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February 20, 2001 Vol. XV
No.2
SMALL CITY SCHOOL
LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST AND SEMINAR – MARCH 6TH
The Association has scheduled its annual Legislative Breakfast and
Seminar for March 6, 2001 at the Fort Orange Club in Albany, featuring
assembly and senate education chairmen, Assemblyman Stephen Sanders and
Senator Randy Kuhl and Commissioner Richard Mills. The breakfast will last from 9:00 to 10:00, and then be
followed by presentations on Project SAVE, Charter Schools and the Teacher
Shortages. A luncheon with
Commissioner Mills will then conclude the day’s activities. We urge everyone interested to sign up by
contacting Nancy DePaulo at (518) 462-5300, (518) 436-0210 (fax) or nd@degraff-foy.com as early as possible
since seating will be limited. GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS ON CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING The Governance Committee met with several key state officials on February 12 to discuss charter school funding. The Committee consisted of Tom McGowan (Glens Falls CSD), Jim Lee (Binghamton CSD), Roy Rogers (Niagara Falls CSD), Bob Lupinskie (Glens Cove CSD) and Association Assistant Counsel, Glen Doherty. Meetings were held with Senator Bruno and his staff, Claire Cusick (Chief of Staff, Assemblyman Sanders), and Jocelyn Dax (Ways and Means Committee). In each of the meetings, members of the Committee eloquently articulated the Association’s concerns with charter schools, including the following two (2) recommendations: (1) that aid be provided to address the unintended impact on district budgets of funding charter schools to defray unavoidable stranded or fixed costs; and (2) that charter schools be required to declare their intent to operate on or before April 1st each year to permit districts to incorporate necessary costs into their budgets prior to the budget vote. The Association’s concerns were well received, and all agreed that our next step would be to draft a formal position paper on charter school funding and to make contact with Governor Pataki and/or his staff. ASSOCIATION SUBMITS
TESTIMONY TO JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON THE EXECUTIVE BUDGET The Association submitted testimony to the Joint Legislative Committee
on the 2001-2002 Executive Budget in connection with the Committee’s hearings
scheduled weeks of January 21st through February 12th. The testimony, submitted by Thomas
McGowan, the Association President, covered the small city school’s main
concerns and also commented on the recent decision in Campaign for Fiscal
Equity. The testimony is
available on the Association’s website scsd.neric.org and states that the CFE
decision presented the legislature with the unique opportunity to correct
longstanding inequities in Education Aid. Tom McGowan urged the legislature
not to miss this opportunity by failing to meet the challenge head on. The testimony also criticized the overall
amount of new aid proposed by the Governor as far short the minimum necessary
to maintain existing programs. It
criticized the Governor’s proposals to fold private and public excess cost
aid into the newly proposed Flex Aid, to prioritize Building Aid according to
the need, to cap budgets at 120% of the CPI or 4% which ever is less, and
most egregiously, to remove the freeze on Hurd Aid. Tom McGowan’s testimony also urged the legislature to address
the problems of charter school funding.
Charter school applications have chiefly come from urban areas,
including many small city school districts.
The funding mechanisms place the financial burden on school districts
which are already strapped for adequate revenues. Outside New York State, the pattern in the 30 odd states which
have charter schools is that the State provides at least some funding. The New York law appears inordinately
punitive and burdensome for local districts.
