New York State Executive Chamber | Governor Eliot Spitzer
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SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE HISTORIC INVESTMENT OF RESOURCES
Governor Eliot Spitzer said today that the enacted state budget provides an historic level of investment in schools through a new aid formula based on need, while implementing new accountability measures and expanding the number of charter schools.
“There has never been a better budget for education,” Spitzer said. “We are providing ample resources, targeting them where they are needed most and insisting on accountability.”
The budget provides an unprecedented increase of $1.76 billion in education aid.
It creates Foundation Aid formula under which aid increases will be targeted primarily to districts most in need, with all districts receiving an increase of at least three percent. In line with the Foundation Aid formula originally proposed by the Governor, the enacted Foundation Aid formula links school funding to the cost of a successful education and allocates State Aid in a transparent, equitable, and predictable manner.
The enacted budget also provides for funding of $438 million for Universal Pre-K, an increase of $146 million, or 50 percent.
The new funding will be tied to accountability measures. Schools districts receiving large Foundation Aid increases of 10 percent or $15 million that include schools with substandard performance will be required to develop a "Contract for Excellence" which will commit school officials to demonstrate that funds are spent to produce measurable results in student outcomes. These techniques include smaller class sizes, increased student time on task, full-day prekindergarten, teacher quality initiatives, and middle school and high school restructuring.
Other accountability measures include development of improvement targets for individual schools and school districts by the Regents, including State assessments and graduation rates, by July 2008. The Regents will provide a student progress report that gives parents information about their child’s educational progress over multiple years of testing by July 2008 and by July 2010 will establish a system to provide cumulative achievement measures based on data about each student’s progress.
Superintendents, principals, and teachers with a strong educational performance will be recognized and encouraged to assist low performing school districts. The Schools Under Registration Review program will be expanded to increase the number of schools required to implement a reorganization plan and funding will be provided to encourage districts to voluntarily participate in School District Efficiency Reviews.
Educational reforms in the enacted budget include the creation of a Taskforce on Preschool Special Education to review the relationship between preschool special education and other early childhood programs; and the creation of math and science initiatives that will increase the supply of qualified math and science teachers in schools across the State and recognize and reward talented middle school students in math and science.
In addition, the enacted budget supports educational choice by providing for an increase in the charter school cap from 100 to 200. It also provides over $22 million of transitional funding to districts impacted by a concentration of charter schools. There will also be a new requirement for the Regents to notify a school district of a new approved charter school in their district prior to adoption of their school budget.
The enacted budget provides necessary funds to address the school funding issues highlighted by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. The enacted budget also establishes a “maintenance of effort" for Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers to ensure that additional State funds supplement rather than replace current spending.
The budget provides the following funding changes: