EAST SYRACUSE – The Syracuse-based Statewide School Finance Consortium weighed-in on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed $132.5 million budget Tuesday, focusing primarily on its 4 percent increase – or $805 million – in state education aid.
The SSFC – which represents more than 350 school districts across the state, including those in Chenango County – is comprised largely of mid- to low-wealth districts which have suffered over the years due to inequities in state aid, according to SSFC Executive Director Dr. Rick Timbs.
In November, Timbs met with members of the Chenango County School Boards Association to discuss long-standing disparities in state aid. Earlier this month, a group of 17 New York State senators – including the 52nd district’s Thomas Libous and 51st district’s James Seward – joined forces to bring the issue to the governor’s attention.
“We give credit to Governor Cuomo for keeping his promise to restore $805 million to schools for 2012-2013. He is putting the needs of New York’s students first and no one can fault him for that,” said Timbs, a former school administrator, educator and union president. “We also applaud the first steps the governor has proposed on mandate reform covering pension reform, teacher disciplinary hearing costs and the creation of a statewide system for school bus purchases.”
However, he added, the governor’s proposal could have gone “much farther” than it did with these first positive steps in the right direction.
“Of greatest importance to the schools that comprise the Statewide School Finance Consortium, it appears that only new funds added to the budget this year will be distributed to school districts based on need, and that the remaining $19.2 billion in state aid will continue to be distributed by the existing inequitable formula that has disadvantaged students in low wealth, high need communities for over 30 years,” said Timbs.
Norwich City School District Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan agreed with Timbs’ – and the SSFC’s – assessment and said the governor’s proposal doesn’t go far enough.
“This proposal doesn’t address the fundamental issue of equitable funding in New York State and the Norwich City School District will actually receive less money than we did last year,” added the superintendent. “At the end of the day, we will receive about $146,000 less than last year, and that’s on top of the more than $2 million reduction in aid we saw last year. I just don’t understand.”
In addition, the SSFC is “deeply concerned” with Cuomo’s plan to direct approximately one-third of the $805 million in new funds to a competitive grants program, said Timbs.
“This is an unproven strategy,” he added. “The $250 million dedicated to this effort would have a more direct benefit on the needs of students if it remained in direct aid to school districts that desperately need the funds.”
O’Sullivan said he believed that money is already spoken for.
“It’s well understood and well known that that money has already been earmarked and targeted for high need, urban districts ... our area will not see that money,” he added. “That’s what is going to happen, mark my words.”