THE STATE
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF |
TO: |
Subcommittee on State Aid |
FROM: |
James A. Kadamus |
SUBJECT: |
Executive’s Budget Recommendations |
DATE: |
January 27, 2006 |
STRATEGIC
GOAL: |
2 and 5 |
AUTHORIZATION(S): |
|
Issue for Discussion
How do the Executive’s budget recommendations compare with Regents proposals?
For information.
Proposed Handling
This question will come before the Subcommittee on State Aid on February 13, 2006.
Procedural History
Issuance of the Executive’s budget recommendations each year begins the State legislative process. Understanding the Executive’s budget recommendations will help to inform Regents State Aid recommendations that will be developed over the coming months.
Background Information
Executive recommendations will be compared with Regents recommendations included in their 2006-07 State Aid to schools proposal, approved in October 2005, and in the Department’s budget recommendations, approved in September.
Not applicable.
Timetable for Implementation
This discussion will inform the development of the Regents State Aid proposal to occur from February 2006 to October 2006.
Comparison
of Regents and
Executive 2006-2007
Budgets |
The 2006-2007 Executive Budget
recommendations reflect an agency-wide net decrease of $1.4 million in General
Fund State Operations funding as follows:
The 2006-2007 Executive Budget also
recommends:
The Executive Budget recommends funding for
the following Capital Projects:
AID TO LOCALITIES
The Executive Budget recommends funding for a new Academic Achievement
Awards program for school improvement ($.5 million)
The Executive Budget recommends additional funding for the following
General Funded programs:
The Executive Budget
recommends:
The Executive Budget recommends eliminating
funding for the following programs:
The Executive Budget recommendation for
General Support for Public Schools (GSPS) is $16.6 billion, an increase of
$258.8 million or 1.6% over the current estimates of $16.3 billion for the
2005-2006 school year. In addition,
the Executive proposes a new, Sound Basic Education Reserve in which $375
million is set aside, to be allocated pursuant to a plan to promote the
provision of sound basic education in schools throughout the State. Taken
together, these two proposals represent overall funding of $16.9 billion, a
total increase of $633.9 million or 3.9% over current funding
levels.
The Executive
Budget again proposes a consolidated “Flex Aid”. For the 2006-2007 School Year,
Flex Aid will combine last year’s Flex Aid and the amounts added by the
Legislature for a new Tier 2 Comprehensive Operating Aid and for additional
Extraordinary Needs Aid, Educationally Related Support Services Aid, Limited
English Proficiency Aid, Minor Maintenance and Repair Aid and Summer School
Aid. The Flex Aid apportionment
will guarantee that every school district will receive the same amount it got in
the previous year for the programs that are being
consolidated.
(all figures in
millions)
Aid
Category |
2005-06 School
Year |
2006-07 |
2006-07 Executive
Budget |
Foundation Aid/Flex
Aid |
8,430.2 |
10,414.1 |
8,499.7 |
Comprehensive
Operating Aid Tier 2 |
30.0 |
Consolidated |
Consolidated |
Categorical
|
64.0 |
Consolidated |
64.0 |
Computer Hardware
Aid |
28.8 |
Consolidated |
29.0 |
CVEEB
Aid |
0.9 |
Consolidated |
0.9 |
Early Grade Class
Size Reduction Grants |
140.0 |
Consolidated |
140.0 |
Educationally Related
Support Svcs. |
1.6 |
Consolidated |
Consolidated |
Extraordinary Needs
Aid |
29.0 |
Consolidated |
Consolidated |
|
3.0 |
Consolidated |
3.0 |
Full Day Kindergarten
Conversion Aid |
3.8 |
Consolidated |
2.2 |
Improving Pupil
Performance Grants |
66.4 |
Consolidated |
66.4 |
Limited English
Proficiency Aid |
5.4 |
132.0 |
Consolidated |
Magnet School
Aid |
137.6 |
Consolidated |
137.6 |
Minor Maintenance and
Repair Aid |
2.7 |
Consolidated |
Consolidated |
Operating Growth
Aid |
16.6 |
Consolidated |
7.7 |
Operating
Reorganization Incentive Aid |
15.9 |
Consolidated |
12.9 |
Shares Services
Savings Incentive |
0.2 |
Consolidated |
0.2 |
|
81.9 |
Consolidated |
81.9 |
Sound Basic Education
Grant |
324.9 |
Consolidated |
324.9 |
Summer School
Aid |
0.7 |
Consolidated |
Consolidated |
Tax Limitation
Aid |
135.1 |
Consolidated |
182.7 |
Teacher Support
Aid |
67.5 |
Consolidated |
67.5 |
Tuition Adjustment
Aid |
1.2 |
Consolidated |
1.2 |
Urban-Suburban
Transfer Aid |
1.1 |
Consolidated |
1.1 |
Foundation Aid/Flex
Aid Subtotal |
9,588.4 |
10,546.1 |
9,622.9 |
The Executive
recommends that all districts receive at least the same amount that they were
apportioned in 2005-2006. In
addition, Tax Limitation Aid would be enhanced through two new tiers which will
distribute additional aid to districts with low to moderate fiscal capacity and
with high tax burdens, and to districts with high expenditures per pupil. Aid is expected to increase by $47.7
million, from $135.1 million in 2005-2006 to $182.7 million, an annual growth of
35.3%. Since 2004-2005, this
apportionment has increased by $134.7 million or 280.8%.
