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Vol. XIV, No. 9

LEGISLATIVE ALERT

VIA FACSIMILE

TO:              NYS Association of Small City School Districts

FROM:         Robert E. Biggerstaff, Esq.

DATE:         April 11, 2000

RE:              State Budget 2000-2001

______________________________________________________________________________

          The Education Subcommittee on the State Budget reconvened on Monday, April 10, 2000.  Senator Kuhl, Co-Chairman, stated that Legislative staff talked over the weekend about Ladder, Building Aid and Operating Aid generally but that no agreement has yet been reached, except that they believe that sufficient funds exist to accommodate concerns raised by both the Senate and the Assembly.

          Assemblyman Sanders and Senator Kuhl then reviewed the areas of agreement that were reached over the weekend:

          a.       Up to four conference days can be authorized;

          b.       STAR reconciliation payment will be made by March 31st of each year;

          c.       The Teacher Certification Board will be renamed the State Professional Practices Board;

          d.       Reorganization Incentive Building Aid will be extended for two years to 2001-2002;

          e.       Attendance Improvement Aid will be subject in New York City to a one-third set aside for community organization;

          f.        Security cameras will be reimbursed through Building Aid, but handheld metal detectors will not;

          g.       Additional funding support for Facilities Planning at SED was approved in the amount of at least $100,000;

          h.       The Albert Shanker Teacher Grant Program was restored at $1,000,000;

          i.        Teacher Centers were restored and increased from $20,000,000 to $30,000,000; and

          j.        The Mentor Intern Program was restored.

          Sanders then stated that the goal was to conclude deliberations by Tuesday, April 11th.  Kuhl indicated that the Senate still supported a PASS Program to reward school district success.  Sanders stated that the Assembly needed more detail on the PASS Program and needed to ensure that districts were rewarded for incremental improvement.  Kuhl agreed with this and suggested that one-half of any sum be made available to high performing districts, perhaps defined as districts where 55% or more of the students have reached goals, and one-half of the sum would be paid to lower performing schools that showed district-wide improvement.  Senator Seward then stated he believed there was a need in any overall aid package to emphasize Operating Aid in order to give districts greater flexibility to achieve standards and to make Ladder dollars not accessed by districts available to them.  Sanders indicated that reform of the transition cap accomplishes the goal of greater flexibility and drives more dollars to districts through Operating Aid.  He also stated that regarding Ladder, his conference was not willing to renegotiate the overall amount, only Pre-K was not fully used in Ladder Programs, and much of that can be blamed on the uncertainty of the continuation of funding.  Assemblywoman John stated that Ladder was aimed particularly at poor children and districts and should benefit those districts with the weakest funding support.  Kuhl stated that 15-20% of Pre-Kindergarten Aid has not been spent and that when funding grows for this program, this unspent amount will be even greater and should not be lost.  John indicated that districts chose not to use funds for a Pre-K Program, not that they cannot use them.

          Assemblyman Flanagan stated that the most important thing for districts is continuity and predictability of funding, which will enable them to plan responsibly whether or not to opt to institute a Pre-Kindergarten Program.  Sanders stated that unrestricted aid authorized by the Assembly Budget Resolution was $398,000,000, and in the Senate Budget Resolution, $350,000,000, and that the Assembly fully funds the Ladder Program.  Kuhl stated that the Senate gives a higher percentage of its overall aid package to unrestricted aid and the Assembly, in addition, wants to eliminate Tax Equalization Aid which hurts many districts.  The Senate does not oppose, however, the elimination of the transition aid cap.  Assemblyman Tonko expressed concern over the proposed decrease in Building Aid through the reforms proposed regarding the loss of earned interest.  Kuhl stated that $181,000,000 in Building Aid that had been appropriated in 1999-2000 was not spent, and that this needs to be addressed and certainly needs not to be repeated in 2000-2001.  Tonko stated his districts want to reject the Governor's Building Aid Reform.  Seward stated that the Senate is not recommending retroactive cuts in Building Aid, but only prospective cuts.  Tonko stated that his concern is for new projects which are needed to address the higher standards or to replace or repair deteriorating facilities.  The Governor's proposal will have a serious impact on the local property tax payer.  He then stated that he had concern whether all issues would be addressed by the Education Subcommittee within the $630,000,000 allocation, or whether some issues would be referred to the Conference Committee.  Sanders replied that it was the Subcommittee's intention to address all issues that have been placed on the table.

          They then recessed until 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday,* April 11, 2000.

* As of 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11, 2000, the scheduled Education Subcommittee meeting was postponed indefinitely, along with several other Subcommittees, due to highly contentious negotiations earlier with the Division of Budget.  This postponement will undoubtedly affect the proposed timetable for Budget passage, but just how much remains to be seen.

REB/kas

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