Gov. Andrew Cuomo has inherited a state that is on the financial brink. We have to applaud him for his efforts to address the crisis, but we must also recognize that Albany has provided him with a broken toolbox for him to work with. Our current state aid formulas do not work. We need to take a fresh look at how we are funding education in this state. Here on Long Island school funding has been reduced to the point that in Nassau County 85% and in Suffolk 80% of the cost of education is being paid for by property taxes. We have some of the highest taxes in the Country and with the proposed cuts in education it is only going to get worse.
As a candidate for the New York State Assembly I proposed a funding program that would provide equitable public school funding based on student enrollment using regional cost factors for the core cost of education. When we talk about school funding today we never look at it on a per student basis because Albany does not want anyone to see what is really going on.
Nassau County is scheduled to receive on a countywide basis $3,716.06 per student of state aid. The city of Buffalo will get $15,343.05, Rochester $13,273.87 and New York City $7373.60. Nassau County gets the least amount of state aid and will be taking one of the largest cuts in state aid.
I am again proposing we to provide all School Districts in the State of New York with the ability to provide a quality education to the students enrolled in that district by means of establishing a statewide equitable funding method. Funding should be done on a per student basis for the core cost of education (required course, support services, transportation, teacher salaries and administration costs) based on regional cost factors.
When we look at the proposed state aid on a per student basis it is very clear the current system is unfair. If we take into consideration most of the state funding for education comes from income taxes and understand that the downstate region contributes significantly more in income taxes that other regions the imbalance is even greater.
This is not a case of upstate verses downstate or city verses suburban areas. We accept those who earn more will contribute more in the form of income taxes. But once the educational fund has been established it should be distributed based on student population and regional cost factors. Every school district should have an equal share of the core cost of education. That does not prohibit the state legislature from providing additional funds for those districts that have economic problems, but such funds should be provided above the equal distribution of funding based on the core cost factors using regional cost factors.
It is time the State Department of Education assumed some responsibility in controlling the cost of education. Their role will be to determine the core cost of education under this revised program. That means they have to answer the questions on class room size, teacher and administration ratios, transportation and sports program. In the end it means every district will start the budget process on even ground. Districts will continue to have the right to spend more, but the voters of the district will know what the core cost is and then can ask for justification of any additional spending.
Under this proposal the core cost of education will be funded by state aid (statewide income taxes) and a county wide commercial property tax. This will place every school district on equal base funding. It is time for you to ask your local State Assemblyman or State Senator why for each dollar Nassau County school districts get, New York City gets two and Buffalo gets more than four. Your school taxes are as high as they are because your state legislator is not doing the job. It is time for real equality in school funding. Let’s stop reporting state aid in gross numbers lets require it be reported on a per student basis.
Governor Cuomo has shown he is willing to address the state budget problems, lets give him a workable state aid program to fix state education aid statewide.
The chart below provides a sample of the proposed state aid by school district on a per student basis for both the 2010-2011 and 20110-2012 school years.
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John Brooks
Seaford NY
Brooks is a former member of the Seaford Board of Education and ran for the State Assembly last fall
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