The testimony also made specific recommendations. Please refer to the Association website
for more detail. REGIONAL ROUNDTABLE A regional round table was
held on January 31, at Cornell University’s Statler Hotel, located in Ithaca,
New York. The Association President,
Tom McGowan (Glens Falls CSD) , and Jim Lee (Binghamton CSD) presided, and
those in attendance included Melissa Lawson; Joan Purtell; Chuck Bartosch;
Dan Smith; Don Trombley (Corning CSD); Robert Cole; Laura Sherwood (Elmira CSD) ; Dick
Jurgensen; Bill Kennedy; Ted Grocki (Association Vice President,
Rensselaer CSD); Charlie Winters (Association Consultant); Joe Stoner; Steve
Uebbing (Canandaigua CSD); Dave Smith; and Association Assistant Counsel,
Glen Doherty. The meeting began with a discussion of the districts’ primary concerns. The topics raised by the attendees included the Governor’s Education Budget 2001-2001; austerity budget cap issues; real property tax issues; Flex Aid; Hurd Aid; special education needs; community support for programs; 8th grade assessments; teacher recruitment; length of school year; and fingerprinting. Charlie Winters then spoke at length about the performance of small city school districts on ELA and math tests. More particularly, he examined the performance of 11 small city school districts in Central New York while controlling for the profound effect of student background. More particularly, he used the statistical relationship between the free lunch percent and the performance score to create a predicted score for each district based upon its poverty. The 11 districts performed quite well on this measure. Tom McGowan and Jim Lee then gave a quick overview on charter schools. The overview covered numerous problems under current law including the fact that AOE per pupil is not a valid measure of the costs per child of charter school education and that some charter schools have been approved after a district’s budget vote puts the coming year’s budget in place. A brief discussion of the Executive Budget 2001-2002 then took place. The value of lobbying was stressed, and the participants agreed that contact of their respective legislators was essential.
The panel then discussed teacher shortages. All districts except Ithaca noted shortages, and mention was made that there is also a shortage of “qualified” teachers. The panel also discussed a possible legislative solution involving the return of retired teachers and administrators to the workforce. Glen Doherty then reviewed the CFE decision, and advised that he would be assisting Association Counsel, Robert Biggerstaff, with the drafting of an Amicus curiae brief. The attendees generally discussed the numerous similarities between the allegations made by the plaintiffs (New York City schools and children) and the concerns expressed for years by many small city school districts. Tom McGowan and Jim Lee then discussed the services provided by NYSASCD, and in particular its legislative representation. A number of the Association’s lobbying victories were highlighted. The round table concluded with a discussion of how the attendees might be further assisted by NYSASCD. The Association was asked to push for a repeal of the Constitutional debt limit, and to address the issues associated with the Hurd Aid freeze. In light of the positive response to the Round Table, the Association intends to continue holding similar meetings around the state on a periodic basis. The next meeting is tentatively planned for early spring in the mid-Hudson area. COMMISSIONER’S MEETING
The Association has been meeting on a periodic basis with Commissioner
Richard Mills on a host of general and specific issues. The most recent meeting was held on
January 23, 2001 and was attended by Theodore Grocki, Association Vice
President and Superintendent of Rensselaer CSD; Kevin Barrett, Board member
of Newburgh CSD and Association Executive Vice President; Michael Egan,
Superintendent of Fulton CSD; Peter Nowyj, Board member of Fulton CSD and the
Association; and Robert Biggerstaff, Association counsel. The topics covered included career and
technical education (CTE) “safety net”, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity
decision, teacher recruitment issues, the 8th grade exams, the
ELA/Math exam “cut offs” and special education. With respect to the CTE safety net, the Commissioner urged the Association to express its concern to the Regents that graduation requirements for CTE students are more difficult than those other students. He stated that the Urban League did not want standards for CTE students lessened, but that the Regents recognized that the CTE requirements were more difficult. They have been looking at exams embedded in technical subjects but currently, testing companies are not capable of developing at modifying those kinds of exams in the short term. He stated that they were looking at modifying the five Regents exam requirement for graduation as well as the program approval process (As of the date of this newsletter, we are pleased to note that the Regents have acted on modifications to CTE graduation requirements). With respect to the CFE decision, the Commissioner stated that the
