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April 7, 2008
Unfunded Mandates
Dear Community Members:
For any years now the term ‘unfunded mandates” has been
discussed during the preparation of school budgets. One of the biggest
frustrations we face when developing a school district budget is the
continual addition of additional unfunded mandates each year. Although most
of the mandates are initiated in a sincere effort to academically support
and to ensure the safety and security of our students, the additional costs
to school districts have been born by our taxpayers for years. This year we
have worked with our local legislators to identify specific costs to our
district and to ask for their assistance in reducing this burden to
taxpayers.
The
following is a partial list of some of the recent State and Federal unfunded
mandates that are challenging our school district budgets.
-
Academic Intervention Services
-
Grade 3-8 Testing
-
Teacher Mentoring Program
- Internet Filtering
Regulations
-
Data Warehouse
-
E-Discovery Ruling
-
Use of Calculators for State Testing
- Internal Audit
Requirements
- GASB 45
- EPA
Requirements for New Buses
-
Professional Development Mandates
-
Automatic External Defibrillators-AEDS
-
504 Plan Accommodations
- Response
to Intervention
- School
Safety Plans
- CPR and
First Aid Training
- Green
Product Use
-
McKinney-Vinto Homeless Legislation
- Medicaid
Reimbursement Reductions
I would like to identify for you the budgetary impact of just a very few of
these items. The financial software program used by most school districts
now does not comply with the New York State Comptroller’s requirement.
Therefore, Central Square and many other districts will be forced to
purchase a new financial software package at a cost of $75,000.
Additionally, now all districts must hire an actuarial firm to complete the
requirements of the GASB 45 Regulations, which will cost another $18,000.
The cost of scoring the Grades 3-8 tests amounts to approximately $21,000 a
year, which is the cost of substitutes to cover classrooms while teachers
are grading the tests.
During the 2006-07 school
year a directive was received from the State Education Department stating
that schools must provide calculators to
students for the math examinations, an unbudgeted
expense for that current school year which resulted in a cost of $20,000.
and an additional $20,000. this year.
Basically two revenue
sources support public education; State Aid and the tax levy. As you know,
these additional expenses must be absorbed by our already burdened
taxpayers. At the same time that the unfunded
mandate costs have been escalating Central
Square School District’s Title One (Federal) funding has been reduced by
$292,000 over the last five years.
As this time we are still waiting for information regarding the educational
funding that will be provided to our district for the 2008-09 school year
through State Aid. However, it is reassuring to know that our local
legislators have carried the message to Albany of the impact of past,
present and future unfunded mandates on the entire educational system.
Carolyn F. Costello
Superintendent of Schools
 since 4/8/2008
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