Bixhorn: More state aid crucial to schools

Gary D. Bixhorn is chief operating officer of Eastern Suffolk BOCES.

Never before have decisions in Washington and Albany been more directly linked to what occurs in Long Island's classrooms. Implementation of new state requirements imposed to qualify for federal Race to the Top funding is driving much of what our school districts are dealing with today. These requirements, coupled with the state's fiscal crisis, are bringing about significant change -- so much that 2011-12 should be considered a bridge year, linking the old way of doing business with the new.

The 2011-12 school year requires our schools and communities to adjust to reduced state support, increased regulation and new limits on local control. The impact of the loss of state aid has already been felt across our region: fewer full-day kindergarten programs and vocational education opportunities, larger class sizes, the elimination of some athletic teams and cutbacks in transportation services. A recent Long Island Education Coalition survey reveals that program cuts have been more intense in low- and mid-wealth districts.

At the same time, the state has dramatically stepped up its involvement in teacher evaluation, a matter that has traditionally been left to individual school districts to manage. Districts are being required to change the way teachers are evaluated based on state-mandated scales, classifications and rubrics. This change is the basis of the Annual Professional Performance Review negotiations going on in virtually every district in our region. With Long Island's 124 diverse school districts, this change will be an improvement in some and simply a distraction in others.

Along with this heightened intervention in a key staff-management issue, the state has also raised its involvement in traditionally local matters through the introduction of a cap on property taxes. What makes the cap difficult to manage is that the state controls a major variable in the amount of property taxes needed to fund the budget: the amount of state aid the district will receive. To a great degree the ultimate impact of the tax cap will depend on the availability of state aid.

The time to debate the merits of these changes has passed. They're occurring, and school districts must manage as best we can. It's in the best interests of all Long Islanders to keep our schools strong. They are universally recognized as a significant regional asset -- something that sets Long Island apart. It should be our goal to retain the good in our schools and improve whatever needs improvement.

Despite the new requirements, communities, not the state and federal government, should continue to decide what's best for their children and then deliver it within the broad parameters of law and regulation. Our schools have been built with local resources and governed by our communities, which is why they are as good as they are.

So our schools are changing. The rate of change will differ among districts, but ultimately all will see an impact. The degree and nature of the change will become clear as staff is evaluated and budgets are prepared this spring.

Given this situation, it's essential that Long Islanders work together to assure that the formulas used to allocate funds between the state's schools recognize the needs of Long Island. Currently, only $1 in every $5 spent by Long Island schools is provided by the state, a proportion that continues to drop annually.

The aid formula that drives nearly 80 percent of all state funding, the "foundation formula," continues to shortchange our region significantly. Long Island's representatives in Albany should be promoting its overhaul, making greater use of reimbursement formulas that offset the costs of mandated special education services and state-managed health insurance and retirement systems. Greater state support will reduce dependence on property taxes and allow districts to preserve programs and services.

It's time for all Long Islanders to speak with one voice and work to assure that all of our schools attain the same results at our best schools -- and that our best schools remain the finest anywhere.