Education Department, State

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/22/08.

Mission

The State Education Department (SED) is the administrative agency of the Board of Regents. The Department's primary mission is to oversee public elementary and secondary education programs throughout New York and promote educational excellence, equity and cost-effectiveness.

Budget Highlights

The Executive Budget recommends $31.54 billion in All Funds support ($19.15 billion General Fund; $12.39 billion Other Funds) for programs and operations of the State Education Department. This is an increase of $1.52 billion ($1.19 billion General Fund; $0.33 billion Other Funds) from the 2007-08 budget. This net change primarily reflects continued growth in School Aid of $1.46 billion for the 2008-09 school year including an increase of $899 million in Foundation Aid and an increase of $347 million for school construction and transportation services; an appropriation increase of $88 million for STAR and a Federal funds increase of $73 million.

Recommended staffing levels for 2008-09 are projected to total 3,287 positions at year's end, with 439 positions, or approximately 13 percent, supported by the General Fund. Various dedicated fees, charge-backs and Federal grants will support the remaining staff.

SCHOOL AID

The Executive Budget continues the multi-year education improvement strategy through continued implementation of the plan to increase State support for education coupled with accountability measures.

Major budget actions for the 2008-09 school year include:

• School Year Support: The Executive Budget provides $21.01 billion in State support for public schools for the 2008-09 school year, an increase of $1.46 billion, or 7.45 percent. When this amount is combined with the increase in school aid provided last year, State support for public schools will have increased by $3.18 billion compared to the amounts provided in 2006-07. By 2010-11, the 4-year increase will be over $7 billion.

• Fiscal Year Support: The Executive Budget provides $20.43 billion in State support for public schools in 2008-09, a fiscal year increase of $1.39 billion, or 7.3 percent.

• Foundation Aid: The Executive Budget continues implementation of Foundation Aid. Based on updated wealth and demographic information reported by school districts, the expected amount and distribution of Foundation Aid changed significantly under present law. While the basic elements of Foundation Aid, such as calculating funding based on the cost of a successful education and student needs remain in place, the Executive Budget recommends several adjustments to the formula. These adjustments will ensure that high needs school districts continue to receive the greatest increases in Foundation Aid. In addition, for 2008-09, all school districts will receive a minimum increase of 2 percent and a maximum increase of 15 percent in total Foundation Aid. In 2008-09, school districts will receive 37.5 percent of the planned four year increase. These changes result in a recommended increase of $899 million. Since the inception of Foundation Aid, school districts will have received approximately $2 billion in additional Foundation Aid payments.

• Universal Prekindergarten: The Executive Budget recommends total funding of $452 million for the 2008-09 school year to expand access to quality prekindergarten programs. The recommended formula for the 2008-09 school year includes a targeted approach to expansion while also providing school districts with stability in funding. When fully implemented in the 2010-11 school year, it is projected that total funding for Universal Prekindergarten will grow to $633 million. The Executive Budget also recommends $2 million for Universal Prekindergarten and Full Day Kindergarten planning and transition grants.

• Support for School Construction: The Executive Budget recommends over $2 billion in State support for the construction of school facilities, an increase of $174 million. The Executive Budget recommends modifications to conform payment of building aid to New York City for new projects to the process used for all other school districts in the State. In addition, in 2008-09, the State will provide EXCEL Building Aid totaling $135 million - reflecting the State's 2008-09 debt service cost for EXCEL bonds. EXCEL will provide school districts with $2.6 billion in bonded State grants to support school construction costs that are associated with increasing school capacity to reduce overcrowding in classrooms and projects related to health and safety and improving energy efficiency. As additional bonds are issued up to the total authorized amount of $2.6 billion, the annual amount of EXCEL Building Aid will increase to $191 million.

• High Tax Aid: The Executive Budget continues State funding of $100 million for High Tax Aid for school districts with high tax effort relative to the statewide average. However, the recommended allocation of High Tax Aid for 2008-09 would direct a greater proportion of aid to high and average need school districts.

• BOCES: The Executive Budget recommends modifications to the existing BOCES Aid formula to more accurately reflect school districts' current fiscal capacity as measured by both relative income and property wealth. The Executive Budget recommends $594 million in BOCES Aid in 2008-09. This reflects a year-to-year decrease of $31 million due to a change in the reimbursement ratio.

• Transportation Aid: The Executive Budget recommends more than $1.52 billion for reimbursement for the costs of transporting 2.3 million students statewide. This represents an increase of $108 million.

• Bilingual Education/English Language Learners: The Executive Budget recommends $13.5 million in funding for Bilingual Education grants, an increase of $2 million. These funds support programs which include technical assistance centers, two-way Bilingual classrooms, intensive Bilingual teacher training and leadership programs. The increase will provide incentive funds for school districts to implement model programs with demonstrated effectiveness. Additionally, the Executive Budget recommends increasing funding for the State University of New York's (SUNY) Office of Diversity and Educational Equity by $200,000 to provide resources necessary for the development and dissemination of model programs proven to be effective in meeting the needs of English Language Learners.

