A town hall meeting was held Thursday night at the University of Albany’s downtown campus to discuss the proposed New York State budget.

The meeting was hosted by Senator Pat Fahey and New York State Assembly members Gabriella Romero and John McDonald.

The Department of Education was a large topic of discussion at the meeting with Trump’s newly signed executive order looking to dismantle it.

Senator Pat Fahey said at the meeting that the proposed budget for education is $37 billion. However, she still stressed the importance of federal funding.

Fahey said that for most school districts in New York state about 7 to 9 percent of their budget comes from federal funding.

“The state has invested hundreds of millions, but that’s only a small portion of what is spent on our free lunch and free breakfasts in this state. If we lose federal funding on that children literally go hungry,” said Fahey.