School Spending

1
School Spending Where it Goes
NYS school districts excluding NYC

• 71 of spending is for personnel
• 52 salaries
• 19 benefits

Source Council analysis of NYSED 2005-06
School District Fiscal Profiles NYC excluded
2
Employee benefit cost increases exceeded state
aid increases between 2002-03 and 2005-06
Pension costs have stabilized in more recent
years, but what happens when current market
downturn is factored into contribution rates?
Source Council analysis of NYSED School
District Fiscal Profiles NYC excluded
3
Special education (for students with
disabilities) is a major cost-driver

• New York has the 2nd most costly special
  education system in the country.
• We cant really blame the Feds
• SEDs own analysis of NYS policies which exceed
  Federal requirements is 30 pages long.
• If NYS were to reduce spending simply to the
  national average it would save 1.3 billion per
  year.
• Our results dont justify this spending, and all
  these regulations arent working our special
  education graduation rate is below the national
  average.
• Yet last year, Lawmakers and the Governor enacted
  2 costly new mandates.

4
Superintendents targets for cost savings
(informal survey results)
Local Action State Help Desired
Energy conservation (e.g., cut back on transportation, building improvements) Special education (e.g., pare back to US regulations)
Health insurance (e.g., increase employee contributions, join consortia) Health insurance (e.g., state or regional plans).
Staff reductions General mandate relief/no new mandates.
Non-personnel (e.g., freeze) Personnel (e.g., Triborough, regional bargaining streamline discipline/removal)
Other personnel (e.g., smaller negotiated salary increases, cut professional development) Pensions (e.g., employee contributions past 10 years, other).
Greater use of BOCES, other shared services. Transportation law amendments
5
Other Cost Savings?

• School Consolidation
• Revenue Schools as tax shelters.
• 68 districts have more than 1 million per pupil
  in property wealth
• 23 of those districts have fewer than 350 pupils,
  most have less than 1500
• If they were all to tax at the state average
  property tax rate, they would generate 1.8
  billion in additional revenue.
• Expenditures Is the juice worth the squeeze?
• Of the 194 districts lt1000 kids, 145 are below
  average wealth, 2/3rds already spend below the
  state average. Even if they could all save 5,
  this would amount to just 78 million statewide.

• Universal Health Insurance Plans?
• Co-location of social/health services.
• Intergovernmental collaboration.