Bill Text: NY S09833 | 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; requires the East Ramapo central school district to adopt a property tax levy for the 2024-2025 school year in an amount not less than one percent greater than the property tax levy for the 2023-2024 school year; requires the commissioner of education to appoint a community liaison.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-03 - REFERRED TO RULES [S09833 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S09833-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9833 IN SENATE June 3, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules 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 is facing a fiscal 3 crisis. As a result of the repeated failure to adopt a budget which 4 meets the basic needs of its public school students, the district faces 5 a substantial budgetary shortfall. Absent legislative intervention, the 6 district is at risk of being unable to pay its staff, and students 7 attending the public schools in the district will suffer. In recognition 8 of this failure, the legislature hereby provides the East Ramapo central 9 school district with an accelerated payment of twenty million dollars 10 ($20,000,000) to provide the funds necessary for the district to meet 11 its payroll obligations. The district shall utilize the funds solely for 12 the benefit of the public school students within the district. Addi- 13 tionally, the legislature orders the district to increase its property 14 tax levy for the 2024-2025 school year by not less than one percent. The 15 monitors appointed to oversee the school district are called to ensure 16 that the increased resources are used solely for the benefit of the 17 public schools. Should the East Ramapo central school district fail to 18 meet any of the requirements contained herein, the legislature will move 19 to implement a fiscal control board pursuant to legislative bill number 20 A. 10407-A of 2023. 21 § 2. The East Ramapo central school district shall be paid on an 22 accelerated schedule as follows: 23 (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for aid payable 24 in the school years 2024-2025 through 2053-2054 upon application to the 25 commissioner of education, submitted not sooner than the second Monday 26 in July of the school year in which such aid is payable and not later 27 than the Friday following the third Monday in July of the school year in 28 which such aid is payable, or ten days after the effective date of this EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15806-05-4S. 9833 2 1 act, whichever shall be later, the East Ramapo central school district 2 shall be eligible to receive an apportionment pursuant to this act in an 3 amount equal to the product of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) and 4 the quotient of the positive difference of thirty minus the number of 5 school years elapsed since the 2024-2025 school year divided by thirty. 6 (2) Funds apportioned pursuant to this subdivision shall be used for 7 services and expenses of the East Ramapo central school district and 8 shall be applied in support of its educational programs and any liabil- 9 ity incurred by such central school district in carrying out its func- 10 tions and responsibilities under the education law. Such funds shall be 11 utilized to supplement, not supplant, funding for the educational oppor- 12 tunities of students attending the public schools in the district. The 13 monitor team established pursuant to chapter 173 of the laws of 2021 14 shall certify to the commissioner of education that such funds are 15 utilized pursuant to this paragraph. In no event shall such funds be 16 utilized to increase spending for students who do not attend public 17 school. 18 (b) The claim for an apportionment to be paid to the East Ramapo 19 central school district pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section 20 shall be submitted to the commissioner of education on a form prescribed 21 for such purpose, and shall be payable upon determination by such 22 commissioner that the form has been submitted as prescribed and that the 23 school district has complied with the reporting requirements of this 24 act. For each school year in which application is made pursuant to 25 subdivision (a) of this section, such approved amount shall be payable 26 on or before July thirty-first of such school year upon the audit and 27 warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by 28 the commissioner of education in the manner prescribed by law from 29 moneys appropriated from the general fund for general support for public 30 schools due such school district pursuant to section 3609-a of the 31 education law. 32 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3609-a of the education 33 law, an amount equal to the amount paid to the East Ramapo central 34 school district during the current year pursuant to subdivisions (a) and 35 (b) of this section shall first be deducted from payments due during the 36 current school year pursuant to subparagraphs 4 and 5 of paragraph a of 37 subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the education law in the following 38 order: the fixed fall payments payable pursuant to subparagraph 4 of 39 paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the education law, and 40 any remainder to be deducted from the individualized payments due to the 41 district pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of 42 the education law shall be deducted on a chronological basis starting 43 with the earliest payment due the district. 