"Something fishy" about New York State Regents scoring

There is "something fishy" going on with New York Regents scores.  A statistical analysis showed that an unexpected and significantly high number of students scored exactly 65%, which is the lowest passing score for the test.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of high-school Regents test scores shows that a disproportionate percentage of New York City students barely got the passing score they needed to receive a diploma in the past two years, while very few received scores just below passing.
For the 2009 English Regents exams, for instance, students were more than five times as likely to get a 65—the minimum passing grade—than they were to score one point below. In the U.S. History and Government Regents, students were 14 times more likely to get a 65 than one point lower. 

 

"There's no question that there's something fishy going on," said Jonah Rockoff, a professor at Columbia University's business school who frequently analyzes schools-related data sets.
In New York state, high-school teachers score their own students' tests—which differs from tests in most other states, as well as New York's own third- through eighth-grade tests. Mr. Rockoff, who reviewed the Regents data, said, "It looks like teachers are pushing kids over the edge. They are very reluctant to fail a kid who needs just one or two points to pass."

School officials defend the results, explaining that they follow the state's policy of regrading tests where the student barely fails.

Teachers refer to the practice of lifting test scores as "scrubbing." After teachers grade tests—many times their own students or those of their colleagues—they set aside tests in which the students just missed passing. Teachers say that is generally from 60 to 64, but can go as low as 57. The teachers then ask the original scorer to take another look at the test to see if an argument could be made for giving the student an extra point or more.

This skewed score distribution pattern has been observed statewide in tests going back to 2000.  The state is moving towards an online system of testing and scoring, with grading assigned randomly to teachers across the state.

I have been skeptical of state test results since I first became familiar with them back when my own children started taking them.

Students' Regents Test Scores Bulge at 65 - WSJ

Average school budget increase in New York expected to be at or below 1.4%

The Journal News offers a snapshot of what New York State public schools are planning for their 2011-12 budgets.

• districts plan layoffs, salary freezes, program cuts or increases in tax levies — or some combination
• districts are working very hard to hold down the tax increases
• About 300 of New York's school districts have reported so far that they plan to eliminate a total of nearly 16,000 jobs
• In some school systems, unions have agreed to freeze salaries and make concessions "to help preserve programs and reduce the number of pink slips,"
• the average spending hike for the 2011-12 budgets will be at or below this year's 1.4 percent
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been urging schools to use their reserve accounts
• the people of this state are saying, 'I need a cap on my property tax because you're taxing me out of my home.'"
• school districts are saying they understand the fiscal realities

For the first time ever, my family is discussing in real terms our options for moving from New York in order to escape the high taxes.  My husband grew up here and we moved back to this town 24 years ago, but we believe taxes have been growing at an unsustainable rate.

You can read the entire article after the jump.

"News flash: It's raining. Double news flash: It's pouring."

I agree with New York Governor Cuomo when he describes the public school funding crisis this way.

"News flash: It's raining. Double news flash: It's pouring."

The Wall Street Journal writes about what school districts are doing to address crisis conditions:

• tapping deeper into reserves to avoid layoffs and cuts to programs and sport
• 200 of the more than 700 public school districts in the state have agreed to concessions in recent years

Some examples of "innovating" and "cooperating":

— Rockland County's Ramapo school district, where teachers agreed to increase their contribution into their health benefits, along with a two-year pay freeze, saving $2.4 million over that time.
— Albany County's Bethlehem schools, where every employee accepted a pay freeze for at least most of the coming year, saving $1.3 million.
— Oneida County's Adirondack Central Schools board, which adjusted schedules so fewer buses were on the road at the same time and bought three buses instead of four, while reducing the number of positions that were to be cut.
— Jefferson County's Sackets Harbor schools, where every employee will go a second year without a raise.

Nobody seems to be increasing spending to a point where taxes will rise more than a few percentage points. 

Update:  Average school budget increase in New York expected to be at or below 1.4%

Informative Q & A about school budget issues - tenure is mandated by New York State

These FAQ are posted at the Mamaroneck school district website.  It appears they are from last year's budget period, but many are relevant today.  Here are some selected questions explaining tenure.  I previously posted about compensation and benefits Q&A.

Q:  Why do we have tenure in our school district?

