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The coming tax cap battle
Dec 15, 2010 11:38 am
The New York State School Boards Association is gearing up to battle Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo’s proposed property tax cap, according to a story in yesterday's Albany Business Journal about a new NYSSBA report released Monday that says school districts across the state would face a combined $3.3 billion budget shortfall over the next four years if Cuomo convinces the Legislature to cap tax levy increases at 2 percent or at the inflation rate.
“A hard tax cap would clearly threaten the quality of public education by forcing drastic cuts in classroom teachers and academic programs,” said Timothy Kremer, executive director of the NYSSBA.
Salaries, pension costs and health care coverage alone are expected to increase by more than $1 billion per year, while the cap would limit tax levy increases to $229 million a year, according to the report.
The report analyzes data from 668 school districts throughout the state except for New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers.
During his gubernatorial campaign, Cuomo released a platform that called for a property tax cap on school districts and local governments as one means to curb spending increases. Pension costs have spiraled out of control, he said.
Cuomo outlined a cap on property taxes that had only a few exceptions. And he highlighted that New York schools pay 71 percent more per student than the national average. Still, only about 67 percent of its students graduate from high school, he said.
Read more: School boards association to fight Cuomo’s property tax cap plan | The Business Review
“A hard tax cap would clearly threaten the quality of public education by forcing drastic cuts in classroom teachers and academic programs,” said Timothy Kremer, executive director of the NYSSBA.
Salaries, pension costs and health care coverage alone are expected to increase by more than $1 billion per year, while the cap would limit tax levy increases to $229 million a year, according to the report.
The report analyzes data from 668 school districts throughout the state except for New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers.
During his gubernatorial campaign, Cuomo released a platform that called for a property tax cap on school districts and local governments as one means to curb spending increases. Pension costs have spiraled out of control, he said.
Cuomo outlined a cap on property taxes that had only a few exceptions. And he highlighted that New York schools pay 71 percent more per student than the national average. Still, only about 67 percent of its students graduate from high school, he said.
Read more: School boards association to fight Cuomo’s property tax cap plan | The Business Review