Reports

New York State requires school districts to report extensive data on their finances, student demographics and outcomes, teachers, school facilities, school climate and other factors. This report offers a regional perspective on some of this data. Looking at the results this way highlights geographic variation in these indicators.  

Interactive Map | Technical Appendix [pdf]

The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System (FSMS) annually assesses fiscal stress in local governments and school districts. This is the fourth annual FSMS scoring of school districts, showing results for the four school years through 2015-16.

In 2016, OSC completed 26 audits of expenses submitted to SED by preschool special education providers. These audits have cumulatively identified about $5.5 million in recommended disallowances, or nearly 3 percent of the total claimed expenses of almost $188 million for the audit period. 

Educators tell us that healthier students are better learners. Fresh produce can be an especially important part of a well-balanced diet, and research indicates that children eat more fruits and vegetables when those items are regularly offered.

Countless New Yorkers have found higher education the path to a more satisfying and financially secure life. Each year, college graduates, young and not-so-young, embark upon new opportunities that may have been unattainable without the benefits of college and university studies.

This report examines the recent history of school aid, highlighting the opportunities and challenges presented by this year’s budget. The first section looks at aid from the school district perspective, followed by a discussion in the context of New York’s overall budget.

In 2015, OSC completed 23 audits of expenses submitted to SED by preschool special education providers. These audits have cumulatively identified over $10 million in disallowances, or about 3.4 percent of the total claimed expenses of almost $301 million for the audit period. 

The number of school districts overriding the tax cap has declined each year. In general, school districts’ decisions to override the tax cap were based, at least in part, on necessity. When examining the relationship between fiscal stress and tax cap overrides, we found that fiscally stressed school districts were nearly three times more likely to override the tax cap when compared to school districts that were not designated as stressed.

2013-2015 Tax Cap Data - Excel

As of December 2014, OSC has completed 40 audits of expenses submitted to SED by preschool and/or school age special education providers over the last decade. These audits have cumulatively identified almost $42 million in disallowances, or 7.6 percent of the total claimed expenses of $544 million for the audit period. 

More than a decade ago, New York became the fourth state in the nation to extend in-state college tuition rates to undocumented immigrant students. Today, approximately 8,300 such students attend public institutions of higher education throughout New York.

Spanish

This report summarizes findings from the first set of fiscal stress scores to be released for school districts. Statewide, 12.9 percent of school districts are in some level of fiscal stress. Within the report, common fiscal and environmental factors are highlighted along with differences for school districts of varying need/resource capacity.

School districts are facing a set of unique fiscal challenges that have left many tightening their belts even as the economic recovery has begun to improve New York State finances.

On July 1, 2012, the interest rate on subsidized Direct Federal Loans for college students (also known as Stafford Loans) is set to revert to 6.8 percent for new loans, unless the U.S. Congress acts to prevent the increase.

School districts can use EBALR moneys to make cash payments to employees for accrued leave time due to them when they leave school district employment. OSC certified the excess EBALR funds that school districts had reserved, but could not legally use, so district officials could put these moneys to productive use to pay for operating costs. 

This report briefly describes that the average allowable levy growth is 3 percent, rather than the 2 percent voters may be expecting.
All tax cap elements, as reported by school districts to the Office of the State Comptroller, are provided in the accompanying tables. 

Tax Cap Elements by County [xls] | Tax Cap Elements by Region [xls] | Tax Cap Elements by School [xls]

The Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) is among the nation’s largest state‐ sponsored, need‐based grant programs for student aid.

The 2011-12 Executive Budget proposes a $1.5 billion net cut in State aid to schools, which would result in a 7.3 percent decrease in aid to districts statewide, translating to a 2.9 percent reduction to total general fund budgets.

District by District report - pdf

This report describes the fiscal challenges facing school districts in New York State. As with other classes of government, school districts have struggled to maintain fiscal balance in the midst of rising costs and declining economic conditions.

Regional Profiles

In New York State, higher education is a major industry. The State’s 269 degree-granting colleges and universities employed 266,110 people and paid out $13.2 billion in wages in 2009.

New Yorkers plan to spend up to $192 million for back-to-school supplies this year, with approximately 64 percent of this spending ($123 million) driven by school supply lists from their children’s schools.