By JIMMY LAWTON

St. Lawrence County school districts will receive a $10.8 million increase in state aid for 2016-17, about $3 million more than the governor proposed in January.

The numbers stem from bills that have passed the Senate and Assembly, but had yet to be signed into law by the governor Friday afternoon.

The state will spend $24.8 billion on schools, a $1.3 billion increase over last year, which state representatives say is the largest increase in state history.

In St. Lawrence County, about $9.58 million of the state aid increase comes in the form of operational aid, while the other $1.27 million is allocated for building improvements.

Operational aid, like it sounds, is aid that can be allocated to maintain programs and pay for services, such as BOCES.

This year, included in the operational aid is a new source of funds called community school aid. The aid targets schools in with needs aiming to make them community hubs. This “new aid” accounts for about $1.75 million of the total $10.8 million.

Although initially this funding was thought to be restrictive, it has now been rolled into foundation aid, which is typically the lion’s share of operational aid.

Foundation aid is typically unrestricted.

The budget does eliminate Gap Elimination Adjustment, a move that has been long supported by local school districts, though the savings for many St. Lawrence County School Districts will be modest.

A detailed on report on the aid specific aid amounts going to each of St. Lawrence County’s 17 school districts is expected Monday.