Parents, students and educators rallied April 27 and pressed city leaders to protect student supports as the district awaits final state funding.

Kerria Weaver

Several teachers, students and concerned community members gathered outside Rochester City Hall on April 27 in protest of the Rochester City School District’s proposed budget.

The demonstration, organized by The Children’s Agenda, Citizen Action of NY and Vocal NY, was held ahead of the budget hearing for the proposed budget where RCSD staff answered questions from city council members.

The proposed budget is currently $1.15 billion, an increase of $37.2 million from last year’s budget.

Concerns have been raised as the district’s draft budget shows funding cuts of about $3 million for district-wide counseling, psychological services and social work.

During a budget hearing held by RCSD on April 21, Superintendent Eric Jay Rosser acknowledged the difficulty surrounding the budget process and how at this time their preliminary budget reflects the district’s best and most responsible planning.

Since the release of the budget, Rosser said, the district has been awarded $4.9 million in grant funding and has reinstated 15.5 social worker positions and 4.4 school counselor positions. The district has also identified revenue that will fund 18 home hospital teachers at this time.

“I want to reiterate that this budget book was published in the absence of a finalized state budget. So while this proposal reflects the more responsible planning we can make, with the information available today, it is still being presented in a funding environment that is not final,” Rosser said during the hearing.

Larry Marx, CEO of The Children’s Agenda, said they know the district’s difficulty balancing its budget each year, especially with ongoing deficits and delays in the budget process from Albany, but they strongly disagree with three key areas of cuts proposed in the 2026-2027 draft budget which are mental health, school climate/alternatives to suspensions and school meals.

“70 RCSD parent leaders in our Very Invested Parents group have been meeting with school board members these past few months to encourage increased investment in these three areas,” Marx said in a statement. “Our children are not ready to learn when they struggle with depression or anxiety, are suspended unnecessarily or are trying to concentrate on an empty stomach.”

The organization was encouraged to hear that the superintendent was restoring some of the positions targeted by cuts, but said the announcement has not yet been formalized in any publicly available, official budget documents and is still only enough to restore some, but not all of those essential positions.

“Parents, students, teachers and Rochester residents are making their demands clear — at yesterday’s rally, at hearings and through the more than 120 emails sent to district leaders — that they need to increase investments in mental health, school climate and food services for students,” Marx said in a statement.

The final budget vote for RCSD is scheduled for May 5.

Original story here: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/communities/rochester/2026/04/29/rcsd-budget-student-support-cuts-rochester/89837646007/