Three Village School District Designated Susceptible To Fiscal Stress: Tom DiNapoli

THREE VILLAGE, NY — The Three Village School District is one of eight in New York and three on Long Island susceptible to fiscal stress, according to a report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office.

The district, which covers the hamlets of Stony Brook and the Setaukets, has a fiscal score of 27.6, scoring the least out of the list of eight school districts. It scored 15 as an environmental score.

The comptroller's Fiscal Stress Monitoring System and fiscal stress designations rely on data before June 30. It's compiled using ST-3 reports, which are submitted by school districts to the state's Education Department.

The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System identifys issues school districts, counties, cities, towns, and villages are having with budgetary solvency, or the ability to generate enough money to meet expenses, DiNapoli's office said.

The comptroller releases fiscal stress scores for the various categories of government three times a year, with school districts given a fiscal stress score that is based on several factors, including year-end fund balance, operating deficits and surpluses, cash position, and reliance on short-term debt for cash-flow, his office said.

The higher the fiscal score, the more severe the level of fiscal stress.

Three Village was one of 14 cited throughout the state for fiscal stress in DiNapoli's report, a number that is down from 23 in 2022. One district — Mount Vernon — was deemed in significant fiscal stress, while five others were listed as in moderate stress.

Other districts cited on Long Island include New Suffolk and Fishers Island.

DiNapoli noted the number of districts designated in a fiscal stress category has fallen "considerably over the past three years."

"This year there was a particularly steep drop because of significant increases in both federal and state aid,” he said. “High-need districts in urban and suburban areas, which typically have the highest incidence of fiscal stress, received some of the largest increases in aid. However, the federal aid is temporary, so school district officials may face difficult operational and staffing decisions in determining how to best provide services to their students in the future.”

In a statement to Patch, district officials said, "Although the district remains strong in our overall financial operations, we are not surprised to find ourselves listed as 'susceptible to fiscal stress.' This status is a result of the funds we borrowed from our reserves to support our commitment to offer full in-person learning during the COVID pandemic, which we are in the process of rebuilding."

To read more in the report, click here.