Establishes a board of cooperative educational services school district restructuring committee

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Subdivision 4 of section 1950 of the Education Law is amended adding a new paragraph oo to read as follows:

oo. To establish, no later than October 1, 2013, a Board of Cooperative Educational Services School District (BOCES) Restructuring Committee to study and review the organization and operation of all component and non-component school districts within the area served by BOCES, other than those school districts formed by special act or in cities having a population of one million or more inhabitants.

Subdivision 1: Sets forth the membership, structure, and process of each committee including being open to the public and the inclusion of at least one public hearing to be held within the BOCES district on or before June 15, 2012.

Subdivision 2: Describes the study parameters for each committee including the use of enrollments and financial circumstances as well as the identification and evaluation of opportunities for cost savings and service improvements through school district restructuring and reorganization. Committee findings will be summarized in a preliminary report.

Subdivision 3: States that on or before October 1, 2015, the committee will issue a final report containing final recommendations on sharing or consolidation of services.

Subdivisions 4 & 5: Lays out participant roles and duties, deadlines, and required actions including preliminary and final report dissemination.

Section 2: Subdivision 6 of section 314 of the Education Law, as amended by chapter 163 of the laws of 1972, is amended as follows:

Subdivision 6 a-c: Details the circumstances under which a school district will not be eligible to receive building aid unless recommended reorganization takes place, with exceptions.

Section 3: Paragraph a of subdivision 14 of section 3602 of the Education Law, is amended as follows:

3a Sets forth apportionment requirements, and aid on capital outlays or debt services as related to recommended school district reorganization detailing commissioner, chancellor, committee of the regents' duties and procedure deadlines.

Justification

New York State's local property taxes are 79% above the national average, and are the highest of the large states in the country. School taxes account for the lion's share, close to 60%, with counties and municipalities contributing about 40% (20% each). Educational and municipal spending continues to climb so that the local property tax levy is increasing to crisis proportions, imposing significant hardship on New York taxpayers with detrimental effects on the state economy. To address this predicament, two statewide commissions were created to examine the problem and propose solutions, The Commission on local Efficiency and Competitiveness (known as the Lundine Commission) and New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief (known as the Suozzi Commission), gathered data, held public hearings, and issued final reports in 2005 with a plethora of recommendation. In relation to school funding and expenditures, both Commissions recommended that the BOCES model be expanded upon to share and consolidate services, thereby cutting costs.

BOCES was formed in 1948 to assist rural school districts by improving their education offerings through the sharing of services. Today there are 37 BOCES, now charged with providing both instructional programs and support services to school districts within their jurisdiction. Instructional services include vocational-technical programs, physical and occupational therapy, and literacy programs. Support services include stall development, central bus maintenance, central business office, regional information centers, and back office operations such as payroll. Notably, however, BOCES still plays an extensive role in the sharing of services among school districts.

BOCES was recommended as a model for the reduction of school district expenditures because it can build upon its mission, organizational structure, and relationship with local school districts. School districts are unique, being local in nature and deeply rooted in their individual communities, so that any changes must be effected from a bottoms-up, consensual, and transparent approach to guarantee success. This legislation sets up a structure and process whereby savings can be realized with maximum input from the educational, administrative, governmental, and public sectors.

Prior legislative history

A.9208 of 2009/2010

Fiscal implications

Projected savings to BOCES and school districts.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of October next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.