It’s year two of New York’s tax levy cap, and yet despite all of its publicity, there is a lot of misinformation out there about it.
Many school districts will come out with tax levy hikes of more than 2%. Are they over the tax cap? Not necessarily. Watch this short video for a clear explanation of the tax levy limit law and why it isn’t really a “cap” at all.
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Governor Cuomo has repeatedly said that he will not raise taxes to help offset the cost of the damage – even if the federal government fails to foot the entire damage bill. Instead, the governor is predicted to continue last year’s approach of reducing the high costs of state government as a source for cost-savings.
The state is already facing a projected $1 billion budget gap and Cuomo has gone as far as to say that the gap could double because of the effects of the storm. While no official numbers have been released, the governor is said to be seeking $30 billion in federal aid, though according to New York Post columnist Fred Dicker, many in government are skeptical that anything approaching the requested amount will be received.
If the governor turns to cutting support to state government agencies, schools would almost certainly be included. Cuomo has already reduced aid to schools across the board by 0.5 percent from last year (four percent down to 3.5%), putting schools that rely heavily upon aid in an even more precarious position. Without a timetable, districts will be in a waiting game to see how much aid they’ll receive, thus holding up budget planning.
Some districts that were affected directly by Hurricane Sandy have applied to the State Education Department to have certain requirements waived after weather-related disasters. While some districts are optimistic that they will meet the mandated 180 days of classroom instruction, others are not so sure. Failure to meet this mandate would result in the loss of valuable state aid.
Question: Should the governor be taking away more aid from schools in order to offset the cost from the damage of Hurricane Sandy?
Typically, rainy weather = low school budget voter participation.
Not so on May 15. After the first school budget vote under Gov. Cuomo’s tax levy cap law, area school districts reported not only record voter turnouts, but record approval margins for their school budgets.
For example, more than 6,000 residents cast votes on the Bethlehem Central School District’s budget, which is a good 600 more than the last record set by a re-vote in 2006, according to our sources in the district. Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk saw 71 percent more voters than last year, with lines out the door for hours.
Likewise, the Guilderland Central School District saw its highest approval margin in 22 years at more than 70 percent. Same goes for Scotia-Glenville, where its approval rate of more than 72 percent was the highest since 1973.
So what inspired voters this year? Naturally, we think the tax levy cap played a major role. But what exactly about the tax levy cap inspired district residents: Did they want to let Albany know they would override their districts’ tax levy limits? Or did they feel spending was better controlled under the new law?
Here’s what Governor Cuomo thinks.
Or, was it something else entirely? And most importantly – how can we keep the voter participation momentum going?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
On Tuesday, Governor Cuomo released his 2012-13 Executive Budget proposal. If you missed it, you can watch the presentation here. You can read all about it here and you may also want to check out the related twitter stream #NYSbudget. Below is a rundown of news coverage from around the state and responses from various educational organizations. This list will be updated as more coverage and responses are released.
Let us know in the comments what you thought of what the Governor had to say about education.
News Coverage:
Organization responses:
“Last month, Governor Cuomo demonstrated strong leadership in assuring the state would have revenue to follow through on an $805 million increase in School Aid, as promised in the two-year appropriation enacted last year. The aid proposal he presented today would provide schools with the best starting point they have had in recent years.
“The Governor is right to prioritize helping high need districts, but we would like see more of the increase for all districts targeted to general operating aid.
“The Governor is also right that New York cannot afford to lose $1 billion in federal education funds because of a stalemate over new evaluation procedures. Superintendents have done their best to implement a law which the Governor has said, “was destined to fail.” Without a better state framework, threatening districts with a loss of aid will not produce better evaluations.
“We welcome the Governor’s ‘Tier VI’ proposal on pensions. For most of the past decade, surging pension and health care costs have forced school leaders to make hard choices between cutting programs or asking voters to approve local tax increases. Now, with the tax cap, there will be only one choice, unless the state acts to help restrain those costs.
“We look forward to working with the Governor, Assembly and Senate to assure that schools get a budget and mandate relief that allows schools to give students the best learning opportunities we can.”
Want to see how much money your district is getting? Check out the state aid runs.
