Meeting of the Board of Regents | November 2008

	THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234
TO:
FROM:		Theresa E. Savo
SUBJECT:		2009-2010 Budget Development Process
DATE:		November 7, 2008
STRATEGIC GOAL:		Goals 1-6
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

Executive Summary

 

 

Issue for Decision

 

Approval of the proposed 2009-2010 Regent Budget Priorities.

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

This is the final step in the 2009-2010 budget and legislative development process.

 

Proposed Handling

 

              Discussion

 

Procedural History

 

          The Department budget and legislative proposals are developed over several months and involve staff from all areas of the Department. The Department budget and legislative proposals are expected to:

 

• be linked to the Department’s strategic plan and the 24-month calendar;
• achieve the outcomes established by the Regents Goals; and
• include all program areas in the development process.

 

 

 

Background Information

 

Each year the Commissioner and Deputies review the existing initiatives, make necessary adjustments, additions or deletions and then involve the respective Regents Standing Committees in the review and evaluation of the recommended budget and legislative priority areas, themes and initiatives for the upcoming year.  Thedraft budget and legislative priority areas, themes and initiatives, reflecting any changes recommended by the Regents Standing Committees, are reviewed with the Full Board which then acts on the final budget and legislative and State Aid proposals.

 

Recommendation

 

I recommend that the Board of Regents approve the 2009-2010 Regents Budget Proposal as presented.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

              N/A

 

 

Attachments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF 2009-2010

REGENTS BUDGET PRIORITIES

($ Millions)

                                                                                                           Request

I.  Ensure Program Stability for School Districts

 

State Aid -- Maintain Foundation Aid Formula                                             TBD

 

II. Maintain Core State Education Department Operations

 

Fee increases (no General Fund impact)

 

        Stabilize funding for program operations through fee adjustments:

 

• Cultural Education fee increase ($7.50 per transaction)                                       $18.0
• Office of Professions fee increase (10%)                                                                       $4.0

                                                                                              Total Revenue Increase:          $22.0

 

      
Level Funding for General Fund State Operations
 

 

Raise student achievement with existing resources through data, best practices and organization and maintain support for key operations.

 

Level Funding for Special Revenue Operations
 

 

No further reductions in revenue generating accounts such as: Professions, Cultural Education, Proprietary School Supervision, Teacher Certification, and Departmentwide Cost Recovery.

 

• Maintain Aid to Localities Programs Administered by SED

 

To the extent feasible, under the current State fiscal situation, these programs should be maintained.  They each fall into one or more of the following three categories:

 

 

A description of proposed fee increases and a complete listing of Aid to Localities programs showing current funding levels are included in Appendix A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX A

2009-2010 REGENTS BUDGET PRIORITY DETAIL

 

i. ensure program stability for districts

 

• s
  tate Aid – Maintain Foundation Aid Formula

 

II. Maintain core state education department operations

 

Fee Increases (no General Fund Impact)

 

Program Area:  Cultural Education

 

• 
  Stabilize funding for the Cultural Education (CE) Account
  
                       $7.50 fee increase

 

The Cultural Education account was created by an act of the Legislature in 2002, which also transferred to it all Office of Cultural Education functions previously supported by state General Fund operations appropriations.  It provides a major share of the operational funding for the State Museum, State Archives, State Library, and Office of Public Broadcasting and Educational Television. The fund also provides annual support of $1,200,000 to the General Fund; $1,000,000 to the Summer School for the Arts; up to $650,000 for the Empire State Performing Arts Center program; and up to $3,272,300 for the New York State Theater Institute program.

 

The CE account is modeled after the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF), which provides funding for local government grants and related operations.  LGRMIF is funded by a county-collected surcharge of $5.00 for recording, entering, indexing, or endorsing a certificate on any instrument or for assigning an index number to actions pending in county court or Supreme Court.  The 2002 statutory change kept the LGRMIF charge in place and applied an additional $15.00 surcharge to support the new CE account.  Counties retain $.25 of each LGRMIF surcharge and $.75 of each CE account surcharge to defray their collection expense.

