Legislators Grilled about Unfunded Mandates, State Aid

Local legislators were put on the hot seat at the by , administrators and Board of Education members.

They wanted to know how their legislators - New York State Assemblyman , State Senator , State Senator , State Assemblyman and Suffolk County Legislator - were going to help Lindenhurst Schools in the face of the New York state tax cap.

Legislators, including Sweeney and Fuschillo, were hopeful they could get some $250 million that Governor Andrew Cuomo is setting aside for competitive grants put back into the tax-cap formula in order to ease the districts like are facing this year.

But that wasn't enough.

Unfunded Mandates
Legislators were grilled specifically about the specter of more such as Governor Andrew Cuomo's desire to link the receipt of state aid to the adoption of a formal enhanced teacher evaulation process, which must be created within the year.

"He wants the teachers' union (New York State United Teachers) to drop an anti-reform lawsuit and adopt standards for APPR or a teacher evaluation plan within 30 days. Or else he'll come up with one of his own and make it part of his budget legislation. And he's giving districts a year from January 17 to put them in place," Superintendent Richard at the BOE .

Nathan mentioned it again at the Breakfast at , noting that it takes money to develop a evaluation program like this.

"It could easily run $100,000," he said.

Fuschillo said he had no problem with evaluations, as long as they're done fairly across the board. However, he doesn't agree with what he characterized as Cuomo's "bully tactics" to get this implemented state-wide.

Boyle agreed, noting the legislature has enough leverage to go after some of what the governor's demanding of districts - especially since Cuomo wants another on-time budget.

Boyle also said legislators should've gone after from the NYS Education Department first before the .

"Last year there was a lot of support for the cap, but not unfunded mandates," Boyle said. "But there's a cry out there for mandate relief, and I think there's political will in the legislature to get something done to help."

To that point Daniel Street Civic Association President told legislators that they need to not only "talk the talk, but walk the walk" when it comes to .

Nathan also pointed out two more new mandates:

• The scoring of state exams: The state wants districts to send out the scoring of these tests instead of having them scored in district.
• The sharing of special education preschool costs: Districts will now have to pay a third of those costs along with the county and state.

BOE Member Valerie McKenna touched on those points, too, noting that with these new mandates that, "We're going the wrong way here."

State Aid and Plea for Relief
BOE President Ed Murphy, Jr. further implored legislators to restore state aid and repeal the tax cap after outlining financial struggles the district is facing for the 2012-13 school year, such as being mandated to pay expected increases in (10 percent-plus), pension costs (10 percent-plus) and step raise inceases (three percent-plus).

In addition, while the district is projected to receive this year, that is offset by the loss of federal jobs aid at $1.5 million, said Nathan and Murphy.

They also noted during the past two school years the district has lost $6.6 million in state aid - despite a little more than $1 million in state aid being for the current school year.

"Districts need legislative help to make the tax cap a reality, not a calamity," Nathan said.

Sweeney told Lindenhurst Patch he believes the $1.6 million in state aid for Lindy schools should increase as legislators head to Albany and hammer out the 2012-13 state budget this March.

"If anything, it'll go up. I fully expect it to," he said. "I don't want to speculate on the amount, but hopefully it'll be a meaningful amount."

Sweeney also told Patch that in addition to offering and its impact in the district's current contract negotiations, he would also be open to discussing exactly what unfunded mandates - beyond what was pinpointed at the Breakfast - could be hurting the district.

"Some of those requirements are there for a reason, but I'm open to discussion," said Sweeney, who's a product of Lindy schools and continues to live in the community. "And it would be helpful to get a specific list."

Editor's Note: Stay "tuned" to Lindenhurst Patch this week for more coverage and information about the Q-and-A session at the Sixth Annual Legislative Breakfast on , and reaction to the event.

Share your thoughts in the comments below, or on Facebook and Twitter, or e-mail barbara.loehr@patch.com with your own opinion piece about the .