In 2003, Congress blocked the department from changing how the financial aid formula treats state taxes.

The arithmetic of the aid formulas is not the last word.

Also, retirement savings do not count against the financial aid formulas, he said.

What matters even more is the following year, 1997-98, when a new aid formula, not yet fully devised, takes effect.

Under the flex aid formula, those districts would be able to use the money toward other expenses.

The Governor's plan goes beyond simply changing the aid formula.

Under the current aid formulas, he said, the city would require $25 million for direct operating expenses.

We had to write a new aid formula, then fund it.

The Legislature changed the aid formula to direct more money to districts with high percentages of poor children.

The Administration's job now is to find an aid formula that will appeal to them.