City Newspaper Archives - 4/2008
EDUCATION: The city school district's funding jitters
Published by Tim Louis Macaluso on Apr 02, 2008
The MOE was intended to prevent city officials in the "Big Four" school districts from reducing their contributions to their school districts as the state increased its funding. NYSUT, the union representing the state's educators, backed legislation that would strengthen MOE. But legislators instead are reviewing MOE, with some wanting to scrap it entirely.
"We're talking about a significant amount of money, and a loss would be a major blow to the city school district," says former Rochester schools Superintendent Manny Rivera, who now works for the governor. "We put forth legislation that would allow the city to reduce its contribution to the school district by 2 percent, but only if there is a reduction in the amount it receives from the sales tax."
An $11 million loss could jeopardize some of Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard's recommendations in next year's budget, Brizard said at a budget review committee meeting last night. The city school district is required to spend at least $18 million on state-mandated "Contract for Excellence" programs, which are new initiatives each district creates to raise student achievement. Brizard said he is in discussions with Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver about the potential loss of funding, and its impact on the district's Contract for Excellence programs.
Mayor Bob Duffy has argued that Rochester already contributes more funding to its school district than the other Big Four cities, and that the MOE doesn't allow flexibility as he copes with the city's budget gaps. Last year, the city and the school district resolved their budget differences with an agreement that the city would provide $108 million to the school district, and another $11 million would come from the city in the form of separate appropriations and sharing searches such as computer training.
A decision on MOE is expected from the State Legislature within days.
