It's rare that I attend a budget discussion and leave with a tear in my eye, but such was the case after Rick Timbs's presentation Saturday. Tompkins County stands to lose $1,382 per pupil--not as high as Cayuga's $1,843, but significantly more than Westchester's $722. Even with the guv's sliding scale cuts, the inequities exist--a high wealth district with a budget of $20 million might lose 13% of its aid, or around $260,200, for a required local tax increase of 1.4%, but although a high needs district with the same size budget will lose only 4% of its aid, that translates to a whopping $600,000, for a local tax increase of 12%. Since it seems likely that we will be capped at 2% for the aforementioned tax increase, the effect on high needs schools is dramatic.
I will be working on an Op Ed on these inequities in the coming weeks.
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