WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 29, 2013:
As the Board of Education prepares to finalize the school budget, they have a unique opportunity to lower White Plains School Taxes for 2013-14, if they want to and if they did not already spend it on speculation they would be getting it.
White Plains either has a “surprise” $1.3 Million windfall in state education aid which they could use to lower the 3.1% tax levy proposed on White Plains taxpayers, or it’s money the school has expected to be in the 2013-14 budget all along even though it was only proposed in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget in January.
According to Fred Seiler, the Assistant Superintendent for Business for the district, the district counted on this aid all along in formulating their budget. The $1 Billion in new school aid, was announced last week as “new” by Governor Cuomo and the leaders of the legislature, including $1.3 Million for the city school district.
Fred Seiler told WPCNR the aid increase of $1.3 Million announced by New York State Assemblyman David Buchwald last Tuesday for White Plains was counted on as part of the 2013-14 budget . Seiler said when you take into account the decrease in building aid which he described as inaccurate, the 9.54% increase touted by Mr. Buchwald’s only amounts to a $35,000 overall increase.
WPCNR asked Mr. Seiler if the school knew the $1.3 Million was a “windfall” or if it was a sure thing that was coming to the district.
Seiler said that in January the district assumed the Governor’s proposed budget of a statewide increase in state aid in January was “a worst case scenario,” and anticipated White Plains receiving aid along the lines of what the legislature just approved though he did not say how much .
In the most recently distributed Superintendent’s Budget of $192,950,000 on the district website, the district does not reflect the $1.3 Million, listing 2013-14 state school aid as $14.1 Million (see it at
http://www.whiteplainspublicschools.org/cms/lib5/NY01000029/Centricity/Domain/56/budget/2013-14PrelProposedBudget031113.pdf
This figure may be a consolidation, other cuts of other state aid sources may be cutting the overall increase reported by Assemblyman Buchwald as $15,287,127, an increase of 9.54%
During the last three months we have heard much from school districts agonizing across the state, as well as the White Plains district wringing hands over loss of state education aid and the need for more of it—lots of it from Yonkers to Yaphank.
The City Schoo l District in February and March public meetings showed slides obliquely blaming the state for not giving White Plains more school aid on the amount of school aid expected, putting up slides noting state school aid to White Plains was only going up $387,476, and in another slide, state aid to White Plains was going up only 2%, $275,000. WPCNR points out, at no time, was it made clear this included expected additional $1.2 Million in state aid. Now Mr. Seiler says it did.
Assemblyman Explains: School District knew the money could be coming.
The $1.3 Million was announced with much ballyhoo by Assemblyman David Buchwald in a Tuesday news release after the accompanying euphoric praise heaped upon the legislature last week for announcing $1 billion in new state aid for education, though 90% of that aid had been originally proposed in January and made clear to the school district in January.
The school district if they did count on it as their budget expert, Fred Seiler says, chose not to make the budget reflect, or deducted other losses of revenue from it, it is not clear yet how they figured it in.
School District Made Aware, Assemblyman confirms.
WPCNR asked Mr. Buchwald if the school districts (White Plains and others) had been made aware that that Governor Cuomo’s proposed increase in aid of $500 Million could not be counted on. In legislation passed this week, that $500 million was increased by the Democrat-held assembly by $400 Million to a total of $936 Million.
Buchwald, writing from the Assembly floor Thursday afternoon gave WPCNR this exclusive statement:
“The Governor had proposed a budget back in January. It contained a non-building aid proposed increase in funding of $1,204,278 for the White Plains City School District. There were of course no guarantees that the elements of that budget proposal would have passed, however the school district may have taken it into account when crafting their original budget. The final formula number of $1,331,926 is I am pleased to say even higher.”
Buchwald continued, observing ,
“It is also important to note that some of the categories of school aid in the governor’s original proposal were based on preliminary data, and so a direct comparison between the two numbers could be misleading. For example, the proposed (state) budget listed $2.284 million in BOCES and special services aid to the White Plains district. The final budget shows $2.185 million in that category. However, the school district may well have known that their actual figures were below the Governor’s preliminary estimate, and so the school district might not have budgeted for a full $1,204,278 increase.:
WPCNR also asked Buchwald if there was really any doubt the legislature would go along with the Governor’s initial proposal in January for $500 Million in new school aid, and announced it just to make political points:
Buchwald wrote in a statement:
“The legislature did not take a position on the budget in January. Under our system in New York State government, the Governor proposes a budget in January. There are items in the Governor’s budget that are now being included in the final budget (last week) without changes, items that were cut or eliminated, and items added to. That is all done in March (assuming we’re on time, which we are), culminating in the Assembly adopting budget bills today (Thursday, the 27th).
Education funding was an item that was added to.
I am not the one to ask about how the Governor’s proposed budget is used in the preliminary budgets created by school districts. I would note that by passing a budget on time, we are giving school districts the full opportunity to submit budgets to the voters that can take into account this increased funding.”
WPCNR sent e-mails to six of the seven School Board members asking if the board, now knowing of this increased school aid would choose to lower the proposed tax increase of 3.1%–probably about a $100 to $200 saving on middle market homes by WPCNR figuring, and if they would not, why not?
No Board member has responded so far to WPCNR’s question.
They could use the new aid to give back to the taxpayers or use it towards settling the teacher contract, they have options if they did not figure on spending it already.