• Healthy Schools: The Executive Budget proposes measures which enhance the nutritional quality of school meals while improving access and affordability. Specifically, reimbursement for school meals will be increased by $9 million for the 2008-09 school year, so that all children now eligible for reduced price meals will be able to receive school meals at no cost. In addition, beginning in 2009-10, State reimbursement for all meals will be increased to enable schools to purchase healthier food.

• Charter Schools: The Executive Budget provides $21 million in Transitional Aid for school districts impacted by a concentration of charter schools, as well as $6 million for technical assistance and start-up grants for Charter Schools.

• Math/Science Initiatives: The Executive Budget continues the $10 million provided for math and science initiatives. The uses of the funding will be expanded to include pre-engineering and advanced hands-on technical learning opportunities, such as robotics, that are an essential part of modern scientific applications.

• New York City Academic Achievement Grant: The Executive Budget recommends two New York City Academic Achievement Grants of $100 million and $79 million. These grants will be available for operating expenses, if not required to offset additional expense-based aid claims.

• Special Services Aid: The Executive Budget recommends total funding of $171 million, an increase of $39 million. This aid category funds career education programs and computer services for school districts that are not component districts of BOCES.

• Supplemental Educational Improvement Plan Grant: The Executive Budget includes $17.5 million for this program, which provides additional resources to the Yonkers City School District in support of its educational improvement plan.

• Categorical Teacher Programs: Support for programs to attract, retain and support teachers is continued at $50 million with $40 million available for Teacher Centers and $10 million available for the Teacher-Mentor Intern program.

• Teachers of Tomorrow: The Executive Budget continues this $25 million program for incentives, such as awards and stipends, to retain and attract teachers into New York State classrooms, particularly in areas where teacher shortages exist. The program will expand to assist subject matter specialists working in private industry, such as engineers and computer scientists, to become certified classroom teachers.

• School Leadership Initiatives: The Executive Budget recommends the establishment of a Task Force on School Leadership. The Task Force will evaluate the processes through which school leaders and supervisors develop and recommend new programs and services to ensure that these leaders are prepared for the challenges of educating the New York's students. In addition, the State Education Department will develop accountability measures for school leaders by January 1, 2009.

• Other Programs: The Executive Budget recommends funding based on existing statutory formulas for several programs including: Textbook Aid; Library Materials Aid; Computer Software Aid; Computer Hardware Aid; Full Day Kindergarten Conversion Aid; and Reorganization Incentive Aid.

STATE OPERATIONS

The taxpayer-supported General Fund provides 10.5 percent of the Department's operating budget. Federal grants, including programs for disadvantaged pupils, account for 56.9 percent of the agency's resources. The remaining 32.6 percent is derived from fees, charge-backs and other miscellaneous receipts. For 2008-09, the Department's General Fund State Operations support totals $570 million, an increase of $11.8 million.

Major budget actions include:

• Accountability Initiative: The Executive Budget provides $15 million for accountability requirements, the same level as in 2007-08 which will continue to enhance the ability of the Department to measure and improve educational outcomes with a particular focus on Contract for Excellence districts.

• Staffing: The Executive Budget recommends a staffing level of 3,287 FTEs for the State Education Department, an increase of 113 from the 2007-08 Enacted Budget. This increase primarily reflects new hires for the continuing implementation of accountability standards enacted in the 2007-08 Budget and the transfer of off-budget staff to the Office of Cultural Education.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

School Age Special Education

School districts receive funding for Special Education services to school-age children through the Foundation Aid formula. In addition, High Cost Excess Cost Aid and Private Excess Cost Aid supplement Foundation Aid for students with severe needs. The Executive Budget recommends continuing existing statutory provisions for these two aid categories with total funding of $672 million for the 2008-09 school year, an increase of $37 million or 5.8 percent. The one-year authorization for Supplemental Public Excess Cost Aid is not continued in the 2008-09 school year.

Preschool Special Education

Approximately 500 providers (school districts, BOCES, and private entities) operate preschool special education programs that provide educational and therapeutic services to approximately 84,000 children aged 3 to 5. The Temporary Taskforce on Preschool Special Education (Taskforce), which was created in the 2007-08 Enacted Budget, submitted its recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on November 15, 2007. The Taskforce recommended placing responsibility for preschool decision-making and the service delivery processes with school districts, since school districts have the responsibility for ensuring the provision of special education services under both Federal and State law.

The Executive Budget recommends reforms that align school districts' fiscal responsibility with their programmatic responsibility for the preschool special education program. The General Fund recommendation of $662 million will support the 59.5 percent State share of preschool special education program costs in the 2008-09 fiscal year. The Executive Budget also includes $20 million for additional State reimbursement to eligible counties for costs that exceed the predetermined growth rate.