 

A:  Tenure is governed by New York State Education Law (Sections 2509, 2573, 3012 and 3014) and is not optional for NYS public schools.  Teachers are eligible for tenure in their third year of employment, unless they have been granted tenure in a previous district, in which case the probationary period is two, instead of three, years.  A tenured teacher has a legal right to his or her job unless a school district can prove just cause for dismissal or discipline in a due process hearing. 

 

Q:  If we have to lay off teachers, how do seniority rules apply?

   

A:  Seniority rights are based upon appointment in a particular tenure area and apply to both tenured and probationary teachers.  Should a teaching position be abolished, districts must use seniority to determine the order in which teachers are dismissed.  Thus, within the tenure area in which the position was abolished, the teacher with the least seniority would be laid off, even if there are other teachers with less seniority in other tenure areas.

Tenure areas are defined by the NYS Education Department and include Elementary (Pre-K through sixth grade), academic subject areas for grades 7-12 (English, social studies, mathematics, science and foreign language), as well as 15 other special subject areas.  In the case of elementary school teachers, teachers from all four elementary schools are in the same tenure area; thus, seniority is looked at district-wide, and not by school or particular grade level.

 

Q:  Can we stop awarding tenure?  What happens if we do?

 

A:  Tenure is mandated by NYS law and is not optional.  We are not permitted to hire teachers on a year-to-year contract past the state-defined probationary period. If we continued employing a teacher past the probationary period, the teacher could be considered by law to have been granted tenure "by estoppel" anyway, even without board approval.  It is also not legal for a board simply to dismiss all teachers after their three-year probation is over.

Local PTA advocacy

This letter was provided by our local PTA so that parents could easily advocate for their children's schools.  Additional versions were distributed for parents to send to Assemblywoman Paulin and Governor Cuomo.

I'm unsure what exactly this part means:

Revise the way schools are funded to ensure equity so that all children in New York State receive the same high level of education. 

Address _______________________

Address _______________________

Date      ________________________

Dear Senator Klein,  
Our children need your help!
Taxpayers in New York are tax-weary and need property tax relief. However, Governor Cuomo proposes a simplistic solution that may have dire consequences for our schools and our children.   The Governor wants a tax cap.  It sounds like a good idea. 
However, unless a tax cap is accompanied with meaningful mandate relief, the result could decimate the Eastchester Schools. 
Any discussion on tax cap legislation must do the following:

·        Revise the way schools are funded to ensure equity so that all children in New York State receive the same high level of education. 

·        Repeal underfunded or unfunded state mandates that require local municipalities and school districts to significantly increase spending and therefore raise local property taxes. 

·        End the poor practice of passing costs on to taxpayers for unnecessary mandates.  

This is a crucial time in this country.  We must ensure that our children are prepared to meet the requirements to excel in a sophisticated and demanding global economy.  The opposite may occur under the Cuomo approach to education.  It will inescapably lead to drastic cuts in essential local school district programs and significant layoffs of school district employees.  DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN ON YOUR WATCH.
Thank you for all that you do for the Eastchester Community and the Eastchester Schools.

Sincerely,
Name: ____________________________________________
Signature: _________________________________________

PTA's new focus is "advocating for funds"

Not your mom's PTA: Fun fundraisers yield to advocating for funds

That's the headline of a lohud.com article spelling out out why the PTA's new focus is on defending against education spending cuts during these tough economic times.  Although this new priority is understandable, I wish PTAs would spend more energy helping schools learn how to do more with less, since increasing productivity may be the best way to advocate for our children as government funding continues to feel the pressure of a faltering economy and crippling deficits.

Several straight years of budget crises that threaten to change the nature of public education have inspired the venerable PTA to modernize its approach to defending schools and students. Local and regional PTAs across the state are now trolling through legislation and contracts, fighting state-aid cuts, and meeting with lawmakers in an effort to get a seat at the lobbying table....
The cuts are devastating and coming at the wrong time, said Lex Kessler, a member of the Somers PTA Council. He said American kids are falling behind their peers in other countries, especially in math and science.

PTA members should be reminded that higher education spending has not correlated with higher student achievement levels.

Somewhat surprisingly, an ex-PTA president serving as a state legislator is advocating for the tax cap.