 

The balance in the CE account has experienced increases and decreases over the life of the fund. This is due to national and state economic conditions at any given time that have suppressed the housing market and, therefore, affected the number of transactions subject to the surcharge.  Annual revenue from fees has declined more than 32 percent from the historically high levels of the first several years and revenue from interest has declined 84 percent from two years ago and will disappear by next year. Annual revenue (before transfers out of the fund) is now below the cost of operating the Office of Cultural Education’s programs. The current economic downturn has reduced revenue severely, causing the account balance to decline sharply.  Reserve funds will be exhausted within the next year.

 

Legislation is needed to amend the current fee structure to provide an additional $7.50 surcharge, including $.25 to be retained by the counties.

Program Area:  The Professions

 

• 
  Stabilize funding for the Profession Revenue Account
  
                              10% fee increase

 

The licensing fees for the professions have not increased since the 1980s even though statutes have been enacted mandating that SED establish and regulate numerous new professional licenses and programs.  Legislation is needed to give SED authority to implement a 10 percent across-the-board fee increase, which would enable us to fully discharge our responsibility to protect the public.  The requested fee increase would allow the Office of the Professions to investigate and prosecute illegal practice, upgrade outdated technology, investigate and prosecute more discipline cases and secure expert witnesses, cover the increase in expense for providing peer assistance to nurses in the Professional Assistance Program, fully fund meetings of the state boards, cover the increased cost to manage the licensee photo ID program and pay credit card company fees for licensees who use our online registration.

 

Level Funding for General Fund State Operations

 

Program Area:  P-16 - EMSC

 

Accountability- The 2008-2009 appropriation for accountability funds was $13.5 million. Continued funding is necessary to continue the work started in 2007 including, but not limited to, the following:

 

• Review and Revise all Learning Standards Beginning w/ELA & Math - Staff will compile scientific, evidence-based research, work with regional and national experts and coordinate an interdisciplinary PreK-16 Committee to renew the learning standards in all content areas, provide teacher professional development and work with the higher education community to ensure the new standards are taught.    
• Develop and Implement a Value Added Assessment Model - By 2010-2011, the Regents will implement a value added accountability model based upon revised or new assessments.
• Contracts for Excellence (C4E) - Section 211-D of the Enacted Budget requires Contracts for Excellence to be completed by all districts receiving an increase in foundation aid greater than $15 million or 10 percent or a supplemental educational improvement plan grant and having at least one low-performing school. Districts subject to the provisions under Section 211-D shall publicly report the expenditure of total foundation aid in the form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner.  The Department shall develop the methodology for reporting school based expenditures for these districts.
• School Improvement - The Regents must expand the Schools Under Registration Review process so that all schools that meet the criteria for SURR are identified, with the goal that up to 5 percent of public schools are identified between the 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 school years. School Quality Review Teams will be appointed by the Commissioner to assist any school in improvement, corrective action, restructuring or SURR status.
• Pre-Kindergarten / Early Childhood - The Department will review applications submitted by local education agencies (LEA's) seeking apportionment of funds for universal prekindergarten (UPK),  monitor expenditures and progress, and expand data collection for UPK grants.
• Expand Alternative Certification Programs - The Regents and the Commissioner are required to review alternative teacher preparation programs and develop programs to assist in their expansion.
• P-16 Data System / Reporting Requirements - The Regents are required to create a data system that tracks performance from PreK through attendance at higher education institutions.  This will require linking multiple existing data systems within the Department as well as modifications to district level systems to include school level data.                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                 $13,482,675

 

GED Funds - SED, which is responsible for the administration of the GED Test in New York State, must increase the number of public testing centers to relieve the current backlog and to decrease the wait time for test candidates.  The GED test is an international exam developed by the GED Testing Service (GEDTS) of the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington D.C.  When individuals are successful in passing the GED test, they receive a certificate or diploma that is regarded as equivalent to a high school diploma.  The GED test is administrated throughout New York State through a contract between GED Testing Service of the ACE and the SED.  The GED test is given in three languages, English, French and Spanish.  An average of 60,000 adults (age 17 and above) take the GED test each year.                   $3,487,519

