NYSSBA endorses consulting firm to help districts maximize state and federal revenues

On Board Online • April 27, 2015

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

NYSSBA's Board of Directors has endorsed the services of School Aid Specialists, which reviews state and federal aid awarded to New York school districts and frequently finds districts were entitled to additional funding.

If School Aid Specialists is unable to find additional revenue for district, the service is free. But that's quite rare; usually the consultants discover that the district is entitled to additional aid.

"The decision about whether a district should use this service is a no-brainer," said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. "It's all upside, no downside."

"As part of a due diligence process, we spent 15 months closely examining the work of School Aid Specialists, and their record of fund recovery was nothing short of phenomenal," said Bob Schneider, NYSSBA's associate executive director and chief operating officer. "During this period, they recovered significant revenue for clients that ranged from large, urban districts to small, rural districts."

The principals of School Aid Specialists - Anthony Cashara, Dave Lattuca and Brian Shea - are all veteran school administrators whose careers crossed paths at Questar III BOCES State Aid & Financial Planning Service. They have a combined 70 years of experience in financial and administrative positions with Questar III and districts including Clarkstown and Voorheesville (Cashara), Rochester (Lattuca) and Schoharie (Shea).

"We were impressed with the thoroughness of the firm's reviews," Schneider said. The consultants are aware of nuances in regulations and changes in law that affect aid calculations.

"They find aid where no one else knows to look," said John D. Abbott, deputy superintendent of the East Irondequoit school district and a member of the Monroe 2 BOCES board. "I can recommend them without reservation."

Schneider said that using consultants allows districts to recoup funds without distracting business office staff from other tasks. "The state aid review process is also a valuable training experience that can teach districts how to avoid being deprived of their full allocation of education aid in the future," he said.

For more information, contact Schneider at (800) 342-3360 or bob.schneider@nyssba.org.