Even Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, a Democrat from the Sound shore who started out as a PTA president decades ago, changed her position and said she is backing a cap this year so she "can be at the table" and push for mandate relief.
Any discussion of a tax cap must address ballooning debt payments and pension and health-care costs, she said.
"I'm trying to offer some simple, but necessary changes to it," she said.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by this comment:

I do applaud all the PTA volunteers for their time & effort. However, their mission should not be a lobbying effort for the teachers & union.
The PTA should be asking the teachers how to do more with less.

Read the entire article after the jump.

Pearl River school district renegotiates contracts

Pearl River school district:

The teachers and administrators unions have agreed to contract givebacks for the 2011-12 school year to stave off extensive cuts to programs and staffing positions.
The renegotiated contracts were approved Monday and will reduce salary increases for 217 teachers and 11 administrators. School officials said Tuesday that would realize between $900,000 and $1.5 million in savings for the district over the next four years.
The revised agreement cuts teacher salary increases from 2.6 percent to 0.6 percent for the 2011-12 school year. Administrators will see their 2.75 percent salary increase for 2011-12 reduced to zero.

These givebacks may save about 17 teacher positions and elementary music programs, middle school art and technology instruction, along with some high school courses.

But financial problems are likely to continue.

Superintendent Frank Auriemma praised the teachers and administrator s for the voluntary givebacks, although he warned that future reductions in the 2012-13 school year were likely.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20110323/NEWS03/103230356/1024/NEWS08/Pearl-River-teachers-administrators-agree-1-5-million-givebacks

The entire article is below.

"63 percent of voters in union households" oppose LIFO

In New York City, 63% of voters in union household oppose LIFO.  I wonder what percentage of teachers oppose LIFO.

A whopping 78 percent of New York City voters said teacher layoffs should be based on performance, not the seniority-based "last-in, first out" law, a poll released today found.
Even 63 percent of voters in union households agree that layoffs should be based on merit, not LIFO, according to the Quinnipiac College survey.
Meanwhile 73 percent of voters said layoffs of cops, firefighters and other government workers should be determined by performance, not seniority. And a majority of voters in union households agree.
The results mirror the findings of a statewide poll released last month, which found that 85 percent of voters backed the elimination of LIFO.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/majority_based_performance_york_mT8LRF5xbXjyRUY1EFyvSL#ixzz1H2WAq6m4

ADDED:  This retired teacher supports LIFO.

Don't allow the massive propaganda machine influence what you consider common sense. The last in, by all moral, legal and common sense, should be first out, if there must be an out. The many years of love, dedication and sacrifice, all for children, deserves better. I'm certain that this political move to protect budget mismanagement has nothing to do with the "best" teachers, but rather the bottom line of failed budget planning.

Read the entire piece after the jump.

NY Times advocates to curb wages, pensions and health benefits for government employees

The New York Times editorializes on our state's fiscal crisis, with some recommendations that surprise me.  This famously liberal newspaper criticizes state employees' overly generous wage, pension and health benefits won by strong unions exerting heavy political pressure on our legislators.

At a time when public school students are being forced into ever more crowded classrooms, and poor families will lose state medical benefits, New York State is paying 10 times more for state employees’ pensions than it did just a decade ago.

That huge increase is largely because of Albany’s outsized generosity to the state’s powerful employees’ unions in the early years of the last decade, made worse when the recession pushed down pension fund earnings, forcing the state to make up the difference. 

Although taxpayers are on the hook for the recession’s costs, most state employees pay only 3 percent of their salaries to their pensions, half the level of most state employees elsewhere. Their health insurance payments are about half those in the private sector....

To point out these alarming facts is not to be anti- union, or anti-worker....

Here are the three most expensive areas of spending that need to be addressed:

New York State mandate relief report weak on specifics

The Torch provides some analysis on the Mandate Relief Redesign Preliminary Report to Governor Cuomo.

Late yesterday, the Mandate Relief Redesign Team — or, more accurately, its coaches and trainers in the governor’s office — issued a report that essentially punts the issue back to … the team itself.
The report was couched as “preliminary,” promising quarterly updates, to conclude with a final report a little over a year from now. “Going forward,” the report promises, “the Team will continue to review recommendations proposed by Team members, state agencies, local governments, school districts and the public, and consider them for advancement.”
In the meantime, the hopelessly divided “Team” seems destined to spend a lot more time scrimmaging around the 50-yard line.  The Triborough amendment and employee benefits, to cite just two factors driving up local costs, were mentioned by the report in passing, only as “complex issues” requiring further study.

