Following the original release of this report on May 13, 2014, NYSED updated the underlying data table. This report was updated on May 19, 2014.

Average per-pupil spending under proposed 2014-15 school budgets will increase by 3.2 percent, more than one-and-a-half times the 1.9 percent projected inflation rate, according to analysis issued today by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

The Empire Center’s annual School Budget Spotlight is the only statewide analysis to focus on enrollment-adjusted changes in budgets proposed by districts that have submitted data for the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) annual school property tax report cards.  The School Budget Spotlight provides per-pupil proposed school spending and tax measures for every district in the state as provided by NYSED*, arranged by county and summarized by region.

Based on the Empire Center’s analysis of state School Property Tax Report Card data:

• This year’s average proposed per-pupil spending increase is below last year’s level of 3.9 percent, but above the averages for 2010-11 through 2012-13.
• On a regional basis, the biggest proposed spending increases are in the Southern Tier, where the per-pupil average is up 3.9 percent among the schools in the state data.  Long Island has the lowest increases, with proposed per-pupil spending hikes of 2.8 percent.  The Finger Lakes, North Country, Western New York, Capital and Mohawk Valley regions also were above the statewide average of 3.2 percent.
• The statewide average proposed tax hike of 2.6 percent per pupil is below last year’s 3.9 percent.

Twenty-four districts have proposed budgets exceeding the tax cap, which will require approval by more than 60 percent of voters in budget referenda next Tuesday, May 20.

The School Budget Spotlight, including regional table and district-by-district breakdowns, can be downloaded here.

*The following districts included in the NYSED data were excluded from the Empire Center’s School Budget Spotlight: Bath, Canisteo-Greenwood, Fonda-Fultonville, Onondaga, Port Byron, Patchogue, and Quogue. Data appeared to have inaccuracies and clarification was not available before release.