The Yonkers school district will be the first to get a special added state aid handout from a $100 million "Upstate Distressed Schools Fund" announced over the weekend by Governor Andrew Cuomo. But it's not as if public schools in the City of Gracious Living have been shortchanged. Read More
ALBANY – New York's tax cap limits the growth in property taxes to 2 percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. So next year, because of low inflation, the tax cap could be Read More
Salaries for teachers and administrators increased 7.2 percent over the past four years as school districts have sought to trim costs amid declining enrollment and growing costs. Read More
Don't look now, but given current inflation trends, next year's school property tax cap may be ... zero! That's the message of a statement released last week by the Educational Conference Board (ECB), a coalition of groups representing public school administrators, school boards and—last but hardly least—the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) labor union. The ECB's "warning" was meant as an inside-the-Albany-bubble scare tactic, but for most New Yorkers, it's good news: further confirmation that the tax cap is working exactly as intended. Read More
“When it comes to school spending New York is like an enormous Lake Wobegon,” said E.J. McMahon, president of the fiscally conservative Empire Center. “All of the districts spend way beyond the national average.” Read More
Since the state’s property tax cap was enacted a few years ago, local leaders’ expectations on how much they can squeeze folks have been properly adjusted. The tax cap is accomplishing its goal of reining in runaway property tax increases, and should be extended. Read More
The tax cap is working to slow the growth of school taxes, the Empire Center for New York State Policy announced Wednesday in a report analyzing tax levy increases statewide before and after the state imposed the cap. Read More
Three of the five people polled by a Post-Star reporter Monday said they were not following the school budget process in their community. Read More