Legalizes, validates, ratifies and confirms the actions of the Panama central school district regardless of the failure of such district to timely file final building cost reports

BILL NUMBER:S5332

Title of bill

An act to legalize, validate, ratify and confirm the actions of the Panama central school district notwithstanding the failure to timely file final building cost reports with the education department

Purpose or general idea of bill

The purpose of this legislation is to authorize the Panama Central School District to receive state aid despite the error that caused an untimely submission of their building aid project final cost report.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 allows the Education Department to consider the final cost report for Panama Central School as legalized, validated, ratified and confirmed so long as it was submitted before December 21, 2012, the commissioner approved the cost report, all state funds were properly expended for such building project, and the failure to submit the report in a timely manner was an inadvertent administrative or ministerial oversight.

Section 2 provides that this act shall take effect immediately.

Justification

Panama Central School District is a small, rural school district in Southwestern New York with an enrollment of 573 students and a budget of approximately $12,000,000.

In 2005, the Panama Central School District completed a small maintenance project that was closed out. In 2009, Panama Central School District verified that this project was complete as shown on the state website. Panama then started a new project in 2008.

In 2012, Panama Central School reviewed the state's website to find that they had an "open" project with a substantial completion certificate filed on August 28, 2002 and December 12, 2005. This information was not previously made available to Panama Central School when they were closing out their 2005 building project. This meant that Panama Central School neglected to file a Final Cost Report for a building project with the Office of Facility Planning of the State Education Department (SED) within the established time frame.

Requiring the school district to pay back and have anticipated state aid withheld for the projects would amount to withholding 1/3 of the school's yearly spending plan or $4.9 million. This is an onerous and unfair amount for a ministerial oversight that was immediately rectified once the school was made aware of the problem.

This legislation would allow the Education Department to consider the final cost report legalized, validated, ratified and confirmed.

This bill would correct this unfair penalization of the school as well as the taxpayers of the district who must bear its cost.

Prior legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

This legislation will have no fiscal implications for the State since the state aid has already been approved and budgeted.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.