Tax cap law unconstitutional: NYSUT |
On Board Online • February 25, 2013
By Jay Worona
New York State United Teachers has brought a legal challenge in state court in Albany seeking to declare unconstitutional New York State’s 2011 so-called “tax cap” legislation as it applies to school district budget votes.
According to NYSUT, the tax cap “places an undemocratic and unconstitutional supermajority requirement on votes for school budgets seeking to increase the school funding tax levy by more than 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less” thus violating the one-person, one-vote protections guaranteed under federal law.
In addition, according to NYSUT, the tax cap perpetuates funding inequities between rich and poor school districts and, as a result, “has a particularly negative impact on the state’s poor and minority children, denying them the educational opportunities provided by other, wealthier districts, and denying all local school boards and their voters of the right to close funding and achievement gaps, or to provide enhanced educational opportunities to school children.”
According to NYSUT, “wealthy districts can raise significant funds within the cap” as contrasted with poorer districts which can only raise “a relatively smaller amount, as a tax levy yields funding proportionate to the tax base to this it applies.” That translates into gross disparities from one district to another in terms of the amounts of money which can be spent per student.
NYSUT brought its lawsuit along with various school district voters, residents and taxpayers, as well as parents of students. It advances seven legal causes of action including claims that the tax cap violates the Equal Protection provisions of the state and federal constitutions.
NYSUT noted that in 2007 the Legislature committed to increase foundation aid for schools by $7 billion dollars by the 2010-2011 school year to provide students with a sound basic education, as required by the state’s Constitution. But the state has fallen short of its commitment by approximately $5.4 billion dollars, NYSUT said. The property tax levy cap has made it virtually impossible for certain communities across the state to raise the necessary dollars themselves, effectively denying students their constitutional rights, NYSUT argues.
In addition, communities that attempt to override the tax cap and fail twice are placed in the position of being forced to adopt a budget with a tax levy that is no greater than the tax levy for the prior school year. According to NYSUT, this result does not permit districts to adopt budgets deemed sufficient to provide the educational opportunity its students need and to which they are constitutionally entitled.
Reactions to NYSUT’s lawsuit have been mixed. One critic was Unshackle Upstate Executive Director Brian Sampson, who said taxpayers need relief. “New York State continues to have some of the nation’s highest property taxes, and the tax cap was the first step toward addressing this crisis,” he said. “In the tax cap’s first year, 95 percent of school districts passed budgets that stayed within the cap – saving taxpayers millions of dollars.”
NYSSBA will keep its membership apprised of further developments as this litigation unfolds.