R.E.A.D.

The Cost of Underfunded Mandates

May 2011

READ School Districts: Brewster, Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick-Hudson, Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery, Lakeland

Meeting Goals R.E.A.D.

!! Explain our analysis of underfunded mandates. !! Illustrate the need for legislation which requires
calculating local costs associated with bills before they are enacted.

!! Illustrate the need to review current mandates to see if

there are alternatives to reduce costs. !! There are low-hanging, less politically driven mandates that
can be adjusted to reduce tax payer costs immediately.

!! Illustrate the need to slow down APPR implementation,

which could be one of the largest underfunded mandate to date.
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R.E.A.D. R.E.A.D.
Specific Focus !! Rolling back underfunded mandates, by making
lawmakers aware of their actual costs

!! Sharing cost saving ideas among the R.E.A.D.

districts

!! TRS and ERS pension fund shortfalls

Underfunded Mandates R.E.A.D.

!! Be informed:
"!We need to understand where and how funding is spent.

!! Responsible leadership:
"!We represent taxpayers. These mandates are paid for by local
property taxes.

!! Accountability and transparency:

"!School districts must show how they spend money.

R.E.A.D.
#! Special Education & Special Services #! Health & Safety #! Professional Development

Underfunded Mandates
R.E.A.D. created a template that itemizes and presents information on estimating the cost of Underfunded mandates. !!Over 90 mandates are included, segmented into categories:
#! NCLB Requirements/ Academic Intervention Services AIS/RTI #! Buildings & Grounds #! Transportation

#! Finance

R.E.A.D. Presentation, Fall 2010 NYSBBA Conference

R.E.A.D.
district obligations.

Underfunded Mandates
!! State, Federal and SED mandates are included.
"!Does not include mandates which R.E.A.D. feels are necessary "!Does not include costs associated with Benefits (retirement
system, health, etc.), Wicks Law (over the life of the loan), Triborough and other major benefit, negotiation or construction costs.

!! The compilation is an objective view of mandate costs.

"!Each mandate has cost consequences whether or not they are
beneficial. "!The list is continuously updated and revised to be a more accurate representation of mandate obligations. !! The most recent revision is an update developed in December 2009.
R.E.A.D. Presentation, Fall 2010 NYSBBA Conference 6

R.E.A.D.

Mandate Cost Calculation

!! Each district compiles their own data.
!! NYSBBA and Westchester Putnam School Board Association
(WPSBA) are helping to coordinate the effort.

!! Definitions for mandate have been developed so that

districts are consistent in identifying costs associated with mandates. !! Methods for estimating personnel hours and other costs, ST3
locations, etc. are provided to make cost calculations easier.

!! Templates for estimating testing costs and Wicks law costs are
provided.

R.E.A.D. Presentation, Fall 2010 NYSBBA Conference

R.E.A.D.
Transportation!
Private and parochial schools within 15 miles ! Special Education (out of district)! Emissions controls! Bus Driver Training for Special Education Students!

Underfunded Mandates
!! Categories, descriptions, and account codes
are provided. !! School districts provide actual amounts. !! Aid is subtracted from total costs. Description!
Total transportation costs: gas, buses, driver salaries/ benefits! Total transportation costs: gas, buses, driver salaries/ benefits, aids, 19A requirements! ! IEPS etc.!

)*!+,-!./0!.1&20,*3-4+567*!!

Account Codes !
A5510.16, A5545!

Cost!
$3,413,792

A5510.16, A5545!

$8,042,253
$7000 for each new bus. A5510.21! A5510.4! Sum four transportation items and apply State Share Transportation Ratio !

$4,673,564 $15,700

Transportation Aid!

Subtract these costs!

$5,758,238

Subtotal!

"#$%&'(%$(#!
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R.E.A.D.

The Cost of Underfunded Mandates

!! In FY 08-09, the total cost for these Underfunded mandates for
seven districts was $94.4 million, or an average of 20% of the entire school budget.
Total School District Budgets: $464.8 million
Source: Underfunded Mandate spreadsheet, 8 districts, FY 08-09: Brewster, Carmel, Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick-Hudson, Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery, Lakeland

R.E.A.D.
2008-2009 Underfunded Mandate Costs by Area

The Cost of Underfunded Mandates

NCLB/AIS, 9.5% *Other = Transportation, Health & Safety (1.4%), 11.0% Finance (.4%), Other *, Buildings and 2.2% Grounds and other (category not specified) mandates (<1%)

Special Ed/ Services, 77.4%

Source: Underfunded Mandate spreadsheet, 8 districts FY 08-09: Brewster, Carmel Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick-Hudson, Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery, Lakeland
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Statewide Costs R.E.A.D.