Employee benefits must be the single most costly mandate issue desperately in need of repair.  The report's idea for a new pension tier seems to fall short of what is really needed.

Unfortunately, the language of the report steers carefully clear of mentioning the main problem with the current pension system: the unpredictability of taxpayer-funded employer contributions; the huge, open-ended financial risks imposed on taxpayers; and the repeated success of unions in clawing back reductions in benefits before any employee comes close to reaching retirement age. Those problems can only be addressed through a fundamental break with the defined-benefit pension system—by shifting to a defined-contribution retirement accounts or a hybrid pension plan. The Cuomo administration is, as yet, clearly unwilling to go that far. But it’s still not shutting the door, either.

Revamped English Regents test is easier?

The 2011 New York English Regents exam that students took in January was downsized.

Kids who hate to write must love the new English Regents test.
For the first time in 12 years, New York high-school students last week took a new English exam, which was slashed from two days to one, six hours to three -- and four essays to one.
Some students and teachers think the abbreviated version is a breeze next to the old one.
"It's a lot easier -- there's only one essay!" a teen told one teacher who proctored the exam.
The test downsizing comes on the heels of tougher statewide math and English tests for grades 3 through 8 -- a crackdown Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch called "setting the bar higher."

But a veteran English teacher called the slimmer Regents exam "a joke."
"This is not raising the bar. It's dumbing it down," she said. "I think it's easier to pass now. They're not going to make as many mistakes."...
State Education Commissioner David Steiner insists the new exam, when scored, will be "just as rigorous" as the one it replaced, which was launched in 1999 to raise graduation standards.
The state says it trimmed the only Regents test that took two days because school districts, including New York City's, griped it was a logistical "hardship." Three times, they said, bad weather forced kids who missed the second day to finish months later on the next testing date.
The new test has 25 multiple-choice questions, one less. It also replaces three essays, including ones that focused on nonfiction, with two short written answers requiring "a well-developed paragraph."
Tuesday's essay question asked pupils to relate two works of literature they have read to a quote by Helen Keller: "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."
Experts say test length matters -- it usually boosts reliability.

One English teacher thinks the "Grade 8 ELA Exam is harder" than the revamped Regents.

No English teacher with whom I've spoken thinks that this new test is in any way an improvement towards making the tests more rigorous and demanding to encourage kids to reach higher standards. It's hard not to see the current test as pretty dumbed-down.

But the final scores will depend on how the "testing gnomes" in Albany "norm it and curve it"

I'm not sure when results will be available, but I believe it will be at the end of the school year. 

New York State Regents diploma survey

If you are in New York, the Board of Regents is seeking feedback on college and career readiness issues.

The Board of Regents would like your feedback on a College and Career Readiness Survey which focuses on three topics: College and Career Readiness Frameworks, Necessary Skills and Knowledge for College and Workforce Success, and New York State Graduation Requirements (current requirements can be found at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/gradreq/gradreq3columnstyle01_10.pdf).

Found this at Kitchen Table Math.

New York gets an A- in history standards!

Unfortunately, most other states did not fare as well.

[T]he Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s first review of the quality of state U.S. history standards since 2003. Key findings include:

• A majority of states’ standards are mediocre-to-awful. The average grade across all states is barely a D. In twenty-eight jurisdictions — a majority of states — the history standards earn Ds or below.  Eighteen earn Fs.
• Just one state — South Carolina — has standards strong enough to earn a straight A.
• Six other states — Alabama, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia — earn A-minuses, and three more received grades in the B range. Still, this means just ten states — or about one in five — get honors marks.

The study also reviewed the framework for the National Assessment of Educational Progress’s (NAEP) U.S. history examination and found it deserving of an A-minus. Thus, there are several national models — from the strongest state standards to the NAEP — that lagging states could and should emulate going forward.

 

New York gets an A-

New York’s U.S. history standards are among the most substantively comprehensive and
sophisticated in the country. Despite occasional departures from chronology and gaps or
shortcomings in content, the overall package could serve as a model for many other states.

