Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union the number of school districts statewide at some level of fiscal stress has remained the same since the 2017-18 school year, according to a survey released Jan. 24, by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Just five districts were designated as being in significant fiscal stress, the worst category on DiNapoli's scale. Those in considered to be susceptible to fiscal stress included the Hudson Falls and Rensselaer school districts. Rensselaer Superintendent Joe Kardash said that district had been working for the past three or four years to get out of a situation where they were eating into their cash reserves. The comptroller's fiscal stress surveys are designed to show whether school districts are facing problems in budgeting, and look at solvency indicators such as fund balance levels, operating deficits, cash-on-hand and reliance on short-term borrowing. The comptroller looks at so-called environmental indicators, like poverty rates and a district’s tax base, as well. Read the full story in the Times Union.