Central New York

School Boards Association

Annual Legislative Breakfast
Baldwinsville Central School District
February 12, 2011
Baldwinsville, NY
New York State faces a $10 Billion
budget shortfall
Schools to Lose $2.8 Billion in funding

© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011

 A FOUR POINT PLAN TO
BRING EDUCATION COSTS UNDER CONTROL
1. The State must freeze wages for all public school
employees when state aid is frozen or reduced.

2. The State must cap the amount a school district can

spend on health insurance and require employees to pay a
larger share of their health insurance costs.

3. The State must enact a new major pension reform

and require public employees to contribute significantly
more toward their pensions.

4. The State must reduce the costs of special

education by bringing New York’s regulations into
conformance with federal guidelines.
2 % Tax Cap… What’s it really mean?

© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011

2% Tax Cap

149 Jobs

Less
programs

Larger
Classes…
2% Tax Cap

140 Jobs

Less
programs

Larger
Classes…
What does a fair state aid cut look like?

© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011

December 16, 2010
Long Island Newsday editorial board
interview with Senator Skelos:

“Board: You have always said a Republican

majority in the Senate is better for Long
Island. Spell out what that means in the
context of the next budget.

Skelos: I think first of all, if there are going

to be cuts, and you know there are going to
be cuts in spending, in Medicaid, in
education, the main thing is that Long Island
be treated fairly, no differently than any
other part of the state.
© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011
The main thing is not, as Skelos states,
“that Long Island be treated fairly”, it’s
that everyone be treated fairly.

© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011

 The Relationship Between Aid Cuts, Tax Increases & Budgets
District A: District B: District C: District D:
High Wealth District Average Wealth District Low Wealth District High Needs District

Annual Budget: Annual Budget: Annual Budget: Annual Budget:

$20 Million $20 Million $20 Million $20 Million

10% State / 90% Local 25% State / 75% Local 50% State / 50% Local 75% State / 25% Local
Funding Funding Funding Funding
$2 Million State Aid $5 Million State Aid $10 Million State Aid $15 Million State Aid

Impact of Sliding Scale Cuts: Impact of Sliding Scale Cuts: Impact of Sliding Scale Cuts: Impact of Sliding Scale Cuts:
13% of Aid = -$260,200 10.5% of Aid = -$525,000 7.3% of Aid = -$730,000 4% of Aid = -$600,000

New State / Local Funding: New State / Local Funding: New State / Local Funding: New State / Local Funding:
$1.7 Million State $4.5 Million State $9.3 Million State $14.4 Million State
$18.3 Million Local $15.5 Million Local $10.7 Million Local $5.6 Million Local

Aid Cut as % of Budget: Aid Cuts as % of Budget: Aid Cut as % of Budget: Aid Cut as % of Budget:
-$260,200 =1.3% of Budget -$525,000 = 2.6% of Budget -$730,000 = 3.7% of Budget -$600,000 = 3% of Budget

LOCAL TAX INCREASE: LOCAL TAX INCREASE: LOCAL TAX INCREASE: LOCAL TAX INCREASE:
1.4% 3.5% 7.3% 12%
In his budget presentation Governor
Cuomo said we must “insure adequate
funding to high need districts which
historically have not been adequately
funded”.

© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011

© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011
© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011
© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011
“Fairly” does not mean that every region or
every school district receives the same
percentage aid cut or aid increase.

“Fairly” means that aid increases or cuts be

based on each district’s student needs and
fiscal capacity.

Our SSFC data shows clearly how unfair

these cuts would be.

We strongly urge you to act to prevent such

an injustice from occurring again.
© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011
 Thank You
We appreciate the difficult
decisions before you.
We will guide and support your
efforts to save our schools.
Your participation today and
support for our schools is
appreciated.
Statewide School Finance Consortium is a project of the Central New York School Boards Association
© R. G. Timbs Advisory Group, Inc. 2011