I would agree that thematic organization sometimes trumps chronological presentation, especially in the elementary grades.  The "suggested classroom exercises" for grades K-8 are another area where I would probably wish for something different, since these exercises seem not to include sufficient writing.  According to the Fordham report, high school standards only cover American history.  I thought world history was included in high school, but apparently not.

Mayor Bloomberg calls for end to teacher seniority rules

New York City Mayor Bloomberg:.

"If the governor’s budget contains education cuts, it must also contain changes to the law so that we can take merit into account when making these difficult decisions.”...
"And yet Albany rules say that when it comes to teaching, talent doesn’t matter, results don’t matter."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/nyregion/31bloomberg.html?ref=education

"functionally bankrupt" New York State cuts aid to schools

When Governor Cuomo released the New York State 2011-12 budget yesterday, we learned that our local school district will lose $456,870 in state aid, a decrease of 11.61% from last year.  Statewide, cuts to schools will be 7.3%.

"It is a perfect storm — and not the snow kind," Mahopac Superintendent Thomas Manko said, referring to reduced state funding, Cuomo's plans for a property-tax cap and taxpayers' growing economic angst.

Details are here, including a listing of cuts to all school districts.  More state budget details here.

School aid accounts for 29% of New York State General Fund spending.
http://bronxville.patch.com/articles/cuomo-government-spends-too-much-money-gets-too-little-for-the-people

In New York, state education costs rose more than twice inflation rate over last 15 years

Governor Cuomo wants to cut aid to schools, while the schools want the state to continue higher tax rates on wealthier taxpayers.  The Governor's budget comes out on February 1.

The state's fiscal picture is grim: a $42 billion budget gap over the next three fiscal years — $10 billion in the upcoming year, $15 billion in 2012-13 and $17 billion in 2013-14. 
"The State of New York spends too much money. It is that blunt and it is that simple," Cuomo said in his State of the State address this month. . . .
Fiscal experts say Cuomo has to retool a state budget with unsustainable growth rates. . . .
Cuomo has said that schools should no longer expect rapid rises in aid from Albany. From 1994 through 2009, inflation was about 2.7 percent a year, but education aid went up an average 6 percent a year, Cuomo has said.
New York spent $17,173 per student in the 2007-08 year, more than any other state and 67 percent more than the national average, according to U.S. census data.
School officials said they already dealt with a $1.4 billion decrease in aid in the current fiscal year and warn that deeper cuts would erode classroom learning. They are calling on Cuomo to continue higher income taxes for people making more than $200,000 a year, a provision set to expire at year's end. It brings in about $5 billion in annual revenue.
"Revenues and cost savings should come to the front of the line before we are cutting librarians, guidance counselors and teachers out of our classrooms," said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education.
Schools also want relief from state mandates, saying that costs for pensions and health care are driving higher expenses.

For budget cuts, look no further than the biggest expenses - JN, 1/31/11 

Chappaqua school board resolution calls for mandate relief

I came across this copy of the January 11, 2011 Chappaqua school board resolution calling for mandate relief, and I suspect most Westchester school districts are taking similar action in response to Governor Cuomo's push to impose a 2% property tax cap.  An interesting side note is that Chappaqua is the home of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Resolution adopted by Chappaqua Central School District BOE -
Re: NY STATE Property Tax Cap Proposal