 

Program Area:  P-16 - Higher Education

 

Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability – Chapter 181 of the Laws of 2000 requires fingerprinting of prospective employees of school districts, charter schools and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) and applicants for teacher and administrator certification.  The Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability (OSPRA) meets the Department’s responsibilities under the statute by developing and maintaining databases, processing fingerprint cards and evaluating criminal records.  The 2008-2009 Enacted Budget provided $600,000 of additional funding for OSPRA.  This level of funding needs to be maintained so that OSPRA may continue their services to the public.   $1,500,000

 

Level Funding for Special Revenue Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

III.  Maintain Aid to Localities Programs administered by sed

 

Program Area:  P-16 - EMSC

 

• Academic Intervention for Non-Public Schools - Academic intervention services (AIS) for children attending nonpublic schools supplement the instruction provided in the general curriculum and assist students in meeting the State learning standards.  AIS are intended to assist students who are at risk of not achieving the State learning standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science, or who are at risk of not gaining the knowledge and skills needed to meet or exceed designated performance levels on State assessments.                                                                       $921,200

 

• Adult Literacy Education (ALE) - The State ALE Program provides funding for adult education programs for undereducated and disadvantaged adults.  Eligible agencies include not-for-profit agencies (e.g., community-based organizations, postsecondary institutions, and literacy volunteer agencies). ALE provides funding to not-for-profit organizations to operate adult literacy education programs including adult basic education, English for speakers of other languages, and high school equivalency programs.                                                                                                                                             $6,905,860

 

• Basic Education for Public Assistance Recipients (WEP) - The State Literacy and Basic Education for Public Assistance Recipients Program, referred to as WEP provides funding for adult education programs for individuals receiving public assistance.  Eligible agencies include school districts and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES).                                                $1,842,400

 

• Bilingual Education – Supports initiatives to address the needs of LEP/ELL students consistent with the Regent’s policy paper on bilingual education and Commissioner’s Regulations Part 154.  The initiatives focus on high-need school districts.  The activities are in the areas of higher standards and new assessments for LEP/ELLs, preparation of certified bilingual and ESL teachers, increasing the knowledge of parents, and providing equitable services for LEP/ELLs.                     $8,750,000

 

• Center for School Safety - The New York State Center for School Safety is funded for the primary purpose to help make schools safe.  The fundamental principles of this mission are as follows:
• Provide training and technical assistance to schools, under the direction of the State Education Department, on implementing the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) legislation.
• Support the development process for a school violence index as a measure of the level of school violence.
• Develop process for Violent and Disruptive Incidence Reporting (VADIR) program reviews with selected districts.                                                                                                            $466,000
• CharterSchoolDevelopment – Provides over $2 million for the administration of the SUNY Charter School Institute.                                                                                                                  $5,527,200

 

• Education of Native Americans – Provides for educational services through contracts with 13 public schools for approximately 3,000 Native American students in grades K through 12 that live on nine Indian reservations.  These funds also pay for the transportation of these students.           $25,550,000

 

• Extended School Day/School Violence Prevention – Provides funds for extended day programs in over 140 high-need school districts. The programs provide needed after-school programming, promote school safety, support at-risk students, engage parents and members of the community, and respond effectively to emergency situations.                                                                               $27,820,240

 

• Health Education Programs - Funds will support the Statewide School Health Services Center and the Statewide Center for Student Support Services.  These funds are available for health-related programs including, but not limited to, those providing instruction and supportive services in comprehensive health education and/or acquired immune deficiency syndrome education and a school-based health clinic.                                                                                                                                                 $690,900

 

• Learning Technology Grants (LTGs) - The LTGs Program provides funds to improve student academic performance in relation to the State learning standards through the integration of educational technology in classroom activities.  LTGs provide funds for acquisition of both technology and staff development that will facilitate student learning.  As the effectiveness of educational technology depends upon adequate training in its use, expenditures for staff development must amount to at least 45 percent of the program budget and no more than 45 percent of the budget may be spent on hardware.      $2,303,000

