EdVANTAGE Blog

The State Education Department is developing contingency plans to close a large projected deficit in its operating budget, resulting partly from the threat of a deep cut under Governor Paterson’s proposed state budget.

One option would be to reduce the number of standardized assessments it administers, including Regents Exams.  But no decisions have been made.

The Council’s analysis of Governor Paterson’s proposed state budget begins,

“Schools will change as a result of the fiscal trauma state government is confronting… The challenge now is to ensure that the changes to come are the best we would choose given our circumstances.”

The same observation applies to the budget for the State Education Department.

At their meetings this week, the members of the Board of Regents are wrestling with the implications of the proposed state budget for SED’s services.

The budget would reduce General Fund support for SED’s operating budget by $7.9 million, or 15.6 percent, leaving just 7 percent of its operations funded by state taxes, with 62 percent supported by federal grants and 31 percent by other revenues, chiefly fees.

SED’s capacity to use federal grants or fee revenues to support alternative priorities is limited — grants come with strings, and, for the most part, people who pay fees expect their fees will pay for services which they use.

A large share of what flexible resources the Department retains goes to pay for assessment and data-related activities ($40.8 million for assessment this year, and $13.5 million for data activities this year).

The Department estimates that over 60 percent of the flexible funding available to its Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Continuing Education is going for these two areas this year, and that the share will climb steeply, especially as administrative funds from the federal stimulus package disappear.

The Department projects a 15 percent gap between expenditures and revenues for its EMSC Office next year.  The Regents discussed a number of options to address the gap, including advocating for more state and federal support, using more current federal aid for staffing, and shifting from vendor contracts to in-house staff.

But they also had a discussion exclusively devoted to possible reductions in the state’s testing program because of its prominence as a cost center.

Here is the paper which described the options for the Board of Regents.  Among those presented are elimination of all Regents high school foreign language exams and the January and August administrations of Regents Exams.

The Regents will be seeking data on which districts’ students are the most prevalent users of the January and August exam opportunities.

The Department’s background paper also explains that moving to an on-line assessment program would achieve some long-term savings, but an upfront investment of around $1.5 million would be required.

The options provoked protests from members of the Foreign Language Teachers Association and several Regents reported having received letters in opposition (See “State mulls cutting number of Regents exams“).  Some superintendents expressed a general concern that the cuts could result in a diminishing of standards, or at least the perception that expectations are being lowered.

At this point, the options remain only that — illustrations of the kinds of choices the Department might need make.  Recall that in his first months on the job, Commissioner Steiner suggested moving in the opposite direction, adding more Regents Exams — in economics, for example.

Today’s Buffalo News quotes Western New York Regent Robert Bennett, the Board’s immediate past chair, saying wholesale reductions in Regents Exams are unlikely.

Still, as with schools, budget woes are likely to lead to significant changes in what the Department does and how it gets done.