Summary: Schools for New York's Future Act

March 23, 2005

CFE, and many other organizations throughout the state, firmly believe that every district in New York State deserves enough resources to deliver its students a quality education. In November, a panel of judicial referees recommended that the State of New York provide New York City schools an additional $5.6 billion for operating expenses and $9.2 billion for facilities. Immediately, CFE and a coalition of organizations formed a task force and began drafting a bill that would transform the court's New York City-focused order into statewide legislation.

This bill, called the The Schools for New York 's Future Act, sets forth a forward-looking, simplified education funding system that will deliver resources and reforms to every student in New York State . The bill will ensure:

•  AN ADDITIONAL $8.6 BILLION FOR OPERATING EXPENSES to be provided to districts across the state. The bill takes the same funding reforms that the court ordered for New York City and applies them to every district in New York State . This means that hundreds of districts throughout the state will receive substantial increases—a total of almost $3 billion—in addition to the $5.6 billion that the court ordered for New York City . No district's current state aid allocation would be reduced. The bill calls for a four-year phase-in of these new funds, with appropriate adjustments for inflation and student enrollment.

•  AN ADDITIONAL $10 BILLION FOR IMPROVIING CAPITAL FACILITES to relieve overcrowding, reduce class sizes, and other maintenance and facilities projects. Of this amount, $9.2 billion would be used for projects in New York City .

•  A TRANSPARENT, SIMPLIFIED FOUNDATION FORMULA that consolidates over 30 existing state aid categories into a single funding stream, providing districts with predictability and transparency in the way their schools are funded. The foundation formula starts with a base level of funding—about $8,000 per pupil—which is then multiplied by the number of enrolled pupils in the district. This figure is then adjusted to make sure that schools with high rates of poverty, children with disabilities, and English language learners receive substantial extra resources. Finally, the amount is adjusted by a cost of education index and a sparsity factor.

•  A CLEAR, FAIR FORMULA FOR DETERMINING EACH DISTRICT'S STATE/LOCAL SHARE that is based on the local district's ability to pay and its relative enrollment of students with high rates of poverty. The formula substantially increases the state's overall share of education funding. For many districts, this means that the proposed formula will result in lowering the proportion of total expenditures paid by local taxpayers. For New York City , and certain other districts that have not been successful in providing their students a sound basic education, this fair share local contribution would be mandatory.

•  AN ENHANCED ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM that will guarantee that the influx of funds is used in ways that actually provide all students a genuine opportunity for a sound basic education. New York City and other districts whose students are currently not meeting state standards would be required to develop a four-year comprehensive sound basic education plan that will replace most of the current planning requirements. The commissioner will issue regulations that will ensure that districts' comprehensive SBE plans set forth annual and long-term benchmarks for measuring outcomes, and that there is extensive public engagement of parents, teachers, administrators, and school-based planning and shared decision-making teams throughout the process.

The Campaign for Fiscal Equity
317 Madison Avenue, Suite 1708 • New York , New York 10017
Tel: 212.867-8455 • Fax: 212.867.8460 • www.cfequity.org

Resources

• Summary: Schools for New York's Future Act
• Main Provisions: Schools for New York's Future Act
• Online Worksheet: Changes to Your School District's Funding
• ECB Principles of School Finance Reform
• Campaign for Fiscal Equity

About the New York State Educational Conference Board

The New York State Educational Conference Board is a coalition of the eight major statewide education organizations representing parents, teachers, school board members, superintendents, school business officials and other administrators.