On Board Online • May 23, 2016

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

With no guarantees that state lawmakers will act to avert a state aid penalty for school districts that fail to get new teacher and principal evaluation systems in place by Sept.1, the Board of Regents has again tweaked regulations for implementing evaluations in an effort to help districts more easily reach agreement.

"We're trying to get people through something that is difficult," Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia told the Regents as she and staff members outlined the rule changes.

On Board Online • May 23, 2016

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

In a decision declaring the method used to calculate a so-called growth score for a Long Island teacher to be "indisputably arbitrary and capricious," a state judge cited the findings of an array of experts who decried the approach as flawed, unreliable and open to bias against some teachers.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Roger D. McDonough declined to prescribe an alternative to the state's "value-added" growth model, and he did not rule on the use of growth scores, which are tied to student test results, in general.

On Board Online • May 23, 2016

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

An appellate panel has upheld a lower court's dismissal of a challenge to New York's property tax cap. But New York State United Teachers, which brought the lawsuit with several parents and voters, is poised for a likely appeal to the state's highest court, seeking a green light to move forward with the case against the cap.

In a majority opinion for the Appellate Division's Third Department in Albany, Justice Eugene P. Devine rejected NYSUT's contention that the property tax cap (and a related provision known as a tax "freeze") adopted by state lawmakers is unconstitutional and that it denies equal protection under the law for school children.

New York State voters approved an overwhelming 98.5 percent of school district budgets on Tuesday, May 17, according to an analysis by the New York State School Boards Association.

"Despite a near-zero tax cap, school districts managed to put together spending plans that in some cases restored educational programs and services, thanks to a large infusion of state aid," said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. "The question is, will the state be able to sustain that commitment going forward?"

"The tax cap may be helping to keep taxes down, but it comes at a cost to our schools, which now need the state to make up for the funding they cannot raise locally," Kremer added.

Initial statewide results gathered by NYSSBA indicate voters passed 655 school district budgets. The number of budgets defeated was 10. NYSSBA was still awaiting results for 11 districts.

In the fifth year of the state's property tax cap, 640 districts proposed budgets with tax levies that were within their caps and required only a simple majority to pass. Of those districts, 99.7 percent saw their budgets pass.

We are gratified to learn that funding from the Smart Schools Bond Act, passed by voters in 2014, will finally start flowing to school districts.

Today, post-secondary institutions and employers expect students to be well-versed in technology.

On Board Online • May 2, 2016

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

Consider the spork, the school cafeteria's quintessential compromise.

In the hand of a hungry second-grader, it can spear a chunk of fruit, deliver it to its toothy target and scoop up a dab of applesauce with barely a break in momentum.

It's not quite a spoon, it's not a full-fledged fork and it has little chance of being mistaken for a knife. Yet, this blunt piece of plastic has evolved into a sharply divisive implement that earns no better than a split decision among school food service managers.

On Board Online • May 2, 2016

Susan Bergtraum
NYSSBA President

This year's presidential primaries on both the Republican and Democratic sides seem to have taught us a lot about politics and the political process.

As school board members, we're no strangers to running for election. But you have to admit, this year's election season has been like no other - and what a contrast to local school board elections!

The federal electoral system is so much more complicated than the local school board election process. This year, we've really gotten a peek into how presidential candidates actually earn delegates during the primary process. I don't remember anything about "super delegates" from civics class. Talk about a teachable moment!