Legalizes, validates, ratifies and confirms certain transportation contracts of the Schenectady city school district

BILL NUMBER:S4564

Title of bill

An act to legalize, validate, ratify and confirm certain transportation contracts of the Schenectady city school district

Purpose

To legalize, validate, ratify and confirm certain acts of the Schenectady City School District in order to ensure that the District receives needed state reimbursement that it was supposed to receive for certain transportation contracts.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill legalizes, validates, ratifies and confirms the acts and proceedings of the Schenectady City School District in relation to certain transportation contracts. Section 2 of the bill directs the Education Department to consider the approved costs of such transportation contracts as valid and proper obligations of the Schenectady City School District.

Justification

In 2008, the State Education Department identified an error in a legal notice published several years earlier by the Schenectady City School District in relation to certain transportation services for the 2003-04 school year. Because of this error, the Department indicated that the expected state transportation aid could not be paid for these two contracts which covered the 2003-04 school year. To exacerbate the situation, the Education Department also indicated that the District could not be reimbursed for transportation expenses incurred in connection with the extension of those contracts in the 2004-05, 2005-06,2006-07,2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. Because the School District was unaware that there was a problem with the original contracts, it had extended the contracts several times. Because of the delay in identifying the original error, the potential financial ramifications of this error increased dramatically. The loss of this aid would be an excessive and unwarranted punishment for an unintended error in a legal notice. This would have a significant negative impact on schoolchildren and local taxpayers. The state should not receive a windfall at the expense of the local school district because of an administrative error. This legislation will enable the District to receive the appropriate transportation aid which it would otherwise be entitled to receive.

Fiscal implications

This bill does not cost the state any extra money. Each year, the state budget includes funds to help school districts with their transportation expenses. This bill simply enables the Schenectady City School District to receive the transportation aid that was allocated for it in the state budget. These funds had been set aside for the District to receive as

reimbursement for the expenses it incurred in providing needed transportation services to students.

Effective date

Immediately.