Be it Resolved by the Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education that Legislative and Unfunded Mandate Relief Must be Included in any NY State Property Tax Cap Proposal.
WHEREAS, New York State leads the nation in local property taxes, in large part because New York leads the nation in imposing unfunded state mandates upon our local municipalities and school districts; and
WHEREAS, state mandated pension fund contributions are one of the largest components of every school district and municipal budget over which local officials have little control, and are increasing at exorbitant rates annually such that bills from the State Retirement System (ERS) will increase 40% and bills from the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) will increase 33% in the 2011-12 school year; and
WHEREAS, state laws such as the Triborough Amendment, pertaining to the collective bargaining of contracts between school districts and employee unions, impede the ability of local officials to reasonably control the costs that such contracts impose upon local property taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, as a solution to New York's property tax crisis, the Governor of New York and members of the New York State Legislature have pledged to consider enactment of legislation imposing a cap on the annual growth in local property taxes; and
WHEREAS, any property tax cap must be accompanied simultaneously (1) by ending the practice of pushing State costs onto local school districts and municipalities, and (2) by a repeal of current underfunded or unfunded state mandates that require local municipalities and school districts to significantly increase spending and therefore local property taxes; and
WHEREAS, a property tax cap without repeal of costly underfunded and unfunded state mandates will inescapably lead to drastic cuts in essential local school district programs and services, as well as significant layoffs of school district employees;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Chappaqua Central School District, that the Governor of the State of New York and the members of the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly must reform the cost drivers that lead to high property taxes in New York - including mandate relief, pension benefits and the collective bargaining process - as the central element of any effort to provide property tax relief to the residents and businesses of New York State.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Governor, Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, Assembly Speaker and Minority Leader, and the members of the State Senate and Assembly representing residents of the Chappaqua Central School District.

The foregoing resolution was offered by Jeffrey Mester, seconded by Janet Benton and passed unanimously by a vote of all members present. It was adopted on January 11, 2011 at the regular public meeting of the Chappaqua Board of Education.

Related posts:

http://educationquicktakes.blogspot.com/2011/01/putting-brakes-on-school-spending-in.html
http://educationquicktakes.blogspot.com/2011/01/teacher-pension-costs-are-skyrocketing.html

If you have a problem with teachers unions . . .

If you have a problem with teachers unions, there's a good chance you might be a "right-wing", conservative millionaire.  At least, that is the view of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), the federation of unions representing state teachers.

From a Journal News interview with state and regional union leaders:

Herb Pinder, Lohud Opinion Page Editor:

"It certainly seems that the pendulum is swinging against public employees unions and I just want to get your perspective.  Is this general angst or the residue of the overall state of the economy or are we seeing something much, much bigger at work? . . . I’ll start with you, Mr. Korn."

Carl Korn, chief press officer for NYSUT:

"I think one of the things we are seeing is a concerted and orchestrated effort by the right to vilify public employees and vilify unions for the problems that they didn’t create.  Speaking only for NYSUT we believe in collaboration.  We believe in partnership and being part of the solution.  But sometimes we take a step back and we look at these same headlines and we look at who’s behind them, and they’re most often right-wing think tanks and conservatives who are also special interest.  And the special interests are representing the banks and the Wall Street millionaires who got us into this mess in the first place."

Putting the brakes on school spending in New York State

My friend Catherine alerted me to this:

5 Troubling Property Tax Facts

1. Property tax levies in New York grew by 73 percent from 1998 to 2008—more than twice the rate of inflation during that period.
2. New York has the second highest combined state and local taxes in the nation and the highest local taxes in America as a percentage of personal income —79 percent above the national average.
3. The median property taxes paid by New Yorkers are 96 percent above the national median.
4. When measured in absolute dollars paid, Westchester (1st), Nassau (2nd) and Rockland (5th) counties are among the 5 highest taxed counties in the nation.
5. When property taxes are measured as a percentage of home value over a three year period, the top sixteen counties in the nation are all in Upstate New York.

Cap NY Property Taxes - Andrew Cuomo’s Comprehensive Property Tax Reform Plan 

New York State school districts and municipalities are facing unrealistically large property tax increases this coming year, caused partly by "skyrocketing" pension costs.  The town portion of my property taxes will increase by over 16% this year.  It is simply unsustainable, and Governor Cuomo has proposed a property tax cap of 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.  If this cap is enacted, schools will be forced to make painful spending cuts.  But they have countered that any tax cap must be coupled with mandate relief.

The group is offering a host of recommendations to lower the mandates on schools. Among them is a one-year freeze on the salaries of school and public employees. They also want public employees to contribute at least 10 percent toward the cost of health insurance and establish a new 401k-type pension tier.

School Districts Warn About Property-Tax Cap

More details here:  Property Tax Cap: Pass or Fail for School Districts

Mandate relief is needed.  Something’s gotta give.