Statewide Costs for Underfunded Mandates Total FY '08-09 budget for 675 districts % of budget that is due to Underfunded mandates Total Statewide Cost of Underfunded Mandates (extrapolated)
* Not including big 5 cities and special act districts. Source: Underfunded Mandate spreadsheet, 8 districts FY 08-09: Brewster, Carmel Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick-Hudson, Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery, Lakeland
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675 Districts $30,805,193,773 20% $6,161,038,755

R.E.A.D.
!! !! !! !! !! !!

The Cost of Underfunded Mandates

The numbers add up quickly for eight school districts... Over $587,881 in testing costs. Over $151,460 in internal audit costs. Over $541,093 in data warehousing costs. Over $287,338 in special education legal costs. Over $66,185 in Special Education (STAC) reporting. Over $118,000 in clerical costs associated with professional development & monitoring highly qualified teacher requirements. compliance (OSHA, DEC, elevators, fire safety, extinguishers).
Source: Underfunded Mandate spreadsheet, 8 districts FY 08-09: Brewster, Carmel Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick-Hudson, Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery, Lakeland
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!! Over $209,779 in inspections, monitoring, and

R.E.A.D.
The True Cost Of Underfunded Mandates
Testing Internal audit and risk assessment Data warehousing Special Education legal costs Special Education (STAC) reporting. Clerical costs associated with professional development & monitoring highly qualified teacher requirements. Inspections, monitoring, and compliance (OSHA, DEC, elevators, fire safety, extinguishers Total Costs for Select Mandates

The Cost of Underfunded Mandates

Total Costs for Seven Districts
$587,881 $151,460 $541,093 $287,338 $66,185

Average Cost Per District

$73,485 $18,933 $67,637 $35,917 $8,273

Extrapolated Over 675 Districts*

$49,602,459 $12,779,438 $45,654,722 $24,244,144 $5,584,359

$118,000

$14,750

$9,956,250

$209,779 $1,961,736

$26,222 $245,217

$17,700,103 $165,521,475

* Not including big 5 cities and special act districts. Source: Underfunded Mandate spreadsheet, 8 districts FY 08-09: Brewster, Carmel Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick-Hudson, Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery, Lakeland
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Legislation Initial Requests

May 2011

R.E.A.D.

!! Underfunded mandate reduction act, following the lines of the federal paperwork
reduction act. !! Requires a cost estimate for each new mandate from the legislature or the education
department. These costs would be calculated for the different types of local districts and accumulated for a statewide total mandate cost.

!! Legislation to reduce the cost of the new comptrollers audits, which have cost
taxpayers more to conduct than they have saved. !! Reduce the frequency to every two years !! Streamline the requirements on districts who have had clean records for two cycles, to a
half-cost audit.

!! Support for the bill allowing amortization of TRS payments (Member Abbates Bill
Number A06309 - Same as State Senate Number S 4067).

!! Delay introduction of APPR until costs associated with implementation such

as data collection, reporting, training, etc. are known and mechanisms for paying for these costs are implemented. !! Estimated costs for 6 Rockland districts are $2.7 million per year. Extrapolated to 675
school districts the cost per year could be over $306 million per year.
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R.E.A.D. R.E.A.D.
Brewster Central School District 30 Farm to Market Road Brewster, NY 10509 Superintendent Dr. Jane Sandbank jsandbank@brewsterschools.org 845-279-8000 President of Board of Education Dr. Stephen Jambor oehan@aol.com Haldane Central School District 15 Craigside Drive Cold Spring, NY 10516 Superintendent Dr. Mark Villanti mvillanti@haldane.lhric.org 845-265-9254 President of Board of Education David Merandy dmerandy@haldane.lhric.org

Hendrick Hudson Central School District 61 Trolley Road Montrose, NY 10548 Superintendent Dr. Daniel McCann Daniel.McCann@henhudschools.org Phone: 914-257-5112 President of Board of Education Marion Walsh Marion.Walsh@henhudschools.org

R.E.A.D. R.E.A.D.
Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery School District PO Box 287 Highland Falls, NY 10928 Superintendent Dr. Debra Jackson djackson@hffmcsd.org Phone (845) 446-9575 President of the Board of Education Kevin D'Onofrio kdonofrio@hffmcsd.org Lakeland Central School District 1086 East Main Street Shrub Oak, NY 10588 Superintendent Dr. George Stone gstone@lakelandschools.org 914-245-1700, ext. 222 President of Board of Education Elizabeth Kogler

R.E.A.D. R.E.A.D.
Croton-Harmon Union Free School District 10 Gerstein Street Croton-On-Hudson, NY 10520 Superintendent Dr. Edward R. Fuhrman Jr.* Edward.fuhrman@chufsd.org 914-271-4793 President of Board of Education Karen Zevin Karen.zevin@chufsd.org Garrison Union Free School District 1100 Route 9D Garrison, NY 10524 Superintendent Gloria J. Colucci* gcolucci@gufs.org 845-424-3689 President of Board of Education Carol McCullough cmccullough@gufs.org

* R.E.A.D. Co-Chairs for 2010-2011 Website: http://www.READ1.Org