School Boards Association Seeks Relief for Schools Reeling from Sandy |
FOR RELEASE: November 7, 2012
CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards
The New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) today asked state lawmakers to consider four initiatives in order to help school districts and students affected by Hurricane Sandy.
“Right now, many of those communities hit hardest by Sandy are dealing with the loss of basic necessities – food, power, fuel and shelter,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. “But as life slowly begins to return to normal, schools will be facing a slew of issues as they sort through legal requirements.”
The four initiatives that would help schools impacted by Sandy include:
- Exempting school districts from the 180-day attendance requirement for state aid. Under state law, schools must be in session for 180 days in order to receive their full allotment of state aid. While the commissioner of education has the authority to waive up to five days, many schools will exceed those five days.
- Granting school districts the authority to expend money during the 2012-13 school year beyond the limits approved by voters in the 2012-2013 school budget. Many districts face unforeseen and unbudgeted costs such as leasing facilities, making tuition payments to other districts, repairing and replacing school buses, implementing new bus routes and emergency staffing levels.
- Waiving voter approval requirements for capital expenditures related to storm damage and easing restrictions on borrowing (such as the 45-day public notice period and public hearing requirements) in extraordinary circumstances. In the immediate aftermath of a crisis, schools must be able to pay contractors for repairs in anticipation of reimbursement from federal or state agencies, or their insurance carriers.
- Removing restrictions for tapping into dedicated reserve funds – such as capital reserve funds, repair reserve funds, employee benefit accrued liability reserve funds, and tax reduction reserve funds – to pay unexpected costs associated with Sandy.
On a more long term basis, NYSSBA is also asking lawmakers to consider the addition of a new exemption to the tax levy cap for expenses, other than capital expenditures (already exempted), that are incurred by a school district as a result of a federally declared natural disaster or a state disaster emergency.
“If we continue to experience catastrophic storms like Sandy, Irene and Lee, we should adapt our state laws so that schools can respond appropriately in the aftermath,” added Kremer.
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