 

• Math and Science Partnerships Program - The Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program is intended to increase the academic achievement of students in mathematics and science by enhancing the content knowledge and teaching skills of classroom teachers. Partnerships between high-need school districts and the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty in institutions of higher education are at the core of these improvement efforts.                                    $7,000,000

 

• Nonpublic Mandated Services Aid – Chapter 507 of the Laws of 1974 requires that nonpublic schools be reimbursed for the actual costs they incur in providing required services to the Sate.  These services include the administration of State testing and evaluation programs and participating in State programs for reporting basic educational data.                                                                           $125,062,300

 

• Primary Mental Health - The Children’s Institute has developed and provided prevention-oriented programs based on sound research to children since 1957. Several structured prevention and early intervention programs are provided to students, including:
• Primary Project - A program developed for the early detection and prevention of school adjustment and learning problems in primary grade children.
• Resiliency Program - A program that uses the results of research in factors affecting resiliency to address the needs of children placed at risk by their environment.
• Pre-K Preliminary Project - An extension of Primary Project that has been adopted for four-year-old children.                                                                                                                            $893,940

 

• School Bus Driver Safety Training - The School Bus Driver Safety Training Program is a comprehensive education program for school bus drivers, monitors, attendants, and school bus driver instructors in the latest techniques and information concerning safe pupil transportation.  For the 2008-2009 school year, SED intends to update the Basic and Advanced Courses of Instruction for School Bus Drivers, to update the School Bus Driver Instructor Certification Curriculum, to write a Handbook for School Bus Drivers, and to develop a Sensitivity Training Curriculum for School Bus Drivers, Monitors and Attendants for transporting students with disabilities.                                                $280,000
• School Health Services – Provides grants to any city school district in a city having a population of in excess of 125,000 and less than 1,000,000 for school health services such as medical examinations, dental inspections, vision screening, verification of  immunizations and infectious disease reporting.                                                                                                                                             $9,688,000

 

• School Lunch and Breakfast Program – Federal and State reimbursement is provided monthly for meals served to children that meet federal meal pattern requirements.  The amount of reimbursement for each meal is based on the family's eligibility for free, reduced price or full paid meals, which is determined by an annually approved application, direct certification letter or computer match with the local Department of Social Services.  Public school districts, nonprofit, nonpublic schools and residential childcare institutions are eligible to participate in these Programs.                          $30,028,331

 

• Schools Under Registration Review (SURR) – State grant funds are available for school districts with SURR to enable oversight of the restructuring and redesign process in schools that are farthest from State standards and most in need of improvement.                                                                                                 $1,750,280

 

• Summer Food Program - New York State provides additional per meal reimbursement each spring to Summer Food Program sponsors.  The reimbursement is for breakfasts, lunches, suppers and/or snacks for each meal that meets meal pattern requirements.  In addition, camps and migrant sites receive only this State reimbursement for “fourth meal supplements” which are not eligible for federal reimbursement.                    $3,049,410

 

• Post-secondary Education Aid for Native Americans - Education Law, §4118, provides funding for Native American students for attendance at approved, accredited institutions within New York State.  Eligible students must submit proof of tribal enrollment, be a State resident, a high school graduate or GED recipient, and be accepted to an accredited New York State institution.  Approximately 300-400 students each semester are awarded this grant.  All eligible students meeting application requirements and filing deadlines will be funded.                                                                                      $609,601

 

• Teacher Centers -- Teacher Centers were established in 1984 with a State appropriation to provide systematic, ongoing professional education services to the State’s teachers.  The current appropriation funds 133 centers that serve more than 308,000 teachers per year throughout the State.   $28,000,000

 

• Universal Pre-Kindergarten – Funds 453 public school districts to provide quality pre-kindergarten opportunities for four-year-olds.                                                                                           $700,000

 

