State board proposes regional high schools

ALBANY -- The State Board of Regents recommended Tuesday that the state allow for the creation of regional high schools to spur more consolidation than has taken place under existing rules.

The change would require new state legislation. Only Suffolk County currently has this option.

The state now offers increased aid to districts that do full consolidations, but not partial ones. State Education Department spokesman Tom Dunn said they are "exploring solutions" with the State Legislature that would provide aid for regional high schools.

Timothy Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, said partial consolidations were a good first step.

"It's a step toward larger consolidation and wholesale sharing that makes a lot of sense," Kremer said. "This is a way to kind of share resources, share teachers and administrators."

Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) said it was "critical to provide school districts with options."

Partial consolidations raise numerous issues that need to be worked out, such as who would make the decision to create a regional high school and how the high school would be accountable to the different districts it served, said Flanagan, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

The recommendation was part of the Regents' state aid request that called for spending to grow by $755 million to $20.3 billion in next year's budget, with 73 percent of new state aid going to high-needs school districts.

The Regents also gave the education department the go-ahead to craft a plan to exempt the state from certain parts of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. That plan would be completed next month and presented to the board and then submitted for public comment. Pending approval by the board, the plan would be submitted to the federal government in February.

Under provisions of the act, schools have to meet certain targets for standardized testing. If a school doesn't meet those standards, they are required to use federal funding for supplementary schooling, such as after-school tutoring. The waiver proposal would allow the state to craft its own response to poorly performing schools.

One change in the waiver would redefine how Regents test scores are used to evaluate schools. High school students must score a 65 on the Regents exam to graduate.

The waiver plan would create incentives for schools whose students meet aspirational goals of scores of 75 on the English part of the exam and 80 on mathematics.

Schools whose students meet those standards would be able to qualify for grants, whereas schools whose students don't would have greater state oversight.