By:Anthony Rifilato
The meeting, which took place at Woodward Parkway Elementary School in Farmingdale on April 1, followed last week's recommendations by Gov. George Pataki's Commission on Education Reform, which said that in order to provide a sound, basic education to every child in New York state, it would cost an extra $2.5 to $5.6 billion a year. The state currently gives its schools about $14.5 billion a year.
Pataki created the commission in response to a ruling by New York's highest court last year demanding that the state find out just how much it would cost to improve New York City's schools, with a deadline set for July.
Along with Pataki's commission, several other organizations released their own studies and recommendations to the state Legislature last week. Among them was the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which contends that in order to improve education state-wide, at least $9 billion more is needed over four years, with more than half going to New York City.
"This would be a revolution in [students'] education," said Michael Rebell, executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the plaintiff that brought the lawsuit which led to the recent court decision.
Rebell and other representatives of education reform groups lobbied and urged state lawmakers to meet the court's deadline and agree on a plan. "The only thing that's missing is the political will to carry it out," said Rebell.
The CFE has identified 517 districts across the state that are not spending at adequate levels, and 162 that meet or exceed adequate levels. Among those, CFE identified 41 districts on Long Island that need more money.
"Certainly, for this downstate area and Long Island, we've been discriminated against for decades," said Rebell, explaining that many lawmakers think of schools in Nassau as rich districts. "We think that as part of this reform, the state has to ante up."
The CFE named 14 school districts in Nassau County that need more money, including East Rockaway, Elmont, Franklin Square and Valley Stream. Schools that were not on the list, Rebell said, are being adequately funded.
For instance, the CFE recommended that for the East Rockaway School District, the state needs to dole out 1.3 percent more, an increase of $18.7 million, in order for the district to adequately educate its students.
The CFE formula does not include costs for a range of things such as Advanced Placement courses and special-education costs that are a reality for many districts.