• Workplace Literacy - The Workplace Literacy Program is designed to encourage the establishment of basic skills and job-related literacy education programs for both members of unions and employees in the public and private sector. It provides funding to labor organizations, their federations, or to organizations of employers acting in consortium with labor organizations.  Though federal funding for this Program ended October 31, 1997, State funding continues to help counter the trend of New York State job loss to other states and nations by giving New York State employees the skills to achieve greater productivity.                                                                                                                                              $1,923,060

 

Program Area:  P-16 – Higher Education

 

• Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) - The HEOP operates at 62 independent colleges and universities in New York State, working specifically with individuals from families with low incomes, with high potential for successful collegiate experience but who have not acquired the verbal, mathematical and other cognitive skills required for collegiate level work.  Continued reduction in funding will mean that the number of students entering post-secondary education through HEOP will continue to drop.  Reduced services at the campus level may lead to lower retention rates, especially of incoming freshman students.  The independent institutions that sponsor HEOP are currently contributing approximately four dollars to every dollar from the state, and the lack of state funding has caused some institutions to drop out of the program.                                                                          $23,751,820

 

• Science and Technology Entry Program(STEP) - The STEP serves secondary school students all over New York State in order to increase the number of historically underrepresented and disadvantaged students prepared to enter college, and improve their participation rate in mathematics, science , technology, health-related fields and the licensed professions.  This Program has a long history of success in moving students from at risk for dropout into successful secondary school graduates who perform better than their peers in Regents mathematics and science courses.  If funding is not restored to the pre-reduction level of 19 million dollars, the result will be a reduced number of participating students, a lower number of graduates and less services available.                                          (See CSTEP)

 

• Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program(CSTEP) - As the collegiate companion to STEP, the CSTEP seeks to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who are pursuing professional licensure and careers in mathematics, science, technology and health-related fields within the college ranks.  It has been shown that CSTEP seniors graduate and pursue graduate programs and licensure at a higher rate than their peers.                                                                    $17,916,147

 

• Liberty Partnerships Program(LPP) - Established to address the significant dropout rate among New York’s youth, the LPP offers comprehensive pre-collegiate/dropout prevention programs and services to youth in urban, rural and suburban communities of Western New York, Finger Lakes, Central New York, the Southern Tier, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Capital District, Mid-Hudson Valley, NYC and Long Island.  Reductions in these programs relate directly to increases in students disengagement and drop-out.  Continued reductions in funding will mean that the program’s all-time high support of 14,000 at-risk students, which has dwindled to just over 12,000, will continue to decrease.           $11,817,040

 

• Teacher Opportunity Corps(TOC) - The TOC serves full-time undergraduate and graduate students, or part-time graduate students completing the requirements for provisional/initial or permanent/professional certification. Priority goes to individuals identified as underrepresented and underserved in the teaching profession and to economically disadvantaged individuals.  Reduced funding for TOC projects over the last several years has reduced the number and effectiveness of the programs statewide at a time of critical need for new teachers from underrepresented groups, especially skilled in working with at-risk students and in urban settings.  Any additional reduction in funding may mean an end to TOC at all of the institutions it is currently operating at.                                                                                 $671,060

 

Program Area:  VESID

 

 

 

 

• Independent Living Centers (ILCs) - The total reduction in SFY 2008-2009 of $960,000 from the SFY 2007-2008 appropriation is already impacting the Independent Living program.  This reduction will result in the following:

 

• Approximately 25 staff positions have been eliminated statewide at the ILCs, forcing experienced peer role models with disabilities to seek alternate employment opportunities, and thereby denying services to up to 3,000 fewer people.
• Increased numbers of individuals with disabilities without access to independent living services are more likely to seek living and employment options in more costly segregated settings.
• Access to benefits assistance, utilization of work incentives and access to basic subsistence programs will be further reduced for individuals with most significant disabilities. 