discussion must start with assessing the cost of a sound basic
education. A sound basic education
necessarily includes the expenses involved in obtaining qualified certified
teachers, current textbooks, up-to-date laboratories and equipment. Those costs must be computed on a
regionalized basis. He also stated
that the Regents were aware of the issue of municipal overburden in relation
to small city districts and were aware that the issue in New York City is
further complicated by the fact that the city is not poor and, in fact, is an
average wealth district when considered as a whole. With respect to teacher recruitment issues, Kevin Barrett stated that
some small city school districts were having trouble recruiting and retaining
teachers and not able to offer competitive salaries. The Commissioner stated that the issue of
teacher recruitment and retention must be handled on a broad basis. Any program should include signing
bonuses, an increase in the Teachers of Tomorrow appropriation from $25
million to $50 million, use of para-professionals, retirees and experts from
other disciplines. Districts must
also look at the overall job benefits and job satisfaction of teaching
positions in order that their schools remain competitive. Tom McGowan asked the Commissioner about
the problem of teachers jumping districts and what could be done about
that. The Commissioner stated that he
has been informed that employment contracts are not enforceable and that the
Board of Professional Standards is looking into this issue. Tom McGowan stated that the three-month
delay on fingerprinting causes large gaps in staffing. The Commissioner promised to look into
that issue and get back to us. (As of
the writing of this newsletter, Commissioner’s office has contacted the
Association to indicate that they will be recommending modifications
regarding the fingerprinting requirement to address the issue raised. With respect to the 8th grade exams, Tom McGowan stated
that five exams at three hours each overwhelmed the children and the
teachers. The Commissioner stated
that the Regents are looking into this issue as well and are considering at
least three options: (1)
not changing the current requirements; (2)
delaying these exams; and (3)
requiring testing as planned, but not reporting the results to the
Department or the public. He stated that schools need to know in advance of high school how a
child is doing. Tom McGowan stated
that getting results in October on tests hurts the planning process. The Commissioner stated that due to
certain contract issues that they may not be able to solve the problem of the
timing of tests and test results until next year. Tom McGowan asked how the Department determined the cut-off for school performance on ELA and math exams. The commissioner stated that the Department’s analysis included input from principals and set up a goal that 90% to 95% of children should meet the standards. At 140, only 50% of the children would meet the standards. The cut-off, therefore, needed to be higher and the question the Department faced is how fast schools could “ramp up”. It was felt by the Department that increasing the cut-off by two points per year would take too long to meet the standards. LITIGATION UPDATE A recent decision out of Federal Court in the Eastern District of New
York found that a school district did not violate its director of special
education’s rights under the First Amendment by suspending him for joining a
class action lawsuit against the district and its special education
programs. Judge Joanna Seybert ruled
that Central Islip U.F.S.D. did not violate the free speech rights of Joseph
Cullen. In 1996, parents had sued the
district to prevent it from assigning 25% of its students to special
education programs. Cullen indicated
his intention to join the lawsuit, was suspended with pay, then recanted his
decision and was reinstated. He resigned
his position 10 months later and commenced this action, Cullen v. Board
of Education. Nevertheless, Judge
Seybert’s ruling will allow Cullen to proceed with a second claim of
retaliatory firing under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in which he alleges
that the district discriminated against him for trying to protect disabled
children. His lawsuits requests $1
million in damages. The decision was
published on February 16, 2001. DATES TO REMEMBER
Time/Date Location Activity March 6th.
Fort Orange Club Legislative
Breakfast and 9:00a.m. to Albany,
New York Seminar,
Association Annual 1:30 p.m.
Breakfast with Senator Kuhl
And Assemblyman Sanders
And Commissioner Mills –
Seminar on Project SAVE, Teacher
Shortages and
Charter Schools. March 13th
Capitol
Officer/Board Lobbying (tentative), Albany,
NY. on State
Aid Reform/Related
Issues April 4th or 5th mid-Hudson location Regional Round Table 3:00 p.m. to Meeting of Small City 6:00 p.m. School District Board
Members and Superintendent;
Eastern
Regional Meeting to discuss Current issues May 31st Offices of Degraff, Foy Board Meeting - Spring 12:00 p.m. to Albany,
NY Meeting
of Association Board August 12th Otesaga Hotel Annual Conference, and 13th Cooperstown, NY Annual Meeting of
Membership and
Board
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