City Newspaper Archives - 2/2008
POLITICS: FAIR Plan back in court
Published by Jeremy Moule on Feb 19, 2008
Monroe County officials and suburban school district leaders will head back to court on February 28. The schools are appealing a Supreme Court decision on County Executive Maggie Brooks's FAIR Plan. | The Republican majority in the County Legislature passed the legislation in late September. The plan included a 50-percent cut in the amount of sales-tax money the county gives to suburban schools. The county says it's legal, but school districts say it violates the Morin-Ryan agreement, a countywide sales-tax sharing plan written into state law. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the county in December. School districts believe they have a better chance with the Appellate Court, because several judges will examine the case, not just one. Any decision, however, will create complications. If school districts lose, cuts and tax increases will be necessary to make up lost funding, say school officials. If the county loses, it will have to pay schools $29 million. That would put it in the same financial predicament it was before FAIR. | Officials promoted the plan as a way to address yearly multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls.
