Districts chalk up smaller tax hikes
Districts chalk up smaller tax hikes
Statewide, budgets rise less than 2 percent
By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau
First published: Thursday, May 7, 2009
ALBANY Voters statewide may have a pleasant surprise on May 19 when they go to the polls to vote on their local school budgets: On average, taxes have risen less than 2 percent.
"That is the lowest proposed property tax increase for school taxes in the past six years," said Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who has spearheaded a push to place a 4 percent annual cap on school taxes.
Suozzi, whose report on property tax relief was endorsed by Gov. David Paterson last year, only 59 of more than 600 districts across the state have tax hikes above 4 percent.
In the greater Capital Region, the news is more mixed: Six districts are among those raising their taxes more than 4 percent. The increases range from Fort Edward, where a nearly 32 percent hike is proposed, to Schenectady and North Colonie, which propose increases of just under 5 percent.
With almost no inflation, Suozzi said the modest hikes make sense. But he also believes school boards may be taking heed of the growing concern about New York's highest-in-the-nation property tax burden.
"It's a statewide issue," said Suozzi, who spoke Wednesday via teleconference from Long Island just minutes after Gov. David Paterson and legislative leaders met at the Capitol to discuss how they could work to contain property taxes. But not everyone is thrilled with how districts are pulling off their relatively low tax increases.
Officials with New York State United Teachers, the state's largest teachers union, believe too many districts are using federal stimulus funds to contain taxes while at the same time carrying out layoffs.
Labor groups believe the strategy violates stimulus guidelines, which instruct schools to "spend the funds quickly to save and create jobs," among other things.
Many districts aren't saving jobs; they're eliminating them. Albany, for instance, has proposed a 2.55 percent tax hike along with the elimination of 113 teaching positions.
"Program cuts and layoffs are not in the spirit of the federal aid," NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi recently said.
But State School Boards Association spokesman Dave Albert contends that "districts are using the stimulus dollars for the intended purposes," and are controlling taxes by using reserve funds.
Setting aside the $1.25 billion in federal dollars for education, Albert noted, state aid this year has been flat.
Others point out that the guidelines prohibit using stimulus money to lower taxes, which is different from imposing modest increases.
Another reason for the staff cuts may be statewide enrollment declines. In some regions, the drop in students has been dramatic: Glens Falls has lost 350 students over the last seven years, bringing their enrollment to about 2,100.
"We've reduced staff over the past years," said the district's business director, Steve Meier, who pointed out there is no net change in staffing planned this year, when the district is proposing a 2.6 percent tax levy increase.
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