STATE STILL OWES DISTRICTS $4 BILLION FROM CFE SETTLEMENT

I found this piece from the Education Law Center quite interesting.

Education Law Center (ELC) has joined the legal team in NYSER v. State, a major school funding lawsuit pending in the Supreme Court of New York County. The case was filed in 2014 by parents in New York City and Syracuse, as well as statewide organizations and community groups, to compel New York State to fulfill its constitutional obligation to adequately fund the public schools.

In an amended complaint filed December 11, parents from the Schenectady, Gouverneur and Central Islip school districts joined the NYSER litigation. The inclusion of these school districts expands the case to include urban, rural and suburban communities across the state.

At the heart of the NYSER case is the State’s failure to fund the 2007 Foundation Aid Formula, enacted by the Legislature in the wake of the Court of Appeals landmark Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State (CFE) rulings. After a decade of deep funding cuts, then minimal increases in aid, the State remains an estimated $4 billion below its funding obligations to districts under the Formula. 

Read the rest for sure. I'm told NYC is being shortchanged $3 billion by the state.

The problem is the courts are notoriously slow. The original Campaign for Fiscal Equity suit was filed in the early nineties and settled in 2007. Still no justice and it's almost 2018.

Also, if this case is settled, I hope they write it in very strong language that any additional aid must go to the classroom or direct guidance services and have penalties for districts that are not only financial if money does not get to the classroom.