EdVANTAGE Blog

Each Friday since the state missed adopting a budget in time for the April 1 start of its fiscal year, Governor Paterson has been sending the Legislature emergency spending bills to keep state government operating for another week.

This past Friday, the Governor included a proposal to authorize the state to delay School Aid payments due at the beginning of June until the end of that month.

Of course this is not welcome news.

But what is welcome is the change in the administration’s approach.

The Albany Times Union reported that State Budget Director Robert Megna explained that the state would make approximately $2 billion in payments on June 1st, and $1.5 billion by June 30th.

The June payments include roughly $2.1 billion ordinarily paid in March, but delayed, with only one day’s notice to school districts.

The Council, New York State School Boards Association, New York State United Teachers, and the School Administrators Association of New York State have filed two lawsuits challenging past aid delays, in December and March.

In a statement the groups said, “The primary goal of both these lawsuits is to ensure that state officials follow state laws, as they have sworn to do.”

But we added,

Like the Governor, school boards and superintendents must oversee budgets. We respect the cash-flow difficulties the state faces and school districts are willing to be part of a solution. But any solution must give schools adequate warning to plan for payment delays, a date by which they can count on being paid in full, and it must be done by amending laws for this one-time emergency, not by ignoring them.

It seems the Paterson Administration has tried to address our concerns.

We’ve been given more than two weeks warning of the potential delay.  It would be implemented by a proposed one-time change in the law prescribing the aid payment schedule. And the bill would promise payment on or before June 30th.

Our lawsuits are still being pursued, to prevent the precedent of state officials disregarding enacted laws defining aid formulas and payment procedures.

Also, we are still evaluating the specific language proposed by the Governor, and working to understand how delays might affect all districts.  I’ve noted to some reporters and policymakers the unusual summer cash flow of school districts: Most have little or no revenue coming in until property taxes and state aid start up in the fall and some have large June payrolls due to teachers who have deferred pay throughout the year to provide one large check for the summer months.

But the change in approach is welcome and we appreciate the chance to evaluate and plan for the potential delay.