try to restructure and try to create programs that’s more effective to the need of now,” the person said.
Rochester City Council is expected to vote on the budget on Tuesday, June 16.
The full RCSD budget is listed below.
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