The Association held its Annual Legislative Breakfast in Albany on February 29, 2000 at the Fort Orange Club to meet and have dialog with key Legislators involved with education issues. After introductory remarks by Norma Barton, Association President, and Susan Gray, Program Committee Chair, Senator Randy Kuhl, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, was the morning’s first speaker.

Senator Kuhl stated that we could look for a large education aid increase over the increase recommended by the Governor in the Executive Budget. Just this morning, each House of the Legislature released its fiscal estimates for the current fiscal year showing a larger 1999-2000 surplus than previously estimated. This fiscal estimate marks the first step toward formulating a State budget and is an indication that current State resources will support substantial increases over the Governor’s recommendations.

Senator Kuhl also stated that he personally agreed with the push for higher standards in our elementary and secondary education, but that we needed to modify the Regents approach in some respects. He and Assemblyman Sanders last year had sponsored a bill to raise the compulsory age for education from 16 to 17 years of age, but the bill was vetoed, to their surprise, by the Governor. They will move that bill again and hope to meet with greater success. He then stated that the Senate intends to pass a State budget resolution on March 13, 2000, hoping that the Assembly will do the same, and then move to form conference committees on the budget with a view of having a State budget in place in 15 days, or shortly thereafter. He also stated that it was his House’s intention to restore BOCES aid, special aid for small city school districts (HURD aid) and to provide increased aid through operating aid. He also indicated that he was interested in enhancing the Governor’s recommendations for teacher recruitment, since obtaining qualified teachers in sufficient numbers will be critical in coming years. On the charter school issue, he stated that the fiscal impact on affected school districts will be addressed by the Senate. He also stated that his House was interested in working on the issue of school violence, but that they would not agree to any legislation if it were linked to a ban on assault weapons, which the Assembly had insisted on last year.

The second speaker was Assemblyman Sanders, Assembly Education Chairman, who started off his remarks by observing that the Governor’s budget was a cynical and woefully inadequate document as far as the education budget is concerned. He stated that it allowed the Governor to criticize the Legislature for spending too much by restoring programs such as HURD aid and BOCES aid, which he knows are necessary and must be restored in any event. On the HURD aid issue, Sanders stated that in the long-term, HURD aid may be phased out if there is a replacement aid, but in the short term, and certainly not this year, the freeze must remain in place. He also indicated that BOCES aid must be restored and that the Governor’s budget is $900,000,000 below the cost of "present law" and, as a result, the Governor has not kept promises previously made to communities, school districts and students regarding class size reduction, universal pre-K and other Ladder programs.

He also stated that categorical aids are an important part of support for education, but that greater latitude is needed for individual districts, which can be achieved through enhancing operating aid or standards aid, as examples of unrestricted aids. He also stated that the transition cap must be modified to allow greater revenues to be channeled to needier districts through operating aid. He stated that the Assembly will reject the Governor’s recommendations for a budget cap and a super majority vote to exceed that cap, and he stated that charter school funding must be addressed. On the charter school issue, he stated that he believed it was the intent of the executive to exact pain on school districts with charter schools. The Executive expressed the idea that charter schools would crop up where districts were not doing well and that those districts should experience some financial pain in supporting those new schools. He personally will be recommending some form of save harmless to the Speaker to address this problem.

He then stated that the Assembly is committed to an early budget, some time in April, and certainly before the Statewide budget vote. He recognizes that more money must go to support districts’ efforts to implement higher standards and that that aid must be driven through operating aid or standards aid, but he has a problem with the Senate proposal to reward successful districts because it is often difficult to judge relative success and relative burdens between and among districts. He believes that resources need to be targeted to those districts with the greatest needs and greatest burdens.

He concluded by stating that the Regents approach to the delivery of substantial increases in State aid is commendable in that it targets these large increases to those districts in the greatest need. The CFE litigation is concluding and requires that the Legislature address this issue. He concluded by observing that the Assembly would support a modification in the current austerity budget cap of 4%, or 120% of the CPI, whichever is less, so that it would read "whichever is higher."

Jim Butterworth of the State Education Department was the next speaker and gave an update on the implementation of higher standards. He stated that the results of the English Regents have been encouraging. 92% of this year’s seniors have passed the exam, while 4% have failed and 4% have yet to take the exam. With respect to the Math Regents, 74% of these seniors have passed the exam, 9% have failed and 17% have yet to take the exam. He stated that SED is doing a Standards Implementation Study over a four-year period, which will include a superintendent survey and field visits. He also stated that there will be regional meetings this year and asked that we look for them as they are scheduled. The key issue he believes is the alignment of standards with curriculum and assessments. Also key is the quality of those assessments, and SED is spending much time and money on this effort. Regarding capacity building, he stated that Commissioner’s Regulations 100.2 sub. p, will be amended. New York planning has typically been on a school level, but no one school takes a child through to graduation. Coordination among schools is therefore needed, and this regulation will reflect that.

He also stated that the Commissioner has conceptually approved a second diploma for career-technical programs, but insists that those programs must be of a rigor equal to the academic diploma. A Regents report on school leadership will be coming out soon, as will a plan for regional networks for school improvement. On the issue of accountability, the State is behind other states and the Regents are considering a new system, which builds on the school report card. Schools are currently categorized in one of three categories: above average, below average, and SURR schools. New categories may be established to include high achieving schools and rapidly improving schools.

Assemblyman Edward Sullivan, Chairman of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, then addressed the issue of charter schools. He was one of the most vocal and staunch opponents of charter schools, debated and voted against them in late 1998 when the charter school law was approved. He stated that most of the schools are not well run, well conceived or well funded. He elaborated extensively on the difficulties the schools face and the difficulties that these schools present to public schools. He indicated his strong support for addressing the fiscal problems that charter school funding present to public school districts.

The next speaker was Senator Carl Marcelino, a member of the Senate Education Committee, Chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, former teacher and administrator and board member, and a representative of the Glen Cove City School District. Senator Marcelino indicated that he voted for the charter school legislation, but does not necessarily support school choice, whether in the form of charter schools or vouchers, or otherwise. He believes that the charter school bill is an experiment, which we need to closely monitor. He also stated he believes that the Legislature needs to ameliorate the fiscal impact on school districts and that such legislation is currently being drafted by his House and should be introduced shortly. With respect to teacher certification issues, he stated he opposes the Regents’ two-year masters requirement and also questions the difficulty of meeting the 175-hour in-service requirement. He stated that there is a need to attract better, more qualified teachers to the profession and that teacher salary levels, particularly in New York City, are a serious problem. Schools are in stiff competition with other sectors of the economy and potential teachers are often lured away from the teaching profession by significantly higher compensation packages. He believes this issue needs to be addressed.

The last speaker of the morning was Steven Abelson of the BOCES Questar III, who presented and reviewed the CDEP planning process. He provided extensive materials which we have in the Association offices, including a sample comprehensive district education plan. He pointed out that the planning process needs involvement from parents, teachers, administration, community and students as well. CDEP can be used to incorporate the 23 separate SED mandated plans. SED will be mandating CDEP shortly, but the incorporation of the 23 separate SED mandated plans will only be one of the several planning modality options. He observed the planning could take place outside of the regular school day, depending on what the superintendent is doing with teacher contracts, and that the planning process and scheduling must be sensitive to the schedules of everyone involved, including those from the community.