Amherst Supervisor Satish Mohan introduced a Resolution at the Amherst Town Board meeting calling for the Town's three school districts to consolidate into one district. You can read the Resolution below. Amazingly Erie County has 29 school districts, an average of one school district per 31,000 people.
I was not aware that reorganization of school districts also provides the new district with additional operating aid and building aid. The computed formula operating aid for districts which reorganize is increased by 40 percent for five years, then reduced by four percent each year until it is phased out, thus providing a total of 14 years of additional operating aid. Also, for newly reorganized districts, the computed state aid for building projects is increased by 30 percent, up to a maximum of 95 percent of the approved cost. In these difficult financial times the additional dollars that can be obtained through consolidating deserve a serious look.
There has been a lot of focus on merging and consolidating towns and villages, but consolidating school districts needs more debate and discussion as well. What do you think about consolidating school districts?
Here is a copy of the Resolution introduced by Mohan, which is a bit long. For some reason when I copied this bullet points came out as question marks.
Consolidating the Three Amherst School Districts
WHEREAS, the property taxes in the New York State are the highest in the nation-78% above the national average; and
WHEREAS, the school property taxes account for 61% of all property taxes that include town, county, and school taxes; and
WHEREAS, the State of New York with a population of 19,376,818 has 698 school districts averaging approximately 27,760 population per school district; and
WHEREAS, Erie County with a population of 910,354 has 29 school districts averaging one school district per 31,392 population; and
WHEREAS, a master plan for school reorganization was adopted by New York State in 1947, which was updated in 1958, and was renamed the “State Plan for School District Reorganization.” This plan has since been used for school reorganization or merging school districts; and
WHEREAS, between 1983 and 1998, fifty-six (56) school districts in New York State made the decision to reorganize or merge; and
WHEREAS, the following New York State Laws guide the school districts merger:
Education Law, Sections 1801-1804
Education Law, Sections 2510, 1518, 1505a, 1703, 2004, and 2105
Commission’s Decision No. 12019
Civil Service Law, Section 70
WHEREAS, according to a New York State Publication, “Guide to Reorganization of School Districts in New York State,” school districts reorganization for central school districts can be effectuated in two ways:
1. CENTRALIZATION or
2. ANNEXATION; and
WHEREAS, in the CENTRALIZATION method, a new central school district is established through the merger of the existing school districts which are contiguous into a new, larger school district. The Commissioner of Education lays out a central school district at any time he/she determines it educationally desirable to do so. In practice, this power is exercised only after extensive study, evidence of support in the respective districts, and upon recommendation of the respective boards of education and/or the district superintendent. The new central district begins operation only after the approval by the qualified voters in each school district; and
WHEREAS, the ANNEXATION method refers to the annexation of a contiguous school district to a central school district and begins with the issuance of an order by the Commissioner of Education after study of the proposed annexation, evidence of local support, and upon request of the affected boards of education and/or the district superintendent. The order is subject to permissive referendum in any of the affected districts; and
WHEREAS, the New York State publication, “Guide to the Reorganization of School Districts in New York State” lists the following benefits of reorganization of school districts in providing increased pupil and financial base:
1. Provide several sections of a subject area, each fitted to pupil needs and abilities;
2. Extend subject offerings to include, for example, multiple languages, specialized English courses, new special area social studies courses, advanced placement programs, and development of programs for the less able or the gifted;
3. Provide a broader choice of electives and co-curricular opportunities;
4. Increase the probability that teachers will serve only in their field of specialization;
5. Provide separate specially equipped classrooms for specific subjects;
6. Upgrade facilities and equipment to support program requirements; and
7. Provide competitive salaries to employees; and
WHEREAS, according to the above publication, reorganization also creates the potential for school districts to operate more efficiently and economically by:
1. Permitting a more cost-effective administrative organization;
2. Eliminate duplication by pooling facilities, equipment, supplies, materials, teaching and non-teaching staff;
3. Consolidating and coordinating the transportation system, i.e. providing for routing in a more efficient manner, using one centralized garage, and standardizing buses and parts; and
4. Additional New York State Aid. Reorganization of school districts also provides the new district with additional operating aid and building aid. The computed formula operating aid for districts which reorganize is increased by 40 percent for five years, then reduced by four percent each year until it is phased out, thus providing a total of 14 years of additional operating aid. Also, for newly reorganized districts, the computed state aid for building projects is increased by 30 percent, up to a maximum of 95 percent of the approved cost.
WHEREAS, the Department of Education, State of Maine, in their School Reorganization Law has legislated that beginning July 1, 2008, General Purpose Aid for schools that reorganize will be reduced as below; their action indicates the expected savings:
(i) The per-pupil rate for system administration by 50% for the 2005-2006 rates;
(ii) The per-pupil rate for facilities and maintenance by 5%;
(iii) The essential programs and services allocation for special education by 5%; and
(iv) Transportation allocation by 5%; and
WHEREAS, in many states, school districts are managed at the county level. In Maine, Vermont, Arkansas, Indiana, and New Jersey, school district consolidation initiatives are underway; and
WHEREAS, the Montgomery County in Maryland, with a population of 930,813 and a size of 497 square miles, has one school district. The Montgomery County Public School District has the following characteristics:
The largest and most diverse school system in Maryland;
The 16th largest district in the nation;
Has 199 schools in the district:
o elementary schools: 130
o middle schools: 38
o high schools: 25
o career and technology center: 1
o special or alternative schools: 5
Teachers: 11,544
Total employees: 22,122
Buses: 1,272
Graduation rate: 90.37%
AP participation: 60%
National Merit Scholars: 61
Average SAT score: 1,616
Attendance >95.0%
Expenditure Distribution:
o Instruction: 80.0%
o School support: 14.7%
o System wide support: 2.6%
o Food service/other: 2.7%
WHEREAS, the April 2008 Report on the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness has published in their “School District Restructuring” chapter that One BOCES estimated that they could save 5% by coordinating transportation and letting a single contract; and
WHEREAS, a 2004 study on strengthening public education in the Broome-Tioga region found that operating costs could be annually reduced by $12 million to $16 million by applying management techniques found in large single districts; and
WHEREAS, according to the “U.S. Census Bureau News” dated May 24, 2007, the per student public school spending was as below:
National average in 2005: $ 8,701
State of New York: $14,119
State of New Jersey: $13,800
District of Columbia: $12,979
State of Vermont: $11,835
State of Connecticut: $11,572
State of Oklahoma: $ 6,613
State of Mississippi: $ 6,575
State of Idaho: $ 6,283
State of Arizona: $ 6,261
State of Utah: $ 5,257
WHEREAS, the above data shows that New York State, at $14,119, spends the most per pupil, while the expenditures can be as low as $5,257 as in Utah; there is a high potential of effecting economies in our school expenditures; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that the Amherst Town Board forward this resolution to the school boards and district superintendents of the following three school districts requesting them to write to the Commissioner of Education to initiate a referendum for merging the three school districts using the CENTRALIZATION method or the ANNEXATION method:
(i) Williamsville Central Schools District
(ii) Amherst Central School District
(iii) Sweet Home Central School District of Amherst and Tonawanda