EdVANTAGE Blog

As we reported earlier, New York State was chosen as a finalist in the second-chance competition for a share of the federal government’s $4.3 billion Race to the Top competition.

I would have been stunned had New York not made it this far this time.

If there was a surprise in the selections, it is that the U.S. Education Department advanced more than half the states submitting applications to the finalist stage.  Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were chosen.

The federal Department picked all the states which made it to the finals last time but did not win funding (including New York) and five new states.

Since coming up short in phase 1, New York has acted to advance its standing in addressing several of the RTTT priorities:

Read the rest of this entry »

Last Friday (July23), the constitutionality of the NYSUT-only “55-25″ retirement incentive was upheld in State Supreme Court.

The group which brought the suit (the Empire State Supervisors and Administrators Association) can appeal the decision.  For reasons which have always eluded me, “Supreme” Court is the lowest of the three tiers in the state court system.

The decision is available here.

The Teachers Retirement System says this about the challenge:

“As of this writing it is not known whether this decision will be appealed. The payment of the unreduced retirement benefit to eligible members who retired pursuant to Chapter 45 will be subject to the final outcome of any appellate process. Please watch the NYSTRS Web site for news of any further developments. Members considering retirement under Chapter 45 may wish to consult with their collective bargaining representative and/or attorney.”

Two reports on the economy — one noting encouraging signs of recovery, another reporting on the fall-off in home values in New York State. Read the rest of this entry »

At 1 p.m. today the U.S. Education Department promises to post on its website a news release announcing first round winners in its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition.

March 29, 11:40 a.m. — Education Week is reporting that only two states — Delaware and Tennessee — will be named first round winners of race to the Top funds.  Confirmed by the New York Times and Washington Post.

On the bright side, the majority of funding will remain available for the round 2 competition, with applications currently planned to be due on June 1.

Some news on the state budget…

State Deficit Growing
First the bad news:  On Wednesday (February 3), Governor Paterson announced that the state’s projected budget deficit for next year has grown by $750 million – from $7.4 billion to $8.2 billion.

The widening gap is due to a $550 million fall-off in personal income tax collections and a $400 million increase in Medicaid costs, partially offset by $200 million in lower than anticipated spending in other unspecified areas of the budget.

PIT receipts were actually $1 billion lower than anticipated but the Governor’s Budget Division believes some of the fall-off is timing-related and will be partly made up through later payments.

The Governor is permitted to submit amendments to his budget and will do so next Tuesday (February 9).

It should be expected that the Governor will rely overwhelmingly on additional cuts to close the new deficit.  Since School Aid comprises nearly one-third of state General Fund spending, additional proposed cuts to education seem probable.

Legislative leaders expressed skepticism of the Governor’s announcement – that he remains too optimistic.  The Albany Times Union reported,

“These two-week revisions strongly suggest that the governor’s initial budget submission did not present an accurate picture of the state’s finances,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said.

Moreover, Silver expects the numbers to get even worse as revenue falls short in February and March. He said revenues in those months would need to grow 37 percent over last year to meet the new estimates.

“This level of increase appears to be highly unlikely,” Silver said.

Legislative Budget Hearing
On Tuesday (February 2), the Legislature’s fiscal committees conducted their hearing on the education budget.

I testified for the Council.   I described the choices school leaders made last year to balance competing pressures to hold down tax increases, producing the lowest average increase in seven years, while using federal stimulus aid to save an estimated 18,000 jobs.  I emphasized that the choices for the coming year will be more difficult with more districts expecting to eliminate jobs while still trying to hold down tax increases.  I also discussed mandate relief and the extent of school reserve funds.

Several witnesses warned of job cuts and layoffs.  I was quoted by Gannett papers reporting that some districts fear needing to cut 5 to 10 percent of their staff.  New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he may need to layoff 8,500 teachers.

You can read our testimony here.

The hearing was the debut of State Education Commissioner David Steiner at these annual rituals.

The Commissioner was strong on advocating for for preservation of the Foundation Aid formula.

Associated Press coverage of the hearing led off, “”New York state Education Commissioner David Steiner told lawmakers Tuesday that if Gov. David Paterson’s proposed cuts in education funding go through, public schools may never fully recover.”

On the Commissioner’s advocacy for the Foundation formula, AP reported,

“Each year the formula is frozen, it adds to the eventual cost of restoring it once the economy turns around,” Steiner said of school aid, now just over $20 billion a year. A long delay could make it “infeasible” to catch up to the track ordered by the court because of decades of the state’s underfunding of New York City schools.

A blog post in the Albany Times Union gives a flavor of the questioning.  In years past, it was common for Legislators from the opposition party to attempt to maneuver witnesses into condemning the Governor for under-funding schools.  I saw none of that and take it as a sign that Legislators are wary of raising expectations that they will be able to significantly reduce cuts.

Instead, there were many questions regarding procedures for removing tenured teachers and proposals to reduce school paperwork mandates.

Awhile back, it was rumored that the State Education Department would move the statewide school district voting date up a week next spring, from May 18 to May 11, due to a conflict with a religious holiday.

