No surprise on how NYSUT views their pension benefits

"Seeking to abolish basic labor protections or destroy the public pension system should not even enter the debate when we are discussing true mandate relief," Andrew Pallotta, executive vice president of New York State United Teachers, said at a state Senate hearing in February.

Pallotta called for reduced spending on charter schools and the spreading out of pension payments for schools.

I'm getting the message that New York teachers really want to keep their taxpayer-guaranteed pensions.  That might be hard to do, considering our state's economic crisis and that tax-funded annual contributions to the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) will more than quadruple over the next five years.

Read the entire story after the jump.

Passing the pension time bomb in New York State

Employer contributions to the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) were 6.19 percent of covered payroll  in 2010, but are expected to hit 8.62 percent next fall and 11.11 percent in 2012.  While NYSTRS has not projected its pension rates beyond next year, our recent Empire Center report on “New York’s Exploding Pension Costs” estimated that the contribution could hit 16 percent of payroll in 2014, and 25 percent by 2016.

This problem is not going away any time soon.  In terms of "unfunded mandates" that are propelling unsustainable tax increases for New Yorkers, pensions are huge.

The Torch

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.

33 local school districts have joined in calling for mandate relief from New York State

Our local district approved this resolution that Legislative and Unfunded Mandate Relief Must be Included in any NY State Property Tax Cap Proposal.

Be it Resolved by the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association 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 Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association, which represents 54 school districts serving over 165,000 students and their families, 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 Westchester and Putnam Counties.

In January, I had posted that Chappaqua had approved a mandate relief resolution.

School Districts that have approved the Resolution as of 3/10/2011:

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.

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