News

Board of Education hears tax cap, Race to the Top presentations

Oct. 4, 2011

At the Oct. 3 Board of Education meeting, district administrators updated board members on two of the hottest topics affecting school district operations these days – New York’s property tax cap and the federal Race to the Top mandates.

Download the tax cap presentation (PDF)

Download tax cap flyer – What do you need to know about New York’s Tax Cap? (PDF)

Download the Race to the Top presentation (PDF)

Tax cap highlights

In brief, Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Spring and Assistant Superintendent for Business Denise Swezey explained to the board that while the tax cap has been referred to as a “2 percent tax cap,” it does not in fact restrict any proposed tax levy increase to 2 percent. The law does, however, require at least 60 percent voter approval for a school budget if the proposed levy increase exceeds a certain amount.

That amount, called the “tax levy limit,” will be determined by each district according to a formula outlined in the law and will vary by district.
Here are some other points about the tax cap to keep in mind:

• The new legislation does not place a limit on any taxes a school district would levy to pay for expenditures related to specific “exempt” items, including some court orders, some pension costs and local capital expenditures. These items are added to the “tax levy limit” to determine the maximum allowable tax levy.

• The public will still vote on school district budget proposals on the third Tuesday in May each year. For the 2012-2013 budget, voting will take place on May 15, 2012.

• If the proposed 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 passage.

• The new law applies to the tax levy, not to tax rates or individual tax bills.

• By law, any district that proposed a budget that requires a tax levy (before exemptions) above its “tax levy limit” must include a statement on the ballot indicating this to voters.

• If a proposed budget is defeated by voters, a school district, as in the past, may put the same or a revised budget up for a revote OR adopt a contingent budget. If a budget is defeated twice, a district must adopt a contingent budget.

• Under the new law, a district that adopts a contingent budget may not increase its current tax levy by any amount, which would mean a zero percent increase. At this point is it unclear whether or not exemptions will apply.

• With or without a legal “cap” on tax levies, school leaders know that many New Yorkers are struggling in this economy and agree that property tax relief is needed. However, living within the realities of the new law — with mandated costs escalating and the pressures to control taxes continuing — will force difficult decisions about school programming that communities value.

• Except for a few modest mandate-relief measures, the law does nothing to help schools rein in costs. At the same time, New York State’s public schools have lost more than $1 billion in education funding in recent years, putting even greater pressure on local taxes to fund school programs.

• Information about the provisions and implementation of the tax cap continues to evolve. School districts continue to await further clarification from the state and additional details will be communicated as they become known.

Race to the Top: A new federal mandate

Mohonasen officials continue to work on a plan to incorporate new federal mandates into the district’s schools and classrooms.

The work is taking place under the umbrella of the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) education initiative, which came with a $700 million grant to New York State last year.

With the funding comes a requirement that the state’s districts ramp up their use of data in teaching; incorporate a new set of national learning standards into the curriculum; and adopt a new teacher and administrator evaluation system. Most of the $700 million is going to the state Education Department, with each of the state’s school districts receiving a share of the remaining funding to help them meet the requirements.

Mohonasen is slated to receive approximately $78,000 over the next three years in RTTT funding (or about $26,000 a year).

At the Oct. 3 meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Patrick McGrath outlined what steps have been taken toward meeting the RTTT regulations so far this school year. These include:

•  Training for administrators on the Common Core English language arts and math curriculum changes.

• The creation of templates for mapping the new curriculum and the beginning of staff work to start creating the new curriculum maps.

• All administrators have been trained by the BOCES Network Team on the role and responsibility of Inquiry Teams.

• Building-level Inquiry Teams are being developed.

• Network Team consultants from BOCES have begun working in the district.

• District officials are working to schedule a meeting with the Mohonasen Teachers Association to continue formal discussions on implementing the new Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) for staff.

• All administrators have participated in a two-day training required for certification to become lead evaluators of teachers.

• The superintendent and assistant superintendent are completing two days of training to become certified lead evaluators of administrators.

Click here to learn more about Race to the Top and what it entails.

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