Education Speaks team members recently sat down with Statewide School Finance Consortium Executive Director Dr. Rick Timbs (featured in this post) to talk about school funding in New York State. Here’s the first installment of this informative interview, addressing the question, “What is wrong with the current funding formula for education in New York State?”
Yesterday’s poll asked:
Under NY’s property tax cap law, does the public still vote on school district budgets?
Yes, school district residents will still vote on a proposed budget on the third Tuesday in May. This year, the date is May 15. Under the new law, the level of voter approval needed to pass a budget will now depend upon the amount of the tax levy required by the proposed budget.
If the tax levy (before exemptions) is at or below the “tax levy limit,” a simple majority (more than 50 percent) is needed for budget approval.
If the tax levy (before exemptions) exceeds a district’s “tax levy limit,” the support of a supermajority (60 percent or more) of voters is required for budget approval.
To see how others voted on yesterdays poll: visit the poll post and click “View Results”
This is a guest blog, authored by Douglas C. Burton, Superintendent of Fort Plain Central School District
There is a reality I think about daily.
I’m not sure if it will come to be in three years or five years—but I know it is coming.
As the superintendent of a small, poor district in Upstate New York, I see where we’re headed as a district and I am concerned. I am concerned for our staff and for our students. And I am concerned about the future of education in rural communities like ours.
I recently met with our business manager to get a sense of how our current $18.1 million budget might look in 2012-13.
Yesterday’s poll asked:
Does the new tax cap law mean school tax levies can’t increase by more than 2 percent?
The answer is: No. The law has been misconstrued and misrepresented in media sound bites as a “2 percent tax cap.” The law does not prohibit tax levy increases greater than 2 percent. The legislation signed into law in June requires every district to calculate its own “tax levy limit.” Two percent (or the rate of inflation, if less) is just one of eight factors in this calculation. (We mentioned this formula last week.)
The law does determine what level of support is needed for a school budget to pass. If the tax levy increase (before exemptions outlined in the law) is above the tax levy limit the support of a supermajority (60 percent) of voters would be required for budget passage. If the levy is within the limit, a simple majority is needed for budget approval.
Confused yet?
Wondering what the difference is between tax levies, rates, limits, etc.?
The tax levy is the total dollars that a school district collects from property owners within the district in order to balance its budget. The levy is determined after accounting for all other sources of income, including state aid.
The tax rate is the amount per thousand dollars of assessed property value that an owner pays in taxes. The tax rate is used to calculate each property owner’s tax bill.
For school districts, the tax levy limit is the highest allowable tax levy (before exemptions) that a school district can propose as part of its annual budget for which only a simple majority of voters (more than 50 percent) is required for budget passage.
Rest assured we’ll get into these terms in much more detail over the coming weeks!
This is a guest blog, authored by Dr. Michael Mugits, Superintendent of Green Island Union Free School District. It was originally published on his blog, “The Buzz from the Hornet’s Nest.”
It seems that two friends were out camping up in the Adirondacks. One morning as they sat and relaxed over their first cup of coffee, they heard a great commotion in the brush not far from their campsite. They were startled, having just been aroused from sleep and not yet fully dressed. It soon became obvious that the noise that shattered their peaceful morning was a bear approaching them with a quickening pace. As one man was overcome by anxiety and fear he noticed his friend calmly putting his shoes on. He couldn’t believe the lack of fear and response from his camping partner. “Why are you wasting your time putting your shoes on? You’re not going to outrun that bear!” he exclaimed. At that point the other man casually informed him, “I don’t have to outrun the bear,” he said as he looked at his barefoot colleague, ”I just have to outrun you.”
Morbid humor? Perhaps. However, this story came to mind as I thought of our future school budget. It might surprise you that so soon after we began the school year we’re already developing a framework for financial projections on a budget that will be in place for July 1, 2012 and end on June 30, 2013 — a full year and a half from now! Continue reading
All school districts are not created equally. This video from the Statewide School Finance Consortium does a great job outlining how the state’s new tax cap will increase the funding dichotomy between wealthy and poor districts.
The tax cap is a done deal, and we’ll definitely be posting more about it over the coming weeks and months as we get closer to the “school budget season” and the cap’s impact on New York’s schools becomes more clear. What’s clear right now? The tax cap will NOT affect all schools and communities equally.