                                                                                                                                           $12,361,276

• 
  Vocational Rehabilitation
  
• Case Services - The total reduction in SFY 2008-2009 of $2,746,583 from the SFY 2007-2008 appropriation is already impacting the Vocational Rehabilitation program.  This reduction will result in the following:

 

• An inability to meet Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements.  As per the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, there is a dollar for dollar federal penalty for failure to maintain State effort.  As a result, the State’s allocation of Section 110 federal dollars will be reduced by the amount of our 2007-2008 Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) MOE gap.  This amount is in addition to the amount lost due to the cut in State Supported Employment funds and the impact of any continuing or additional reduction for the 2009-2010 SFY on our 2008-2009 FFY MOE.                  $51,853,417

 

• Supported Employment - The total reduction in SFY 2008-2009 of $1,224,715 from the SFY 2007-2008 appropriation is already impacting the Vocational Rehabilitation program.  This reduction will result in the following:

 

• An inability to meet Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements.  As a result of the cut to State Supported Employment dollars, the State’s allocation will be reduced by the amount of our 2007-2008 Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) MOE gap.  This amount is in addition to the amount lost as a result of the cut to State Case Service funds and the impact of any continuing or additional reduction for the 2009-2010 SFY on our 2008-2009 FFY MOE.                  $15,177,285

In addition, the potential impact of a further reduction in the State appropriation for either of these programs includes:

 

• A further decline in the already low employment rate for individuals with disabilities (33.5 percent*) and an increase in the already high poverty rate (28.6 percent) of individuals with disabilities in New York State;
• Jeopardizing the staffing of the community rehabilitation programs which employ more than 30,000 individuals;
• Increased dependence on public assistance;
• Decreasing tax revenues generated by workers with disabilities;
• Consumers with disabilities without access to supported employment are more likely to seek employment options in more costly segregated settings or face unemployment; and
• Future risk of New York’s adoption of an Order of Selection if VESID cannot serve all eligible individuals who apply for services due to fiscal constraints and/or insufficient staff.

 

*Source: Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Investing in America Fiscal Year 2007 Report

                                                                                                                                                                 

 

 

Program Area:  Cultural Education

 

 

New York’s libraries are struggling to meet these increased public service demands in the face of rising operational costs.  Library systems are key to assisting local libraries to achieve further cost savings through cooperative programs and shared services, particularly shared computer and internet access services.                                                                                                              $97,094,646

 

• Aid to Public Broadcasting - New York State’s public television stations provide free access to on-line educational video, aligned to New York State’s learning standards, to all students, teachers and educational administrators in the State. In the station fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, the number of teachers using the service rose by 23 percent over 2006-2007. Currently, 167,302 New York teachers are registered users of the available digital resources.

            

New York State’s public television stations provide free access to Adult Education and English as a Second Language video.  New York’s public television stations provide free arts, news and cultural affairs programs to all citizens of the State.

 

As community-based, 501(C) (3) charitable institutions, New York’s public broadcasters are facing significant decreases in individual giving and institutional giving, their traditional sources of funding.  State Aid enables the stations to maintain their education services and serves as a leveraging factor in local fund-raising.                                                                                                                      $18,387,166

 

• Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) - The DHP is a statewide program established by law in 1988 to ensure the identification, sound administration, and accessibility of New York's historical records. The DHP provides grants to not-for-profit organizations in New York State that collect, hold and make available historical records. Funding is available for strategic planning projects, arrangement and description of historical records, and surveying of records of under-documented populations and/or activities.                                                                                                                               $461,000

 

• Local Government Records Management Improvement (LGRMIF) - The LGRMIF supports grants and services to help local governments better manage the records they create and maintain. This program has brought huge improvements to records management in New York State: modern records centers for the orderly storage of records, preservation projects that have ensured that permanent records will be available for future generations, disaster recovery grants that have salvaged and repaired vital records, and electronic records projects that have modernized recordkeeping in our state's local governments. The LGRMIF is funded by fees collected by local governments to support local government records projects. Over the life of the program, 8,856 grants have been awarded totaling $176,898,735.

 

The LGRMIF, a self-supported fund, is the single most cost-effective way to ensure that local government records remain protected and available to the public.  Reductions seriously impact the grantees' ability to improve how local governments manage their records, prepare for records disasters, and provide public access to their records.                                                                                                   $11,829,000