March 31, 2011

Summary: State Budget 2011-2012 for K-12 and Higher Education

Source:  NYSUT Legislative Department

Legislators on Thursday approved a $132.5 billion budget that includes substantial cuts to public education. Here's a summary of what the budget calls for in K-12 and public higher education spending:

2011-12 ENACTED BUDGET SUMMARY

K-12 EDUCATION

School Aid: $229 million in formula-based education funding was restored, reducing the Executive's proposed cut of $1.53 billion to $1.3 billion. Excluding the Education Jobs Fund brings the year-to-year reduction in school aid to $697 million. The restoration provides for adjustments based on need, enrollment increases, students with Limited English Proficiency, and decreases to both the minimum and maximum cuts.

  • The final budget also includes a two-year appropriation and a cap on school aid funding growth limited to growth in personal income. The growth allowed under this cap would provide for an $800 million increase in school year 2012-13.
  • Universal Prekindergarten is maintained at $384 million for 2011-12 and 2012-13.

4201 Schools: The Legislature rejects the Executive's proposal to reclassify State- Supported Schools for the Blind and Deaf as approved private schools for students with disabilities, including rejecting changes to the funding structure and the student appointment and evaluation process. The state will fully reimburse school districts that will pay these schools in the first instance; at least 50 percent of this reimbursement would be within the same school year as districts incur the costs.

Summer School Special Education Proposed Cost Shift: The Legislature rejects the Executive's proposal to shift costs to the school districts for the Summer School Special Education (4408) Program and restores $57 million for the State Fiscal Year (SFY) for this program.

Teacher Programs

  • The Teacher Mentor Intern Program is maintained at $2 million
  • Teacher Centers are funded at $20.44 million.
  • National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is funded at $368,000.

Competitive Grant Programs: The Legislature accepts the Executive's creation of two new competitive grant programs: the School District Management Efficiency Awards Program and the School District Performance Improvement Awards Grant, totaling $500,000,000, and modifies the programs to be multi-year. SFY 2012-13 would mark the first year of disbursements for this program, and $50,000,000 would be disbursed in SFY 2012-13.

  • The Legislature modifies the School District Management Efficiency Awards Program to also include school districts that have implemented efficiencies within the last three years.
  • The Legislature modifies the School District Performance Improvement Awards Grant in the following manner:
    • Includes a focus on school districts that implemented strategies for narrowing student achievement gaps and increasing academic performance in traditionally underserved student groups.
    • Gives priority for grant eligibility to districts with programs that benefit students having the greatest educational needs, including but not limited to, students in traditionally underserved student groups, students with limited English proficiency and who are English language learners, students in poverty, students with disabilities, and students with low academic achievement.
    • Expands the eligibility to include all school districts.

Library Aid: The Legislature restored $3 million in Library Aid.

Other Proposals:

  • The Legislature rejects the Executive's proposal that would transform Building Aid from a reimbursable aid to a competitive grant program;
  • The Legislature rejects the Executive's proposal to change the BOCES Aid reimbursement rates beginning in school year 2012-13;
  • The Legislature rejects the Executive's proposal to eliminate reimbursement for certain non-instructional services within BOCES;
  • The Legislature provides authorization for school districts to transfer excess EBALR funds to offset the Gap Elimination Adjustment during the 2011-12 school year for the purpose of maintaining educational programming and would allow BOCES to transfer excess EBALR funds to component districts as well;
  • The Legislature accepts the Executive's proposal to freeze the school years 2011-12 and 2012-13 per-pupil tuition paid by school districts to charter schools at the 2010-11 rate.

SUNY

SUNY State-Operated Campuses

  • The Legislature accepts the Executive Budget cut of $100 million ($0 restored).
  • SUNY Hospitals
  • The Legislature restores $60 million and provides the authority for the hospitals to amortize their ERS pension payments for a savings of $26 million.
  • The Legislature agrees to add $135 million in appropriation authority for SUNY Upstate Medical University for the acquisition of Community General Hospital in Syracuse.

Educational Opportunity Centers

  • Authority is granted to transfer some of the existing funds to the ATTAIN Labs.

SUNY LI Veterans Home

  • The Legislature restores $3.8 million.

SUNY Community Colleges

  • The Legislature restores $13 million which equates to a 39.5% restoration.

SUNY Child Care Centers

  • The Legislature restores $653,000.

SUNY Educational Opportunity Program

  • Funding for this program is maintained at last year's level.

SUNY Capital Plan

  • The Legislature provides approximately $800,000 in additional capital funding to SUNY above the Executive Budget level. This increase will be provided to Jamestown Community College for the restoration of Carnahan Hall and for land acquisition.

CUNY

CUNY Senior Colleges

  • The Legislature accepts the Executive Budget cut of $91.5 million ($0 restored).
  • Authority is not provided to CUNY to enable them to expend over $40 million in tuition revenue already collected from students pursuant to a 2011 spring semester 5% tuition increase.

CUNY Community Colleges

  • The Legislature restores $5.2 million which equates to a 39.5% restoration.

CUNY Child Care Centers

  • The Legislature restores $544,000.

SEEK

  • Funding for this program is maintained at last year's level.

CUNY Capital Plan

  • The Legislature accepts the Executive Budget full funding of the last year of CUNY's five-year capital plan.

TAP

  • The Legislature provides $3.3 million on a state fiscal year (SFY) basis or $9.2 million on an academic year basis (AY) for awards for students attending religious institutions ("Rabbinical TAP").
  • Also, see Article VII section.

BUNDY Aid

  • The Legislature accepts the Executive Budget cut of $3.9 million ($0 restored).

NYHELPS

  • The Legislature cuts $7.5 million to this program.

Article VII Agreements

  • The Legislature rejected the Executive Budget SUNY/CUNY management flexibility proposals but agrees to:
    • Provide procurement flexibility for goods, construction contracts and construction-related services, printing contracts without prior approval from the Comptroller and Attorney General.
    • Authorize the SUNY and CUNY Construction Funds to execute contracts without prior approval from the Comptroller or Attorney General.
    • Authorize SUNY to accept conditional gifts of real and personal property.
  • The Legislature agrees to authorize SUNY Downstate to enter into a long-term lease with a not-for-profit corporation for the use of the facilities to be acquired from Long Island College Hospital.
  • The Legislature authorizes SUNY Upstate Medical University to acquire Community General Hospital (appropriation authority and pension language accepted).
  • The Legislature accepts the following Executive Budget TAP proposals:
    • Elimination of awards for graduate students.
    • Elimination of awards for students who are in default on federal loans until such default is cleared up.
    • Creating parity between public and private pensions in award calculations.
    • Reducing awards for financially independent students who are married without children.
    • Reducing the maximum award to $4,000 for students enrolled in two-year institutions however, public community college students are exempted.
    • Increased academic standards and credit minimums for non-remedial students. The definition of non-remedial student is modified.
  • The Legislature agrees to extend the following scholarship programs until 2016: the Regents Scholarship Program, the Social Worker Loan Forgiveness Program, the Patricia McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship and Nursing Loan Forgiveness Program.
  • The Legislature agrees to extend the Higher Education Capital Matching Grants Program until March 31, 2012.