Teacher pension costs are "skyrocketing"

Some information from today's Journal News article:

• Teacher pension costs are "skyrocketing".  In Henrick Hudson Schools the increase this coming year will be 38%, forcing the school to borrow funds.
• The state is making steep cuts in state aid and federal stimulus money is "drying up".
• Teachers enjoy guaranteed pensions while most taxpayers assume the risks in their retirement accounts.
• The number of retired teachers receiving pension benefits under TRS has more than doubled over the last ten years.

Most local school districts could have to raise their tax levies by 1.5 percent to 3 percent next year simply to cover required payments to retirement systems for teachers and other employees.
The two main statewide pension funds saw their investments battered late in the last decade, and state law automatically requires school districts to pay higher rates to make up the difference.
"It couldn't happen at a worse time," said David Albert of the New York State School Boards Association. "We have one of the worst economic climates in history and, by the way, your pension costs are skyrocketing."
School districts are awaiting steep cuts in state aid. Federal stimulus money is drying up. Health- care costs continue to rise. And districts are coming to terms with the havoc that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed 2 percent property-tax cap would unleash on all aspects of school budgeting as it has traditionally been done in New York.
Now districts, as they begin working on their 2011-12 budgets, have to explain to taxpayers why they may have to open their wallets wider to cover guaranteed pensions for teachers, administrators and other public employees.
"A lot of people don't have a defined pension anymore and understand that what happens in the stock market affects their 401(k) portfolio," Tarrytowns Schools Superintendent Howard Smith said. "But in New York, these funds are stable and the beneficiaries don't share any risk. It's all on the district, and we get our resources from the taxpayers."
Smith said his district's contributions to the funds would rise to $4.4 million next year from $3.1 million this year. The increase translates into a 2 percent jump in the tax levy.
"Salaries are negotiable," Smith said. "Pension costs are not."
He noted that the pension increase alone would eat up the entire proposed property-tax cap.
Each year, all districts outside New York City have to contribute a percentage of their payroll to the retirement systems. The rate is determined by how the pension funds' investments performed over a five-year period.
The state Teachers' Retirement System's net assets — money available to pay current and future benefits — stood at $76.8 billion at the end of fiscal 2010. But the fund lost $7.8 billion in 2008 and a whopping $21.5 billion in 2009 before rebounding with a $6.8 billion gain in 2010.
As a result of several years of losses, districts in the fall will have to contribute 8.62 percent of the payroll for future beneficiaries to the TRS fund - up from 6.19 percent last year.
The New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System, which covers other school employees, is increasing its contribution rate from 7.4 percent of payroll last year to 11.9 in 2011. But a new alternative allows school districts and municipalities to finance the increase over 10 years.
"We've worked very hard the last several years to reduce our budget increases, but there is only so much we can do when we have these increases in the retirement system and projected losses in state aid," Hendrick Hudson Schools Superintendent Daniel McCann said.
Hendrick Hudson's payment to the TRS will increase by 38 percent to $3.5 million. This jump translates into a 2.46 percent increase in the district's tax levy.
The district will finance its $358,000 increase toward the second fund.
"While borrowing isn't always the best strategy, in this context, it is," McCann said.
The Teachers' Retirement System has seen its number of active members — those who will receive future benefits — increase to 285,774 in 2010, from 195,194 in 1990. The number of people collecting benefits has climbed during the same period from 69,127 to 141,716.
Teachers, administrators and others contribute differently to their retirement fund depending on when they were hired.
The biggest groups of teachers, who became part of the pension system between 1976 and 2009, contribute 3 percent for their first 10 years of membership, then nothing thereafter.
In 2009, the state approved a new tier for public employees hired after Jan. 1, 2010, that, among other things, requires employees to contribute 3 percent for their careers.
Currently, retired teachers who served for 20 to 35 years receive an average annual benefit of $36,064.
Thomas DePrisco, a member of the Pearl River Board of Education and the Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services school board, insists that the state has to force midcareer teachers to contribute to their pension funds for their entire careers.
This was the case until it was changed a decade ago.
DePrisco, a former teacher and police officer, said he is not anti-public-employee.
"My question is why taxpayers have to pay more to replenish these funds when hundreds of thousands of teachers are not paying a dime into their pensions?" he said.
DePrisco said that ongoing contributions by teachers and others would save districts enough money to make a difference.
"Maybe it would save two teacher positions," he said. "I'm worried. The next few years will not be good for us."