School districts face hard choices amid pandemic-era cuts

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — The school year in Schenectady, New York, started with a whack of a budget axe. Teachers, classroom aides and counselors were among the hundreds laid off with potential state aid cuts looming. The pinch is already being felt in Schenectady, where Pre-K is suspended, online classes are at maximum capacity and the ranks of teacher aides are decimated. As the pandemic drags on, the losses in Schenectady could be a harbinger for needier school districts that rely heavi