This provoked some consternation, as well as questions — why not move the vote back a week instead?  In fact, the law only allows the Education Commissioner one option in the event of a conflict — to move the vote up to the second Tuesday in May.

However,the Department has now issued this determination:

Any change in the date for the 2010 annual budget vote and board of education elections will occur only for those districts that request such a change by the Commissioner due to a conflict with religious observances. All other districts statewide will still hold their annual budget vote and board of education election on the third Tuesday in May.

The Department’s complete guidance is copied below and available here.  It advises how districts seeking to use the earlier date are to proceed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued a short report warning about the funding cliff confronting schools when federal stimulus aid runs out, in 2011-12.

This is something we have been warning about for months (see our testimony on mid-year aid cuts, p.6), and which most school leaders seem to recognize.  But it appears to have come as news to the media.

The Comptroller’s analysis notes that this year stimulus funding enabled school districts outside the Big 5 cities to hold tax increases to 2.1 percent.  It goes on to observe that had state aid reductions been enacted without the stimulus relief, districts would have had to raise local taxes by as much as 7.7 percent, cut spending by 3.2 percent, or some combination of the two.

The analysis takes into account both the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds, used to offset aid reductions proposed by Governor Paterson, and increases in Title I and special education aid. Title I funds extra help for disadvantaged students.

The stabilization funding was intended by Washington to fund ongoing operations by preserving jobs and averting tax increases.  On the other hand, the Title I and special education aid were intended to expand services but were issued with ample warnings from Washington to districts to minimize making multi-year commitments, given the scheduled ending of the aid.

Newsday reported that “yesterday’s advisory from Albany drew amused snorts of derision from local educators, who note the state has been discouraging school districts from building up the sort of cash reserves that could protect against future aid losses.”

We’ve cautioned that the state and the schools are heading for the same cliff, and using up reserves now would send more school systems over the edge sooner.

Comptroller Di Napoli says that the stimulus funding has, “helped ease some of the budget pain for school districts and taxpayers.” He adds,

“But that money stops in 2011-12, and when it does, New York’s schools face a $2 billion funding gap. That’s a big hole to fill. The time to start thinking about how to fill that hole is now, not when the money is already gone. It won’t be easy; schools are already facing financial problems. But this won’t just go away.”

The Comptroller’s report does not offer any thinking on how to fill that hole.

In an interview with a Buffalo talk radio station this morning Governor Paterson lashed out at Council President Oliver Robinson for speaking at a news conference last week announcing a legal challenge to the Governor’s withholding of School Aid and STAR payments.  Dr. Robinson is superintendent at the Shenendehowa Central School District in Saratoga County.

Paterson contrasted Shenendehowa’s reserves with the aid withheld last week and complained, “…the cut, the delayed payments that we are imposing on them amounts to $180,000, 5 percent of the money they have so I don’t know what they are complaining about.”

In fact, at the news conference announcing the lawsuit last week, Dr. Robinson said his district could manage with a delay, but noted there are nearly 700 other districts confronting different scenarios.

But the Governor’s slip — referring to the withholding as a “cut,” points to the core problem his action poses for districts — uncertainty over whether they will ever see the money withheld last week, or the even greater sum of STAR money he plans to withhold next month.

Below is a statement issued in response to the Governor’s remarks.  A “pdf” version is available here.

UPDATE:  Here is a link to the Albany Times Union’s report on the conflict. Read the rest of this entry »

Today the State Education Department released a summary of the state’s plan for federal “Race to the Top” funds.

The summary, an introductory video by State Education Commissioner David Steiner, and other items are available at the  SED Race to the Top website.

As a large state, new York is eligible for a grant of up to $700 million, 50 percent of which would be allocated to participating districts according to the Title I funding formula.

The application is due to the United States Department of Education on January 19, 2010.  A note to superintendents from Commissioner Steiner explains that

a critical action item for districts to be eligible for Race to the Top funding is the completion and submission to NYSED by January 8, 2010 of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to confirm district commitment to implement the Race to the Top strategies.

SED also explains, “The MOU must be signed by the superintendent, and preferably also by the local school board president and the local education union president (if applicable).”

The SED Race to the Top website includes a link to the MOU form.

The Council is seeking input from its leaders and members to formulate an organizational perspective.

Today we are announcing that Louis N. Wool of the Harrison Central School District has been named the 2010 New York State School Superintendent of the Year.

Dr. William Johnson, THE COUNCIL’s Distinguished Service Chair and Superintendent of Rockville Centre Schools, said,

“It is clear that his priorities are to open doors of opportunity for every child in his school district. It is wonderful to have someone represent us who is making a merger of excellence and equity a priority in the system he leads.”

Former State Education Commissioner (and Scarsdale Superintendent) Thomas Sobol said,

“One of his most stunning achievements has been, and is now, to bring together the diverse population within his own school district and beyond as well…As a teacher, a supervisor, a superintendent, a college teacher, and Commissioner of Education, I have worked with hundreds of superintendents and superintendents-to-be. Louis Wool is among the best.”

Read more in our  news release.