Campaign for Fiscal Equity Releases Schools for New York’s Future Bill

The Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the organization that brought a school funding lawsuit against the State of New York on behalf of the 1.1 million students of New York City, has released a bill to establish a statewide system of school funding that would ensure universal access to a sound basic education. By establishing a foundation funding level and valid weights for geographic, demographic, and special education circumstances, the new system would provide each of the state’s 700 school districts sufficient funding to maintain adequate educational programs.

Based on the Court’s Ruling

The bill’s approach derives from the most recent hearings in CFE v. State, held by a panel of special masters who found that New York City schools need $5.6 billion more funds for operations each year, as well as $9 billion over several years to upgrade and expand overcrowded facilities. These recommendations were adopted by trial judge Leland DeGrasse, who gave the state 90 days to comply with the order. The state has filed an appeal.

What the Bill Does

The new funding system would provide each district in the state access to a set of basic educational resources by determining a sufficient funding level and an appropriate split of funding responsibility between state and local sources. According to CFE, the bill will

provide an additional $8.6 billion statewide for school operations, to be phased-in over four years;
provide an additional $10 billion statewide for improving facilities over five years;
create a simplified statewide funding system that consolidates over 30 existing state aid categories into a single funding stream;
create a fair formula for each district's state/local share that is based on the local district's ability to pay and its relative enrollment of students with high rates of poverty;
provide an enhanced accountability system to ensure that the influx of funds is used in ways that improve student achievement; and
require public engagement of parents, teachers, administrators, and require school-based planning via shared decision-making teams.

New York is one of several states, including Montana, Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas, that are struggling to develop new funding systems to comply with court orders and their state constitutions. New York’s governor and legislature, trying to escape a legacy of dramatically late budgets, seem unwilling to tackle the issue of funding an adequate educational program. The Schools for New York’s Future Act is thus designed to use the findings from the thorough deliberations during the Special Masters hearings to create a constitutionally sound funding mechanism that the legislature and governor could adopt to solve the problem.

Several statewide organizations, including the Alliance for Quality Education and the New York State United Teachers, have already endorsed the bill, but it remains to be seen whether the legislature will fulfill its obligation to the children of New York. More information, and a copy of the bill, can be found on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity website.