FOR RELEASE:  May 13, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

An overwhelming majority of school board members are optimistic that their budgets will pass on May 21, according to a recent poll by the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA).

Ninety-three percent of respondents to the poll said they expect their budgets to pass on the first vote. Only 7 percent did not think their budget would pass the first time around.

 “School board members and their leadership teams have devoted countless hours listening to their communities and crafting budgets that balance the needs of students and taxpayers,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer.

FOR RELEASE:  May 9, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Ninety-six percent of school districts are proposing tax levy increases at or below their tax levy limits in their upcoming budgets, according to an analysis of property tax report card data by the New York State School Boards Association.

Overall, 641 districts are proposing budgets within their tax caps, while 28 are seeking to override their cap.

“Crafting budgets this year was like walking a tightrope. Move too far in one direction and you cut too deeply into educational programs. Move too far in the other direction and you run the risk of exceeding your tax levy limit. Overall, school boards did an outstanding job of balancing the needs of students and taxpayers,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer.

FOR RELEASE:  April 24, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Anne M. Byrne of Nanuet was elected president-elect of the National School Boards Association during NSBA’s annual conference in April in San Diego.

The National School Boards Association represents state school boards association members and more than 90,000 local school board members, who lead 13,809 local school districts serving the nation's 50 million public school students. Byrne has been a member of the NSBA board since 2006.

Byrne was president of the New York State School Boards Association from 2004-2005. She served as vice president in 2002-2003 and the Area 10 Director from 1997 to 2003, representing school boards in Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties.

Byrne currently is president of the Nanuet School Board in Rockland County, where she has served since 1981. She was president and vice president of the Rockland County School Boards Association.

FOR RELEASE:  March 28, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

The state budget passed by the Senate and now being deliberated by the Assembly provides over $1 billion in total state aid to school districts.  It will be the third on-time budget in a row, which is helpful to school districts working to add clarity to local budget deliberations. 

Our preliminary analysis shows that this budget begins to recognize school districts’ actual fiscal circumstances and their communities’ ability to pay. It provides increases in every aid category while giving districts flexibility and restores a large portion of the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). It continues the predictability of two-year funding and does not shift any new costs to districts. The budget also: 

FOR RELEASE:  March 22, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

School boards welcome the $1 billion increase in education spending in the state budget as well as the separate investments in innovations such as extended learning, early college programs, community schools, full-day prekindergarten, and teacher stipends.

As lawmakers now hammer out the fine details, we urge them to take the following actions to help schools deal with looming budget deficits:

FOR RELEASE:  March 15, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Greater access to mental health resources for students can help prevent tragedies, according to a report issued today by the New York State School Boards Association.

“While tougher gun control laws and police officers in schools may help improve safety in the short-term, we must address the mental health and social well-being of students in order to reduce school violence in the long-term,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer.

FOR RELEASE:  March 11, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R, C, I-Canandaigua) has been named the Assembly Leader of the Year by the New York State School Boards Association. The award was presented to Kolb at the Association’s Capital Conference at the Albany Hilton (formerly Hotel Albany) on March 10.

Assembly Minority Leader Kolb was chosen by the Association for his commitment to improving the quality of education and mandate relief. He introduced the NYSSBA Playbook for Fiscal Reform during the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions. Two of the proposals – Tier VI pension reform and cooperative purchasing – have already been enacted.

FOR RELEASE:  March 11, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

State Sen. Betty Little (R, C, I-Glens Falls) has been named the Senate Leader of the Year by the New York State School Boards Association. The award was presented to Senator Little at the Association’s Capital Conference at the Albany Hilton (formerly Hotel Albany) on March 10.

In choosing her for the award, NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer called Senator Little a true champion of education and a leading voice for high-need and rural school districts.

FOR RELEASE:  March 11, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Maryanne Lehrer of the Oceanside Board of Education has been named Advocate of the Year by the New York State School Boards Association for her longstanding dedication to public education and her tireless efforts on behalf of students. The award was presented to Lehrer at the Association’s Capital Conference at the Albany Hilton (formerly Hotel Albany) on March 10.

Lehrer has served on the board for 36 years. For 35 years she has advocated on behalf of New York public schools at the federal level as a member of the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network. She has also been a decades-long State Legislative Network member “who could be relied upon to eloquently and resolutely deliver NYSSBA’s legislative priorities to our local Senators and Assembly members,” according her colleagues at the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.

FOR RELEASE:  March 7, 2013

CONTACT: Al Marlin
(518) 783-3723 or (518) 527-6933 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

School districts outside the state’s five largest cities expect to spend an average of $155,355 to implement the state’s new teacher and principal evaluation system this year, based on an analysis of 80 districts that submitted cost data to NYSSBA.  Those one-year costs are nearly $55,000 more than the average four-year federal grant awarded to New York school districts to implement the program.

“School boards have long supported the goals of the new teacher and principal evaluation system as a way to improve student achievement,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer.  “Our analysis, however, shows that the cost of this state initiative falls heavily on school districts.  This seriously jeopardizes school districts’ ability to meet other state and federal requirements and properly serve students.”

In 2010, the federal government awarded New York State $697 million in Race to the Top grant funds.  About half of the funding will go to local school districts over four years to implement the state’s new Annual Professional Performance Review system (APPR), as well as other initiatives.  

Yet the average Race to the Top grant of $100,670 (excluding the “Big Five” city school districts) falls $54,685 short of school districts’ average implementation costs, according to NYSSBA’s analysis.