FOR RELEASE:  May 16, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert 
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Overall, 96% of school budgets pass

New York State voters approved 96.4 percent of school district budgets on Tuesday, May 15, according to an analysis by the New York State School Boards Association.

“Today’s results are a ringing endorsement by voters of their public schools and place an exclamation point on the fact that local school governance works,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. 

Initial statewide results gathered by NYSSBA indicate voters have passed 651 of 675 school district budgets.  The number of budgets defeated was 24.

This is the first year school districts have had to contend with a property tax cap. Six hundred twenty-three districts, or 92.8 percent, were at or below their maximum allowable tax levy increases under the cap, and required a simple majority to pass their budgets.  Of those districts, 99.2 percent passed.

New York State recently added a new Tier VI to its employee pension plans. Tier VI took effect for all newly hired public employees on April 1, 2012.

The New York State School Boards Association has provided answers to some FAQs on how the law affects school districts with employees in the New York State Employees Retirement System (ERS) and New York State Teachers Retirement System (TRS).

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