Bill Text: NY A10671 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that the East Ramapo central school district shall be eligible to receive an apportionment of funds to be used for services and expenses; directs certain reports to be submitted.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-08-28 - referred to education [A10671 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A10671-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10671 IN ASSEMBLY August 28, 2024 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Brabenec) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT in relation to apportioning funds to the East Ramapo central school district for services and expenses The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and 2 declares that the East Ramapo central school district faces a substan- 3 tial budgetary shortfall and absent legislative intervention, the 4 district is at risk of being unable to pay its staff, and students 5 attending the public schools in the district will suffer. In recognition 6 of this crisis, the legislature hereby provides the East Ramapo central 7 school district with an accelerated payment of twenty million dollars 8 ($20,000,000) to provide the funds necessary for the district to meet 9 its payroll obligations. 10 § 2. The East Ramapo central school district shall be paid on an 11 accelerated schedule as follows: 12 (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for aid payable 13 in the school years 2024-2025 through 2053-2054 upon application to the 14 commissioner of education, submitted not sooner than the second Monday 15 in July of the school year in which such aid is payable and not later 16 than the Friday following the third Monday in July of the school year in 17 which such aid is payable, or ten days after the effective date of this 18 act, whichever shall be later, the East Ramapo central school district 19 shall be eligible to receive an apportionment pursuant to this act in an 20 amount equal to the product of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) and 21 the quotient of the positive difference of thirty minus the number of 22 school years elapsed since the 2024-2025 school year divided by thirty. 23 (2) Funds apportioned pursuant to this subdivision shall be used for 24 services and expenses of the East Ramapo central school district and 25 shall be applied in support of its educational programs and any liabil- 26 ity incurred by such central school district in carrying out its func- 27 tions and responsibilities under the education law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15912-01-4A. 10671 2 1 (b) The claim for an apportionment to be paid to the East Ramapo 2 central school district pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section 3 shall be submitted to the commissioner of education on a form prescribed 4 for such purpose, and shall be payable upon determination by such 5 commissioner that the form has been submitted as prescribed and that the 6 school district has complied with the reporting requirements of this 7 act. For each school year in which application is made pursuant to 8 subdivision (a) of this section, such approved amount shall be payable 9 on or before July thirty-first of such school year upon the audit and 10 warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by 11 the commissioner of education in the manner prescribed by law from 12 moneys appropriated from the general fund for general support for public 13 schools due such school district pursuant to section 3609-a of the 14 education law. 15 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3609-a of the education 16 law, an amount equal to the amount paid to the East Ramapo central 17 school district during the current year pursuant to subdivisions (a) and 18 (b) of this section shall first be deducted from payments due during the 19 current school year pursuant to subparagraphs 4 and 5 of paragraph a of 20 subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the education law in the following 21 order: the fixed fall payments payable pursuant to subparagraph 4 of 22 paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the education law, and 23 any remainder to be deducted from the individualized payments due to the 24 district pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of 25 the education law shall be deducted on a chronological basis starting 26 with the earliest payment due the district. 27 (d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the sum of payments 28 made to the East Ramapo central school district during the base year 29 pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section plus payments made 30 to such school district during the current year pursuant to section 31 3609-a of the education law shall be deemed to truly represent all aids 32 paid to such school district during the current school year pursuant to 33 section 3609-a of the education law for the purposes of computing any 34 adjustments to such aids that may occur in a subsequent school year. 35 (e) (1) On or before the first day of each month beginning in July 36 2024 and ending in June 2054, the chief fiscal officer and the super- 37 intendent of schools of the district shall prepare and submit to the 38 board of education and monitors, so long as these roles are filled, a 39 report of the fiscal condition of the school district, including but not 40 limited to the most current available data on fund balances on funds 41 maintained by the school district and the district's use of the appor- 42 tionments provided pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section. 43 (2) Such monthly report shall be in a format prescribed by the commis- 44 sioner of education. The board of education and monitors shall either 45 reject and return the report to the chief fiscal officer and the super- 46 intendent for appropriate revisions and resubmittal or shall approve the 47 report and submit copies to the commissioner of education and the state 48 comptroller of such approved report as submitted or resubmitted. 49 (3) In the 2024-2025 through 2053-2054 school years, the chief fiscal 50 officer of the district shall monitor all budgets and for each budget, 51 prepare a quarterly report of summarized budget data depicting overall 52 trends of actual revenues and budget expenditures for the entire budget 53 as well as individual line items. Such report shall compare revenue 54 estimates and appropriations as set forth in such budget with the actual 55 revenues and expenditures made to date. All quarterly reports shall be 56 accompanied by a recommendation from the superintendent or chief fiscalA. 10671 3 1 officer to the board of education setting forth any remedial actions 2 necessary to resolve any unfavorable budget variance including the over- 3 estimation of revenue and underestimation of appropriations. The chief 4 fiscal officer shall also prepare, as part of such report, a quarterly 5 trial balance of general ledger accounts in accordance with generally 6 accepted accounting principles as prescribed by the state comptroller. 7 All reports shall be completed within sixty days after the end of each 8 quarter and shall be submitted to the chief fiscal officer and the board 9 of education, the state division of budget, the office of the state 10 comptroller, the commissioner of education, the chair of the assembly 11 ways and means committee, and the chair of the senate finance committee. 12 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