Public Excess
Cost Aid for pupils served in school districts and BOCES will continue to be
apportioned under the current formula provisions. Public Excess Cost Aid increases by
$131.3 million from $2,397.1 million to $2,528.4 million, a growth rate of
5.5%. Aid for children placed in
private settings will be apportioned using the same formula that is employed for
public placements, in order to eliminate fiscal incentives for private
placements. As a result, Private
Excess Cost Aid will decrease from $218.0 million in 2005-06 to $120.1 million
in 2006-2007, a drop of $97.9 million or 44.9%.
As it did for the past two years, the
Executive Budget proposes that BOCES Aid be apportioned under the existing
formula, but that the apportionment will be capped at the BOCES Aid that was
received in 2005-2006. BOCES Aid is
estimated to be $546.4 million in 2005-2006, and would decline to $536.3 million
in 2006-07, a decrease of $10.1
million or 1.9%.
Special Services
Aid, which provides aid for career education activities and computer services to
districts that are not components of BOCES, will be funded under the existing
formula. Funding will increase by
$1.1 million or 0.8%, from $141.5 million in 2005-2006 to $142.6 million in
2006-2007.
The Executive
Budget continues to fund the preexisting formulas for Textbook Aid, Library
Materials Aid and Computer Software Aid.
Building Aid and Building Reorganization
Incentive Aid are estimated to total $1,520.8 million for 2005-2006 and $1,597.4
million for 2006-2007. This
increase of $76.6 million represents 5.0% growth over the previous year. The
Executive Budget continues Building Aid formula changes that were enacted as
part of prior budgets by deferring until 2007-2008 all aid for new projects that
have not fully documented their eligibility by the date upon which the database
used in support of the Executive request was created.
The Executive also proposes reforms that
would reduce building cost increases for 2006-2007 and thereafter. Specifically, the Executive Budget
proposes a new, simplified method of calculating cost allowances for school
building projects, and authorization for school districts to obtain advisory
services from the Dormitory Authority of New York State (DASNY). In addition, the aid calculations used
for determining aid payments to the rest of the State are applied to
Transportation
Aid for operating expenses will be calculated under the existing formula. Transportation Aid and Summer
Transportation Aid are estimated to grow from $1,209.6 million in the 2005-2006
school year to $1,299.6 million under the Executive proposal, an increase of
$90.0 million or 7.4%.
The Executive also provides several
initiatives designed to help
The Executive proposes a variety of measures
designed to reward performance and efficiency.
The Executive has fully funded the $6.0
million in Academic Improvement Grants to support the
The Executive
Budget also recommends new funding of $5.8 million to provide health services in
the Big Four City School Districts.
The Executive
proposes the continuation of the STAR tax exemption, and recommends a new STAR
Plus tax rebate to reward homeowners in school districts that restrain their
spending. A $400 rebate will be
provided directly to homeowners in those school districts that keep their
budgets within a proposed school spending cap. In addition, in 2007-2008, districts
that are eligible for the STAR Plus program in 2006-2007 will receive a 2%
increase in their Flex Aid allocation.
The Executive Budget will also include
initiatives to increase voter participation in local school district elections
by:
The Executive will also require school
districts to formulate and adopt codes of ethics, which district officials and
board members must follow.
The Executive Budget also established new
requirements for school business officials, including: