Two
New York Cost Studies Call for Billions More for SchoolsAt the end of
March 2004, two studies of the cost of providing New York
students with the opportunity for a "sound basic education," as required
by the State Constitution, were released. Both independent studies determined
that billions more in school funding are needed annually - as much as 26.5% more. New
York Adequacy Study On March 30, 2004, the Campaign
for Fiscal Equity released the results of the New
York Adequacy Study, a 15-month, foundation-funded cost study undertaken by
researchers from the American Institutes
for Research (AIR) and Management
Analysis & Planning, Inc. (MAP). The researchers calculated the cost of
providing all New York students the opportunity to meet the state's academic goals,
the "Regents Learning Standards." This study used the professional judgment
methodology, supplemented
by statistical analyses and an analysis of successful New York schools, to obtain
its figures. In addition, this was only the second study in the country
in which the researchers sought input from the public through extensive public
engagement meetings held around the state. The study results show that 517
of the state's 700 school districts are not spending an adequate amount on education
and estimates that an additional $6.6 to $9.1 billion in 2004-05 dollars is needed
to bring opportunity to the adequacy level. In 2001-02, New York spent $31.7
billion on pre-K to 12 education for its 2.9 million students. Governor's
Commission and Standard & Poor's Cost Study On March 29, 2004, the
New York Commission on Education Reform
("Zarb Commission"), appointed by the governor and chaired by Frank
G. Zarb, released its recommendations for reform to New York's school funding
system. The Commission's final
report deferred to "the State's elected leaders" to revise the funding
system, but recommended, inter alia, that the State: increase school funding by
$2.5 to $5.6 billion annually; direct more funding to school districts educating
low-income and ELL students; simplify the funding system; and improve predictability
of funding by creating a dedicated fund guaranteed by the State's General Fund
and committing to state aid on a two-year basis. To assist in its work,
the Commission asked Standard
and Poor's (S&P, the credit rating company) to "conduct an analysis
of spending by successful school districts to help determine the cost of providing
all students the opportunity to acquire a sound basic education." The S&P
analysis defined successful school districts under four different achievement
criteria, then determined average expenditures per-pupil in those districts, and
eliminated the higher spending 50% of the districts. Legislature Must
Deliver Remedy for CFE v. State by July 30, 2004 The results
of the two cost studies, the Commission's report, and funding system changes proposed
in January 2004 by the State Board of Regents are now in the hands of the governor
and legislative leaders, as they deliberate over the 2004-05 state budget. Soon,
they will also receive CFE's "Sound Basic Education Task Force" final
proposals on operating aid, building aid, and accountability. In June 2003,
in CFE v. State, the New York Court of Appeals
(the state's highest court) declared that the state's education finance system
violates the State Constitution and ordered the State to "ascertain the actual
cost of providing a sound basic education" as the first step in its three-part
remedy. The state must also ensure that every school has the resources necessary
for providing the opportunity for a sound basic education and ensure a system
of accountability to measure whether the reforms actually provide the opportunity
for a sound basic education. The Court set a deadline of July 30, 2004 for
implementation of the necessary reforms. Prepared March 31, 2004
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