When it comes to education, New York is failing to get a good return on investment. Though residents pay the highest school taxes in the nation, the state ranks 34th in overall achievement by students.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made capping school taxes his No. 1 priority, and the Senate has given him the tax cap he asked for, passing the legislation (S.2706) Jan. 31.
By a 45-17 vote, the Senate”™s proposed bill would cap school property taxes at 2 percent, or at the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less. Historically, the CPI has not risen above 2 percent, while many school districts have presented voters with budgets calling for increases beyond that figure. The bill would take effect for the 2012-13 school year and presented to voters by every district May 17.
The bill, now in the Assembly, appears to be facing a rocky road, although Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver sponsored it and has publicly stated he is ready to vote for a school property tax cap, something he has not previously supported.
“We aren”™t sure if the speaker is going to agree with our proposed cap,” said new Senate Majority Whip William Larkin (R-Cornwall-on-Hudson). “The Senate did as the governor asked, and we are hoping the Assembly is going to work with the governor and that together, the Legislature will be able present him with a bill he can sign that gives taxpayers the relief they so desperately need.”
Under the Senate bill, school districts that pass a levy under the 2 percent cap would be allowed to carry over the unused percentage to the following school year. If the school district”™s proposed levy is above the cap, it must be put up for a second vote and passed by 60 percent of the voters in the district.
Larkin said if the cap passes the Assembly and becomes law, it will not go back and recalculate current school taxes but “will at least give families the opportunity to budget themselves accordingly and know what to expect going forward … up until now it has become an increasingly difficult juggling act for families and businesses.”
Mike Virga, speaking on behalf of Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffe (D-Suffern), said she has “serious concerns about the Senate legislation. First and foremost, she doesn”™t think the tax cap will truly bring relief because it doesn”™t do anything for current tax burdens … she”™d like to see real tax relief, which would be the circuit-breaker proposal, where the taxes are based on income. The Assembly knows the governor would like this bill passed, but whether it will be passed in its current format remains to be seen.”
Timothy Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, said in a statement it will require a Herculean effort by school boards to absorb Cuomo”™s 7.3 percent cut in funding to schools without impacting student achievement.
“Now more than ever, school boards, employee bargaining units and administrators will have to work together to manage this fiscal crisis,” Kremer said. “But if cuts of this magnitude are enacted, districts will need more than creative thinking and a willingness to make even greater sacrifices. They will need significant help from state lawmakers in the form of serious reforms to state laws that drive up school district costs.”
“Mandate relief goes hand in hand with a school property tax cap,” Larkin said. “If the state wants to give schools and municipalities mandates, they should also hand over a check to pay for them.”
“My feeling is that a property tax cap will pass both houses,” said Marc Molinaro (R-Red Hook), “but not without the Assembly majority leveraging it for other legislative priorities.” Molinaro is also on Cuomo”™s Mandate Relief Team.
