Authorizes the Schenevus central school district to apply to the commissioner of education to receive an apportionment to be used for services and expenses of such school district and to support its educational programs and any liability in carrying out the functions and responsibilities of such district.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7499
SPONSOR: Miller B TITLE OF BILL: An act authorizing the Schenevus central school
district to apply to the commissioner of education to receive an appor-
tionment to be used for services and expenses of such school district
and to support its educational programs and any liability in carrying
out the functions and responsibilities of such district
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To advance state payments to the district of its formula education aid.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 outlines the schedule and formula under which payments, other-
wise due the district, shall be accelerated. The section also outlines
the application procedure and the reports which the district must
prepare to the commissioner and the board of education. Provides for
quarterly reports to the district's ch2ef fiscal officer, the state
division of the budget (DOB;, the office of the state comptroller, and
the respective chairmen of the legislature's finance committees. Section
2 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Schenevus Central School District is a small rural district that has
experienced significant financial stresses during a time of declining
enrollment and revenues. The State Comptroller recently rated the
district as being in "significant financial distress" - one of only five
districts with such a designation last year. In February; the district
announced it was operating with a $700,000 budget deficit, yet the Foun-
dation Aid increase in the enacted budget will only provide a $132,000
increase to the district. Schenevus lacks adequate fund balances to
draw from, and this solution is the only viable method for the district
to avoid violating the tax cap, enacting detrimental budget cuts, or
both.
This distress resulted from revenue shortfalls in tuition and State aid,
in conjunction with higher-than-expected special education costs, which
depleted the District's fund balances. Additionally, its Cafeteria Fund
has experienced increased deficits due to unforeseen cost increases.
While the Comptroller has acknowledged actions the District has taken to
rectify these issues, it is unable to fix the structural problems absent
this legislation or the aforementioned tax increases and cuts to educa-
tional programming.
The district is in the process of rectifying its precarious financial
position, and the 'spin up' of state aid payments as provided in this
bill is part of a plan to stabilize the district's finances. District
officials have met with various state officials to discuss their plans,
and the accelerated payments will assist. Other school districts in New
York have requested and received similar consideration by the legisla-
ture. This funding would be restricted to support of Schenevus's educa-
tional programming and carrying out its responsibilities under State
law.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
No new impact; the bill merely advances the amount the district would
otherwise receive.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