44 (d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the sum of payments 45 made to the East Ramapo central school district during the base year 46 pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section plus payments made 47 to such school district during the current year pursuant to section 48 3609-a of the education law shall be deemed to truly represent all aids 49 paid to such school district during the current school year pursuant to 50 section 3609-a of the education law for the purposes of computing any 51 adjustments to such aids that may occur in a subsequent school year. 52 (e) (1) On or before the first day of each month beginning in July 53 2024 and ending in June 2054, the chief fiscal officer and the super- 54 intendent of schools of the district shall prepare and submit to the 55 board of education and monitors, so long as these roles are filled, a 56 report of the fiscal condition of the school district, including but notS. 9833 3 1 limited to the most current available data on fund balances on funds 2 maintained by the school district and the district's use of the appor- 3 tionments provided pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section. 4 (2) Such monthly report shall be in a format prescribed by the commis- 5 sioner of education. The board of education and monitors shall either 6 reject and return the report to the chief fiscal officer and the super- 7 intendent for appropriate revisions and resubmittal or shall approve the 8 report and submit copies to the commissioner of education and the state 9 comptroller of such approved report as submitted or resubmitted. 10 (3) In the 2024-2025 through 2053-2054 school years, the chief fiscal 11 officer of the district shall monitor all budgets and for each budget, 12 prepare a quarterly report of summarized budget data depicting overall 13 trends of actual revenues and budget expenditures for the entire budget 14 as well as individual line items. Such report shall compare revenue 15 estimates and appropriations as set forth in such budget with the actual 16 revenues and expenditures made to date. All quarterly reports shall be 17 accompanied by a recommendation from the superintendent or chief fiscal 18 officer to the board of education setting forth any remedial actions 19 necessary to resolve any unfavorable budget variance including the over- 20 estimation of revenue and underestimation of appropriations. The chief 21 fiscal officer shall also prepare, as part of such report, a quarterly 22 trial balance of general ledger accounts in accordance with generally 23 accepted accounting principles as prescribed by the state comptroller. 24 All reports shall be completed within sixty days after the end of each 25 quarter and shall be submitted to the chief fiscal officer and the board 26 of education, the state division of budget, the office of the state 27 comptroller, the commissioner of education, the chair of the assembly 28 ways and means committee, and the chair of the senate finance committee. 29 § 3. The East Ramapo central school district shall be required to 30 adopt a property tax levy for the 2024-2025 school year in an amount not 31 less than one percent greater than the property tax levy for the 32 2023-2024 school year. Such additional revenues shall be utilized to 33 supplement, not supplant, funding for the educational opportunities of 34 students attending the public schools in the district. The monitor team 35 established pursuant to chapter 173 of the laws of 2021 shall certify to 36 the commissioner of education that the additional revenues are utilized 37 pursuant to this section. In no event shall additional revenues be 38 utilized to increase spending for students who do not attend public 39 school. 40 § 4. The commissioner of education shall appoint a community liaison 41 to serve the interests of the public school community. The community 42 liaison shall serve as a point of contact between the board of educa- 43 tion, the monitor team established pursuant to chapter 173 of the laws 44 of 2021, and the community. The liaison shall have cultural and linguis- 45 tic competency specific to the population of students enrolled in the 46 public schools, and meet the requirements of section 2102 of the educa- 47 tion law. The liaison shall have the authority to work directly with the 48 superintendent of the district and the monitors. The liaison shall serve 49 at the pleasure of the commissioner of education. If the commissioner 50 of education determines the liaison appointed pursuant to this section 51 no longer represents the interests of the public school community, the 52 commissioner of education shall have the authority to remove the liai- 53 son. Upon removal by the commissioner of education or upon any other 54 vacancy of the position of the liaison, the commissioner of education 55 shall fill the vacancy of the liaison pursuant to this section. The East 56 Ramapo central school district shall make an amount equal to up to twoS. 9833 4 1 hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) available for the reasonable 2 and necessary expenses of the liaison while performing the liaison offi- 3 cial duties. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the liaison 4 shall be entitled to defense and indemnification by the school district 5 to the same extent as a school district employee. 6 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
