Establishes the commission on education in the twenty-first century

Summary of provisions

Section 1 creates the Commission on Education in the 21st Century consisting of 18 statewide members appointed by the Board of Regents, the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Tempo- rary President of the Senate and the Minority Leaders in both the Assem- bly and Senate.

Section 2 provides that appointments shall be made no later than 45 days after this act becomes law.

Section 3 directs the State Education Department to provide support services to the Commission. The Commission may also employ additional staff.

Section 4 establishes the factors and information to be considered by the Commission in their deliberations. These factors include but are not limited to: the size of each school district and board of cooperative educational services; the demographics of each school district and board of cooperative educational services; opportunities to deliver commod- ities and services through boards of cooperative educational services; transportation and the potential for regional transportation; special education and the potential for regional special education services; population density; and other unique circumstances necessary to maintain the character of schools and ensure equitable access to rigorous programs for all students.

Section 5 establishes that the deliberations of the Commission shall be governed by Article 7 of the Public Officers Law.

Section 6 establishes six different regions defined by board of cooper- ative educational services districts. It provides for the appointment of eight regional members for each region who shall be counted for quorum purposes only when the Commission is acting on recommendations relating solely the regional members' respective region.

This section also provides for the creation of regional advisory commit- tees to conduct public hearings and solicit input from local stakehold- ers including but not limited to school district administrators, district superintendents and superintendents of schools, teachers, school board members, parents, students, non-pedagogical school support personnel, representatives from post-secondary institutions and any

other pertinent groups and individuals. The regional advisory committees shall make recommendations to the commission relating to school district and administrative reconfiguration no later than November 15, 2011.

Section 7 directs the Commission to make recommendations, upon the consideration of demographic, geographic, educational and fiscal indica- tors within each board of cooperative educational services region, for the reconfiguring of school districts and administrative functions to align educational services with regional and local needs.

This section directs the Commission to collaborate with regional advi- sory committees to conduct formal public hearings and solicit input and recommendations from regional and statewide stakeholder interests including but not limited to school district administrators, district superintendents and superintendents of schools, teachers, school board members, parents, students, non-pedagogical school support personnel, representatives from post-secondary institutions and any other pertinent groups and individuals.

On or before December 1, 2011, the Commission shall submit to the Gover- nor and the Legislature restructuring recommendations, which shall include but not be limited to: delivery of commodities and services; pupil transportation; professional development; maintenance; insurance procurement; payroll administration; employee benefit coordination; cooperative purchasing; centralized business operations; school district reconfiguration; transfer of services to the board of cooperative educa- tional services; disposition of real property and school debts; person- nel contracts and collective bargaining agreements; disposition of existing school funds and financial obligations; a transition plan; and estimate and explanation of costs savings through reconfiguration.

Section 8 directs the Commissioner of Education to implement the recom- mendations of the Commission. However, these recommendations shall not go into effect unless the Governor submits written approval of the recommendations to both the Commissioner and the Legislature by December 5, 2011 and if a majority of members from each house of the Legislature vote to adopt a concurrent resolution rejecting the recommendations in their entirety by December 31, 2011.

Section 9 authorizes the Commission to receive funding pursuant to Section 54 of the State Finance Law.

Section 10 establishes a severability clause. Section 11 sets the effec- tive date.

Statement of support

This legislation will establish the Commission on Education in the 21st Century charged with developing a detailed state- wide action plan for the consolidation of school districts and adminis- trative services. The result would assure the goals of modernization, educational excellence, efficiency and cost reduction while preserving the community character of our schools and reliving the pressure on taxpayers.

Our underutilized BOCES system is in a perfect position to take advan- tage of economies of scale to deliver many of the services children and educators need. The Comptroller recently estimated savings of close to $400 million, if school districts took better advantage of the back office services the BOCES already offer.

That savings represents the sharing of services already available. Payroll administration, employee benefit coordination, cooperative purchasing, substitute teacher assignments and safety and risk manage- ment are all offered through BOCES. Increasing cooperative participation and improving regional approaches to more expensive services like special education and health insurance could yield even greater savings and offer a better product at the same time.

Shared services are not the only savings the Commission can achieve. School district lines have not been comprehensively redrawn since the 1950s. Taking into account population shifts and community growth, boun- daries that may have been logical sixty years ago, no longer make sense today. For example, of the 700 school districts in the State of New York, 200 are now serving less than 1,000 students each.

A board, modeled after the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, better known as the Berger Commission, would develop a comprehensive blueprint to remodel the education system. The legislation provides for significant regional and public input by requiring the Commission and regional committees to coordinate with local activists, parents, teachers, administrators and other education advocates to formulate a plan that will modernize our system, lower the cost to taxpayers and provide a better education for our children. Like Berger, the recommendations would automatically go into effect unless voted down in whole by the Legislature.

Prior legislative history

None

Fiscal implications

There are provisions for the commission to be fund- ed through section 54 of the state finance law.

Effective date

Immediately and expires and is deemed repealed June 30, 2013.