New Legislation Targets Cash-Strapped School Districts

The New York State Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck), last week approved multiple bills that would help to provide relief to budget constrained school districts across the state.

"Challenging times call for creative approaches to stretch our education dollars further," said Oppenheimer, who hosted a roundtable discussion on education in White Plains on Feb. 11.

With fiscal woes and political stalemates causing many to view the state's government to be in acute disarray, David A. Little, Director of Government Relations for the New York School Boards Association, was optimistic that the Committee's initiatives would provide some monetary breathing room for school districts and their taxpayers.

"Passage of these bills shows the possibilities for sweeping legislative relief for school districts and the local property taxpayers who support them," Little said.

Robert Bradley, Interim Executive Director of the NYS Council of School Superintendents, praised the Committee's efforts and elucidated the challenges faced by New York's school superintendents.

"Superintendents are now facing enormous challenges in balancing budgets in light of state aid cuts to preserve educational opportunities for students while keeping taxes at levels that their communities can sustain," Bradley said.

While the Scarsdale Board of Education won't introduce its official proposed budget until tonight, the 2010-2011 budget draft includes a property tax hike of about 1.8 percent, which is comparable to last year's increase of 1.72 percent.

The draft also acknowledged a 7 percent decrease in state aid from last year.

Sustaining educational services in districts across the state largely depends on property owners taking on additional tax burdens.

The school district has hosted a series of community budget forums over the past two months in order to afford residents an opportunity to voice their concerns.

At one such forum in January, Scarsdale resident Bob Harrison noted that "home values are down 25 percent. We are all suffering and we have to be cognizant of that."

Senator David J. Valesky (D-Oneida), who sits on the Education Committee, said that reducing property tax rates for New Yorkers is "critical to the state's long-term economic health."

Acknowledging decreased incomes and increased taxes for many Scarsdale residents, Parent-Teacher Council President Liz Gruber said at the January budget forum, "this is a challenging year for most members of this community."

Like Scarsdale, school districts across the state are seeking ways to spend funds more efficiently while maintaining existing services. Many of the bills approved by the Education Committee would help districts find the means to use their budgets more efficiently.

According to Senator Oppenheimer's office, the Education Committee voted favorably on the following bills, which now pend approval from Governor Paterson and the state Senate:

S.5523A (Oppenheimer)

Education Mandate Relief Act of 2010

• Restricts the state from implementing new educational mandates after the commencement of a  new school year
• Allows school districts to enter into "piggyback contracts," allowing districts to share transportation services
• Allows BOCES to convene local school and community leader committees to analyze and implement consolidation measures in efforts to reduce costs.
• Allows BOCES to provide auditing services to member districts.
• Allows school districts to create reserve funding for future Teachers' Retirement System contributions.

S.5795 (Valesky)

• Requires greater transparency and input from local districts with regard to costs imposed on localities by the State Education Department's regulations.
• Aids in containing requirements that increase school district costs and consequently add to local property tax burdens.

S. 5559B (Oppenheimer)

• Allows school districts to hire a single general contractor for school construction projects, rather than multiple contractors as currently required under the Wicks law. (This legislation is expected to save up to 30 percent of a school's overall construction costs and potentially save state taxpayers $200 million a year.)

S.6776 (Oppenheimer)

• Allows schools to use funds allocated for textbooks to purchase manipulative models of mathematic or scientific concepts.

S.5637 (Oppenheimer)

• Provides school districts flexibility in carrying out and accommodating the needs of their claims auditing responsibilities, as recommended by the state Comptroller.

S.6777 (Oppenheimer)

• Allows school districts to use remainder universal pre-K program funds to create full day slots and support transportation costs for pre-K students.

To read the aforementioned bills in full, visit the NYS Senate Legislation website.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the Parent-Teacher Council President, Liz Gruber. Our apologies for the mistake.