By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The Massena Central Board of Education finance committee chairman says things aren’t looking good for the upcoming budget process.

“We are looking at cuts … we’re facing some devastating cuts,” Trustee Loren Fountain said.

He says they are preparing for a worst-case scenario. This is because Gov. Andrew Cuomo is withholding 2015-2016 state aid estimates.

“We have an uninformed, bully governor who is withholding state aid runs,” Fountain said.

Cuomo has threatened to not give a state aid increase this year if his education reform package doesn’t pass. It includes a new, tougher teacher evaluation system based more heavily on students’ standardized test scores.

Fountain urged the public to start making noise to state representatives.

“There are a lot of opportunities for people here to get involved,” Fountain said.

Meanwhile, the Massena Federation of Teachers president urged the board to pass a resolution calling on Albany to fairly fund schools. She also called on district residents to stand up to what she sees as an educational system that is not living up to the sound education promising in the state constitution.

Erin Covell spoke during the MCS Board of Education’s Thursday meeting and invited the public to a Feb. 28 rally, which will drum up support for changes to Common Core standards and the APPR teacher performance evaluations.

“What we are seeing is a massive brainwashing, effectively telling people that our system has failed and children are not learning,” Covell said.

Massena Central alone is owed roughly $10 million in state aid. The state is in debt to the school pursuant to a 2007 court case. When the recession hit, Albany balanced its budget by taking school aid away statewide. They have since repaid some of the money, but nowhere near the whole balance.

Covell said she is inviting local state representatives, even going as far to send an invitation to Cuomo.

She says if Cuomo’s proposed teacher evaluation system passes, students will start getting an education based solely on higher test scores than actual growth and learning.

“We’ll have teachers with one goal in mind: Getting students to pass a junk test so they can keep their jobs,” Covell said. “I encourage all of you to pay attention to what is going on.”

The rally is set for Feb. 28 from noon to 1:30 p.m. It will include speakers and workshops on writing letters to representatives in Albany.