School Finance Reform in an Era of Reduced Resources Tom Rogers New York State Council of School Sup

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School Finance Reform in an Era of Reduced
ResourcesTom RogersNew York State Council of
School Superintendents

• REFIT Breakfast
• October 2002

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Current year state budget

• 2002-03 1st half revenue receipts about 250
  million below already depressed projections
• Volatile projections for end-of-year bonuses not
  expected until Jan mid-year cuts unlikely

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Looking Ahead to Next Year

• 2002-03 State Budget swept reserves, fund
  balances (716 million in reserves left)
• Any current year deficit must be made up next
  year
• 10 revenue growth needed to make up this years
  one-shots any additional spending

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As Student Poverty Increases Academic Performance
Declines
Source NYSED
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As Spending Goes Up, Performance Increases
Source NYSED
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The Inverse Relationship Between Resources and
Need
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Viewed Another Way
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The Rich Get Richer
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Impact of Baseline Budget
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The current formulas biggest problems

• Insufficient resources for neediest districts
• Categorical/reimbursement aids are disequalizing
• No relationship to cost of education
• Complexity/unpredictability
• Overlap and duplication

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Insufficient resources for neediest districts

• Evidence
• Teacher Salaries
• Test Scores
• Turnover rates
• Classroom resources

• Potential Solutions
• Build statewide support for a new shares
  calculus gt40 for NYC
• Refocus formula
• poverty
• ELL, and
• regional costs

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Categorical/reimbursement aids

• Evidence
• Spend to get favors those who can afford to spend
• Program minimums more generous than regular
  school aid
• Reimbursement formulas are least equalizing
  (bldg. aid ratio choice, BOCES millage)
• Drives away from operating aid causing minimal
  caps on increase
• Consumes local share

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Shrinking Unrestricted Aid
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Decile Impact 00-01
Increase in Aid Without Bldg Trans.
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Cumulative Impact
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Cost of Local Share
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Remaining Unrestricted Aid
344 million - 275 million 69 million

• Total Unrestricted
• Cost of local share
• Unrestricted aid
• To pay for
• Inflation
• Pupil Growth
• Standards

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Categorical aids

• Potential Solutions
• Set-asides for early reading initiatives
• Flexibility to use funds for wrap-around/summer
  programs
• Drive future increases through unrestricted aids

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Solutions?

• Level up funding
• School facilities finance reform
• Incorporate categoricals in Operating
• Fund professional development
• Eliminate costly mandates
• On-time state budgets

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Principles of Funding

• Adequacy
• Equity
• Flexibility
• Transparency
• Simplicity
• Predictability

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Next year?

• New York Post headline Perfect torm Looming
• Projected gaps
• NYS 5-11 billion
• NYC 5 billion
• Suburbs 1 billion
• 11 billion combined deficits unprecedented

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Next year?

• State Aid? 35 of current year spending
• Legislature planning hearings on standards
  right after election
• Campaign for Fiscal Equity
• Mandates
• Moratorium on unfunded mandates
• Wicks Law
• Charter Schools
• Others?

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Thank you

• Tom Rogers
• Deputy Executive Director
• NYS Council of School Superintendents
• [phone]
• WWW.NYSCOSS.ORG