May 15, 2008

Weitzman: ‘Recent report highlights enormous inequity in
school funding for Nassau County vs rest of state.’

 Property taxes pay for vast majority of school spending in Nassau; aid from Albany pays only small percentage

Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman said today that according to a recent report by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, Nassau County taxpayers continue to shoulder too much of the financial burden of our children’s education.

“When it comes to funding school budgets, Nassau County taxpayers shell out a higher percentage of the budget than taxpayers in 54 counties in New York State.  Our taxpayers are expected to pay almost 78 percent of their school budgets and we have one of the highest costs of living.  That puts us in the bottom three counties state-wide for state help in paying school costs,” said Weitzman.

According to the Empire Center’s report, Nassau County’s school districts plan to spend $4,691,858,114 in 2008-09 with $3,636,898,473, or 78%, of that coming from the property tax levy (a.k.a. your school taxes). Only 22 percent of the total school spending, or $1,054,959,641, comes from other sources, primarily school aid from Albany. Suffolk County taxpayers will pay 62 percent of their $5,349,881,553 school budgets. The report used averages for each county.

 “Our taxpayers are clearly over burdened,” said Weitzman. “Our representatives in Albany hold the key to correcting that by distributing school aid more equitably to Nassau.”

Weitzman's analysis comes one week before the expected release of the report from the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief, a governor-appointed commission being Chaired by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.  Among the issues being explored by this statewide panel are a possible property tax cap and unfunded mandates.

"With among the highest property taxes in the nation, we must explore every avenue for property tax relief on both the revenue and expense sides," said Suozzi.  "Even as our Commission looks for ways to responsibly cap expenses, including a reasonable cap on property tax growth and the impact of unfunded state mandates, we must continue to aggressively pursue our fair share of state aid."

In upstate New York some school district taxpayers are expected to pay as little as 24 percent of their school budgets from property taxes.  Allegany County taxpayers, located south of Buffalo, pay only 24 percent of their $145,519,543 school budget through property taxes. Tioga County taxpayers located just west of Binghamton, pay only 29 percent. Only Rockland (79 percent) and Westchester (80 percent) taxpayers paid a higher percentage of their school budgets than Nassau taxpayers (77.5 percent).

The Empire Center report, called the 2008-2009 School Budget Spotlight; Tax and spending Changes Proposed by the New York State School Districts, took a look at 57 counties outside New York City whose budgets totaled over $29 billion. It also highlighted projected enrollment and per pupil spending. To view the report in its entirety, go to http://www.empirecenter.org/files/SchoolBudgetSpotlight.pdf.

Summary of 2008-2009 School Budget Spotlight Data