School board skeptical over governor 146 s budget proposal
GUILDERLAND School board members here expressed some doubt and skepticism Tuesday about the governors proposed budget, particularly in regard to educating special-needs students and in regard to rebates as rewards for restrained spending.
Earlier this month, George Pataki unveiled his $110.7 billion executive budget proposal, which will no doubt change before the legislature adopts a state budget.
Pataki has proposed a $634 million increase in school aid, touting it as the largest increase ever proposed by a New York governor. The increase is comprised of two components a $259 million increase in traditional school aid and a $375 million increase in Sound Basic Education Aid.
No increase is offered in operating aid, and aid for special-needs students in private placements is reduced while BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) aid is capped.
While budget figures from the governors office have set the reduction to aid for Guilderland at $1.375 million, Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders told the school board Tuesday that the reduction will actually be closer to $850,000.
This is because funds for the construction at Farnsworth Middle School were counted by the state in 2005-06 while the district slotted that aid in the previous year.
"We’re still looking at these numbers," said Sanders, indicating the complexity of the budget means time is needed for verification.
"This is a proposal...[which] still has to meet with the approval of the legislature," said Sanders. Typically, he said, there has been some restoration of aid.
If the numbers stay the same, he said, it would cause a tax-rate hike of about 1.5 percent for Guilderland taxpayers, he said.
Last year, district residents passed a $76 million budget, bringing a tax rate of $18.55 per 1,000 of assessed valuation for Guilderland residents.
The governor’s budget proposal includes what he calls a "STAR Plus Initiative." STAR stands for school tax relief and reimburses property-owning taxpayers some of their money.
The governor’s proposal designates $530 million for the STAR Plus program, it says, "to recognize and reward homeowners in school districts that restrain spending."
A rebate check of $400 would be provided to homeowners living in school districts that adopt a spending cap. The cap would be set at 4 percent, or 120 percent of the growth in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. Expenditures driven by enrollment increases and voter-approved capital projects would be exempt from the cap. Districts that adopt the spending cap would receive a 2-percent Flex Aid bonus beginning in the 2007-08 school year.
Board member Peter Golden suggested that, if the average home in Guilderland is worth $200,000, the state rebate would pay for the tax increase.
Board member John Dornbush said that getting the tax break would cause "monstrous cuts to our program."
He referred to an analysis made by David Little, director of government relations for the New York State School Boards Association, and said of the cap, "It’s totally impossible and unfeasible to meet that standard."
Several board members were equally distressed with the cuts proposed for special-needs education.
"Any clue why the governor continues to pick on special-needs students and BOCES aid"" asked board member Barbara Fraterrigo. "Every year, he tries to hurt these kids."
Under the heading "Special Education Reform," the governor’s proposal says, "The state’s special education finance system currently provides unintended fiscal incentives for children to be placed in restrictive settings. The budget advances reforms to conform the reimbursement formula for private special education programs to the same formula used for public school special education programs."
Pataki’s proposal also says, under "BOCES Reform," that, beginning in 2006-07, BOCES will be required to demonstrate savings for services compared to existing state-contract prices available through the State Office of General Services. Also, it says, the budget contains reforms to ensure that taxpayers will not be expected to fund educational services that exceed the costs of comparable services provided by individual school districts.
Fraterrigo pointed out that the students who are placed in private, rather than public, institutions are "severely" handicapped, needing specialized services.
Sanders reiterated the governors stance that private placement is the most restrictive while the model is to put students in the least restrictive environment.
"That makes absolutely no sense, of course," said Board Vice President Linda Bakst who serves as the board’s liaison for special education.
The district, she said, already follows the legal requirement to put students in the least restrictive environment.
Golden referred to a New York Times story about students being classified as having special needs who didnt have to be.
"That has nothing to do with this," said Bakst.
Board members and the superintendent said they would be lobbying local legislators about these issues.