Major budget actions include:

• County Costs in Preschool Special Education: The Executive Budget recommends limiting the growth in county costs for preschool special education. Under the proposal, county costs for the 2007-08 school year will be no more than 4 percent higher than their costs for the prior period with the State assuming the remainder of the cost growth. By the 2009-10 school year, annual growth in county costs will be limited to 3 percent. However, this limit on county costs growth will not be applicable to New York City, as its five counties constitute both a unified government and a single school district.

• Preschool Evaluations: The Executive Budget recommends allocating to school districts the programmatic and fiscal responsibility for the evaluation of preschoolers suspected of having disabilities resulting in State savings of $24 million in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

• Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) Administration: The Executive Budget also recommends allocating a portion of CPSE administration costs to school districts resulting in State savings of $22 million in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Summer School Special Education

The summer school special education program supports educational services provided during July and August for approximately 40,000 disabled students aged 5 to 21. The State covers 70 percent of the total education, transportation and maintenance costs of summer programs, with school districts contributing 20 percent and counties 10 percent. The 2008 09 Executive Budget continues funding of $243 million to support the 70 percent State share of the program costs.

State-Supported Private Schools for the Blind and Deaf

Approximately 1,600 students attend 11 private schools for the blind and deaf. The 2008-09 total funding recommendation of $123 million, an increase of $4.7 million, covers approximately 90 percent of the tuition and maintenance costs for these students and also includes $7 million to cover debt service for capital construction.

EDUCATION-RELATED PROGRAMS

The Executive Budget recommends a net year-to-year reduction of approximately $20 million in funding for education-related programs. This reduction is primarily due to the elimination of funding for one-time legislative grants. The reduction is partially offset by planned increases in costs associated with The Healthy Schools Act and $10 million in State funding to supplement existing Federal funding for after school programs.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

In addition to funding for agency operations, the Department's budget also includes support for various aid programs in the areas of higher education, cultural education and vocational rehabilitation. The Executive Budget provides funding for the following programs:

• Library Aid ($96.3 million);

• Library Construction Aid ($14.0 million);

• Public Broadcasting Aid ($18.8 million);

• VESID Case Services ($54.6 million);

• Supported Employment ($16.4 million);

• Independent Living Centers ($11.7 million);

• Unrestricted Aid for Independent Colleges and Universities ($41.0 million);

• Higher Education Opportunity Program ($24.2 million);

• Liberty Partnerships ($12.0 million);

• Teacher Opportunity Program ($0.7 million); and

• Science and Technology Entry Program ($19.0 million).

Major budget actions include:

• Cultural Education: The Executive Budget recommends $42 million in new capital funding for cultural education facilities, including: $13 million for expansion of the State Records Center; $14 million for public library construction projects; and $15 million for the State Museum Renewal project reflecting the replacement of previous state operations appropriations with a bonded appropriation.

• Other Capital Support: The Executive Budget recommends $15 million in new capital support for health and safety and minor rehabilitation projects at SED facilities including the Batavia School for the Blind and the Rome School for the Deaf, and the Cultural Education Center and the Education Building.

• Bundy Aid: The Executive Budget recommends a 2.5 percent, or $1.05 million, reduction from base level funding for Unrestricted Aid for Independent Colleges and Universities, also known as Bundy Aid. After this reduction, funding for Bundy Aid will total $41 million for the 2008-09 Academic Year. This recommendation is consistent with the rate of productivity savings assumed in the Executive Budget for SUNY and CUNY.

SCHOOL TAX RELIEF (STAR)

The School Tax Relief (STAR) program was enacted in 1997 to provide needed tax relief for homeowners across the State. The Executive Budget provides $4.97 billion for the existing STAR program comprised of the enhanced STAR exemption for eligible senior citizens, the basic STAR exemption for other homeowners, the New York City Personal income tax rate reduction and refundable tax credit and the Middle Class Rebate Program. This represents an appropriation increase of $88 million.

Major budget actions include:

• “Floor” Provision: The Executive Budget changes the “floor” adjustment that limits annual reductions in STAR exemption amounts from 5 percent to 10 percent. This is expected to produce a savings of $110 million for 2008-09.

• Rebate Offsets: The Executive Budget authorizes the Tax Department to offset tax debts, child support and other debts against STAR rebates. Such debts include, among other items, delinquent taxes, past-due child support and certain State overpayments. This action increases revenues by $15 million annually beginning in 2008-09.

• NYC PIT: The Executive Budget restructures the NYC STAR income tax program by targeting the flat refundable credit to taxpayers with incomes under $250,000. This reduces spending by $20 million in 2008-09.

• Delay the Rebate Increase: The Executive Budget delays the scheduled 2008-09 increases in the Basic Middle Class STAR Rebate Program by one year, making the program fully phased in during 2010-11. This would reduce spending by $169 million in 2008-09. A corresponding change in NYC credit amount increases would reduce spending by $40 million in 2008-09.

2008-09 Executive Budget — Agency Presentation
Education Department, State (PDF)