Officials at Colonie’s school districts said they are pleased to hear some of the comments Gov. Eliot Spitzer made in his January budget proposal about improving education in the state. Questions remain, however, about how the implementation of some measures would affect the districts.
In Spitzer’s proposal, he suggested putting more money in the hands of the state Department of Education to keep school performance up to par.
Locally, officials from North and South Colonie schools admit much of the talk is aimed at the state’s ill-performing schools and said suggested measures to help those schools meet education standard, such as more accountability, could prove counterproductive to the state’s better performing districts. The North Colonie district includes some of the top performing schools in the area, while South Colonie schools have raised their scores after being identified by the state as needing improvement.
I hope that suburban districts that are working hard to do well won’t get lost, said North Colonie School District Super-intendent Randy Ehrenberg.
Under Spitzer’s proposal, the school will see roughly $600,000 more in state aid for next year. Most of the money would go toward reimbursement of a more than $1 million bill for school buses and communication equipment purchased this year.
The budget increase would help, said Ehrenberg, but the financial demand on the district is ever-increasing as board members look to formulate the 2007-2008 budget in coming weeks.
The proportion residential taxpayers in Colonie pay compared to commercial property holders continues to shift from last year. This year’s budget saw a nearly 2 percent increase in residential taxes, accounting for homeowners paying 59 percent of the total tax levy. District officials estimated the residential share of next year’s budget will be 62 percent.
North Colonie will continue to earn a place among the top percentage of performing schools, said Ehrenberg. However, the proportion increases will mean that the district will continue to have to ask taxpayers for more, she said.
The increased burden on taxpayers is what led officials at the Colonie-Maplewood Common School District to discuss annexation with North Colonie. After years of passing double-digit tax increases, officials and taxpayers have agreed to bring the annexation before taxpayers in upcoming school budget votes.
It’s hard work to keep North Colonie’s gears greased and maintaining a steady output of high-scoring regent graduates, said Ehrenberg.
School officials argue that coming down hard on administrators and boards of education of underperforming schools, as Spitzer proposes, is a threat that doesn’t serve the best interest of both standard and charter schools.
South Colonie officials said Spitzer raises good questions, but his language may prove to be a little harsh and subsequently undermine the community control of some school districts.
`Some of what is being proposed is taking away the local control of districts,` said South Colonie School Board president James Ryan. `I don’t think that is the way to go.`
South Colonie is in the second year of concerted efforts to raise its standing after it was identified by the state Department of Education as being in need of academic improvement in secondary English. Although they have brought the scores up, they have to remain on the list for another year, which is why they were included among five other schools in Albany County that are not in good standing in the 2006-07 School Accountability Status report released several weeks ago.
Talk of coming down on school administrators and board members for continually not meeting the mark doesn’t help, said Ryan. The board and the district’s administration already hold themselves accountable for failing performance. After being identified two years ago by the state as underperforming, they immediately put a plan in action to address the problem area, said Ryan, and it was done without additional funds or strings attached. Schools don’t need another level of government or bureaucracy to work through, he said.
Despite concerns, there are a lot of positives in the governor’s education proposal, said South Colonie Superintendent Michael Marcelle.
Marcelle, like North Colonie officials, said he understands city schools and underperforming schools need money and accountability. But, he said, it should not come at the expense of South Colonie and other large suburban districts.
Next year South Colonie could see a 2 percent increase in state aid, roughly $367,000 as part of Spitzer’s proposed plan. That increase is the annual standard, said officials, and typically covers average annual increases in staff benefits and pay.
However South Colonie will soon begin to pay on $9,737,700 in bonds used to purchase new buses, needed school repairs and a classroom addition at Veeder Elementary School.“