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Union responds to mixed school budget voting trends
Many budgets defeated on LI; statewide passage rate is 85 percent 
June 2, 2004 Working the phone banks in Smithtown are, from left, Stephen Ginsberg of Smithtown, Richard Farkas of the UFT, Danielle Giambo and June Smith of Smithtown, and Briget Anne Rein of the UFT. While the statewide approval rate was about 85 percent, Long Islanders voted down a sobering 37 percent of school budgets and delivered a strong message to state lawmakers: It's time to fix the state's school finance system - without shifting the burden to local taxpayers. "The blame for this year's higher number of school budget defeats can be traced to the state's failure to adequately and equitably fund public education, and the failure to offer clear guidance to school districts on how much state aid they can expect in time for school boards to produce realistic budgets," said NYSUT First Vice President Antonia Cortese. "This year, inaction by state leaders has unfairly shifted the burden of paying for education to local school districts, and students in many places now face an even tougher road to success." "If our budget goes down again, 30 to 60 staff members are losing their jobs," said Tim Southerton of Sayville Teachers Association on Long Island, as he met with local lawmakers as part of NYSUT's Committee of 100 lobby day. "That's 10 to 15 percent of our staff - and we'll lose a lot of really great new people we've invested a lot of time and money into training." "We really need the Legislature to do something," said June Smith of the Smithtown TA. "Our school board already cut a lot just to get the proposed tax increase under 10 percent and the budget still went down in flames. The state's just not doing its part: We're getting the same state aid that we got in 1989, even though costs and enrollment are up dramatically." If her district is forced to adopt a contingency budget, Smith said, that will mean $5 million in cuts. Cortese said this year's May 18 school budget voting highlighted the inequities in New York's school funding. Rebellion "In a number of high-need, small-city and rural districts, school budgets carrying tax increases greater than inflation went down to defeat," Cortese said. "On Long Island, voters rebelled not against the fine quality of their public schools, but against their rising property taxes. Unless the state becomes a full funding partner, the local 'tax fatigue' that is hitting so many Long Island districts will spread to other parts of the state." While sounding the alarm for state leaders to quickly comply with the Court of Appeals order that they adopt school funding reforms by July 30, Cortese said it's important to look at budget results in historical context. An analysis by NYSUT's Research and Education Services Division found the vast majority of budgets - everywhere except Long Island - were approved. While the pass rate on Long Island was 63.2 percent; the success rate in the rest of the state was 89.8 percent. If you examine the data over the long term, the 85 percent passage rate was consistent with the 36-year average passage rate of 82.4 percent. A sampling of defeated budgets found that while some were perceived as cutting too deeply, others hooked on local issues unrelated to the budget. The Owego-Apalachin budget became a referendum on a middle-level International Baccalaureate program. In Roslyn, after allegations that an assistant superintendent embezzled funds, the community soundly defeated the budget. Districts with a defeated budget may resubmit the same budget to the voters, or adopt a contingency budget. If a second budget proposal is defeated, the district must adopt a contingency budget. Spending increases under a contingency budget are capped at 2.76 percent over last year's level. NYSUT will be working with local leaders wishing to mount campaigns in support of revotes. Union analysts predicted some districts may rework state aid estimates now that the Senate has unveiled a plan that would double the governor's propose increase (see related article). Every vote counts A handful of votes tipped the budget in many districts. NYSUT's Research Division reported six budgets defeated by less than 10 votes - with two budgets failing with a tie and one going down by a single vote. "We always say every vote counts, but these results show how important each vote can be," said NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin. "We have to be ready for the revotes and do what we do best - educate people and get them out to the polls." The Solvay TA, led by President Michael Emmi and Vice President Doreen Merola, stepped up activities when it looked like their budget might go down: A 13 percent tax increase, a multimillion-dollar building project, full day kindergarten, and community confusion over restructuring debt stirred up "no" voters. The local responded by mailing postcards and calling NYSUT members using the statewide union's phone banks in Syracuse. The local also took out a full-page ad in their local paper and planned a senior citizen dinner right before the vote. In the end, their budget passed with the closest margin of victory in Onondaga County, 499 to 403, and all their endorsed candidates won school board seats. On Long Island, Central Islip TA President Richard Iannuzzi expressed gratitude to a large contingent of New York City union members who volunteered for phone banks. While his local did not push for passage of the budget because of cuts to 22 staff positions, the union was promoting a pro-education candidate. "The budget went down, but our endorsed candidate was successful," he said. "The UFT (United Federation of Teachers) members took the time to learn our issues and were really helpful in getting our message across." - Sylvia Saunders |
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