The document summarizes a forum discussing New York State's new property tax cap and how it will affect local school districts. Panelists included the superintendent of Ulster BOCES, the superintendent of Catskill schools, and the vice president of the Kingston board of education. The forum aimed to address concerns over rising taxes and the challenges schools face in staying under the tax cap.

1. Tax cap forum:
On the state’s new property tax cap; and
how it will affect school districts
• Ulster BOCES Superintendent Charles Khoury
• Catskill Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Farrell
• Kingston Board of Education Vice President Matthew McCoy
Dec. 22, 2011

2. I would like to ask what you think is the best way to improve our local
system and reduce overcrowded class sizes? I have been a home owner and tax
payer in the district for about 8 years and this is the first year I have a child in the public
schools. I have paid my fair share and voted yes on every tax increase, but now I feel that
my daughter is being short changed. The school (Graves) she has started Kindergarten in
this year reduced it’s K classes from 3 to 2. There are 25 children in each class. The Institute
of Education Sciences, the research arm of the US Department of Education, concludes that
class size reduction is one of only four, evidence-based reforms that have been proven to
increase student achievement through rigorous, randomized experiments. Studies have
shown that students who are assigned to smaller classes in grades K-3rd do better in every
way that can be measured: they score higher on tests, receive better grades, and exhibit
improved attendance. No more then 15 students in each class is said to be ideal. I brought
this to the attention of the current school superintendent and was told I was lucky it wasn’t
30 and then he didn’t respond to any of my follow up emails. First off, this is no way to treat
a concerned parent. Second, I want to hear from you how we can fix this. Education is the
most important issue in a community, and we should concentrate on making it the best it
possibly can for the local children. If these problems are not addressed and we continue to
cut teachers and programs form these kids, I will have to vote no on next budget and
encourage all other parents to do the same.
Thanks for your time
John Bell

3. I have on several occasions heard people mention voting to override
the Property Tax Cap. Is this legal? If so, what good is a law that can be
overridden? It is very clear that this law was enacted not only to protect
the property owners from skyrocketing taxes, but more importantly to
give notice to the school districts that they have painted themselves into
a corner with the generous contracts that they have "negotiated" over
the years. It's unsustainable and the time is now to make some tough
decisions that every private sector business has had to do over the last
ten years. These are reign in the salary increases, convert pensions to
401ks, and transfer more health insurance costs to the employees. These
are the only ways to bridge the budget gaps and you don't have to close
schools or lay off teachers to do it.
Bob D'Angelo

4. I believe we don't need 11 school districts and
Superintendents, Assistants, Directors, attendant staff, and
others to administrative public school education in Ulster
County. Follow the example of other states and create one
Administration per County. In Kingston we would avoid
$4.M of our $12.8M shortfall, Countywide $65M. Since
Albany is dictating what's to be taught and how to determine
pass/fail, we need to change our present Business Model and
Business Plan to support the model to reflect current reality.
Ronald Dietl

5. Why cant the school spend less
money?
Ed Pollan

6. How much are the tax cap
exemptions likely to impact the
average school budget in the
region? Which exemptions are likely
to be most often ones utilized?

7. Many regional school officials have
emphasized the need for mandate
relief to give districts the flexibility
to operate within the cap. What are
some specific examples of mandates
that should be targeted for
elimination? Which ones are the
most troublesome and costly?

8. What other types of legislation can
the state Legislature pass to make
life under the tax cap more
manageable for school districts? In
what areas could more flexibility
help school districts save money?

9. Many regional school districts have
done five-year financial projections
that show dire fiscal outlooks in the
near future and/or down the road.
Without any new legislation, how
are districts going to
adjust, especially smaller districts
that don't have buildings to close?

10. Can a school district go bankrupt?
What happens if a district cannot
afford to meet state mandates and
collective bargaining agreement
provisions like class size maximums
while staying under the cap?

11. What are the rules related to
mergers between school districts?
Where are there opportunities for
savings? What types of challenges
are associated with mergers?

12. On a related note, some people say
New York should consider
a countywide school district model
like New Jersey. What would have to
happen for the state to switch to
such a model?

13. Is the new fiscal outlook going to
change how school districts
negotiate with public employees? If
so, how?

14. What are some ways BOCES can
help districts share their resources
to preserve academic programs or
even come up with new ones? What
are some current proposals that are
under discussion?

15. Could you explain why the tax cap
may not stop people's tax levies
from rising more than 2 percent?