The New York State Assembly and Senate have released their “one house” budget bills in response to the Executive Budget proposed earlier in the year by the Governor.
Many of their proposals in line with proposals I have suggested to you in our previous newsletter.
It is hoped that there will be an on-time budget this year (by April 1) so now is the time in discuss your interests and concerns with local state representatives.
Below is a comparison of the Assembly and Senate “one house bills” and a list of items commonly mentioned items as worthy of a conversation with local state legislators. You may have more items of your own, but this list will get the conversations started.
- Oppose: Freezing state aid to the November Data Base; this would hurt school districts as the data would not be updated to reflect the true aid eligible payments and thus, they would not be paid to the school district.
- SSFC: This proposal has never been adopted and there is no reason for it… continue to press forward and oppose this item.
- Support: Transportation Aid for the transportation for 4-year-old children for Pre-K programs
- SSFC: We see no concrete progress here, but it is important. Keep insisting on it. Both houses of the legislature have supported the study of Universal Pre-K however.
- Oppose: Hi Impact Tutoring Set-Aside- Foundation Aid is supposed to be unrestricted aid.
- SSFC: Both the Assembly and Senate have pushed back on this item. As we have often said Foundation Aid was intended to be unrestricted aid. We could get this one.
- Support: Increase Unrestricted Unappropriated funds to 10% of the following years budget to enhance cashflow and as a buffer against inflationary trends
- SSFC: There appears to be no progress here. Legislators are unaware that many school district long-range financial plans are strained 4 to 5 years out.
- Support: Extending the Retiree Earnings Exemption to enable district to meet labor needs
- SSFC: The is some support for this approach. There are many shortages in areas critical to the education of students; let’s not let this one slip away.
- Support: The increase of the Capital outlay program to an amount of $250,000 and allow the use of the funds in multiple buildings simultaneously.
- SSFC: Both the Senate and Assembly are in support of expanding capital a programs $250,000.
- Support: Streamlining Reporting requirements; eliminate the state transparency reporting requirement as it is an unnecessary duplication of the Federal reporting requirements.
- SSFC: Both the Assembly and Senate have supported the elimination of this transparency reporting requirement duplication.
- Support: Increase in CTE funding; increase aid eligible salary amount to $60,000
- SSFC: Both the Assembly and Senate have supported an increase in eligible salary amount for state aid for CTE funding related and related CTE instruction to salary amounts less than our suggested $60,000; but it is an improvement and a movement in the right direction.
- Support: Adjustments to the Tax Cap- PILOTs should be included in the tax base growth factor as they represent actual increases in tax base; allow for pension costs to be included as exclusion if they increase over 4% of the preceding year.
- SSFC: We have found no progress on this one from the Assembly or the Senate; we knew this was going to be a tough one what an important one.
- Oppose: Charter School Expansion: state support for this system is untenable, unnecessary and diverts funds from the actual public-school systems the constitution requires to be protected.
- SSFC: We are happy that both the Assembly and Senate rejected the expansion of charter schools; and with it would have been an expansion in the Charter School Transition Aid in so much to support the Charter School Expansion; that would simply diminish its ability to pay other aid categories over time.
- Support: Universal Student meal programs; provide help for low-income families as the school district meal programs are simplified and made more efficient.
- SSFC: Thankfully both the Senate and the Assembly are in support of universal student meal programs. It is the right thing to do.
- Support: The creation of a “Blue Ribbon Commission” to study Foundation Aid; its equity and adequacy. A8 S10
- Encourage the “costing out” of the genuine cost of education in NYS; upgrade the CWR calculation; increase weighting in the formula for Students with Special Needs, English Language Learners, and other demographic categories including the school districts that are rural and deal with sparsity.
- SSFC: While both the Assembly and the Senate provide funds for the study of the Foundation Aid formula and its subsequent funding mechanisms, details on what that exactly entails are sketchy at this point. There is no doubt that such a study is needed but how it would be conducted and expectations for participants and how they are chosen will be extremely important; we will have to keep an eye on this one.
- Support: The payout of the Prior Year Que; funds owed to school district for recognized clerical errors.
- SSFC: The suggestion from the Senate is to provide $36 million to start eliminating the prior year queue as a funding mechanism. It is far from perfect this is a step forward.
- SSFC: We need the Assembly to follow suit with funding as well.
- SSFC: There are additional proposals from both houses to study Universal Pre-K programs and how to fund them which we are happy to see. This includes you UPK funding that can be used for current students as well as starting other items related to universal pre K.
- SSFC: Both houses have also rejected Zero-Emission reporting requirements and wish to make electrification studies Transportation Aid eligible. We have seen nothing on moving this mandate back or any alterations to it.
Remember, you don’t have to go to Albany to get your suggestions and ideas across. Legislators are usually in home offices on Fridays before the budget is developed. Perhaps multiple school board members from multiple school districts could coordinate their visits to be more effective and efficient.
If I can assist in anyway, please give me a call.
Rick
