Kremer: Don't forget the unfunded mandates

In his State of the State speech last week, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo called for a commission to address school accountability and a new tier in the state pension system. A recent poll of school board members shows that by and large, they walk in lock step with the governor on both of these initiatives. The one area they wanted to hear more about in his speech?

Mandate relief.

Just like the governor, school board members want to increase productivity, innovate and manage for results. Yet their hands are tied by a thicket of state and federal directives that require them to spend taxpayer dollars in certain ways.

For example, state law requires school districts to pay employees raises even after a contract expires. On Long Island alone, these increases amount to an estimated $26 million per year in automatic payouts to employees, leaving little incentive for them to negotiate a successor contract. That's why Cuomo should pressure lawmakers to reform the state's Triborough Amendment.

Then there's purchasing. The state mandates a competitive bidding process over a threshold amount, and while it allows schools to piggyback on some state, federal and county contracts, New York is the only state that doesn't allow schools to piggyback on contracts let by other states and by local governments. Nor can schools use national purchasing cooperatives and so-called buy-back boards that could save money (think eBay on a grand scale). Schools spend billions of dollars annually and purchase big-ticket items such as buses, computers and furniture. Let's open the global marketplace up to schools, with protections in place to ensure that taxpayers get the best value. Doing so could save up to $125 million for Long Island's schools.

Last year, the New York State School Boards Association introduced a fiscal reform plan with specific details on each of these initiatives and illustrated the potential cost savings. But they all require changes to state law. And opposition from powerful special interests in Albany has been a constant hurdle.

But consider this: With the savings from these initiatives, New York schools will be much better positioned to stay comfortably under the property tax cap while helping students meet rising expectations. The cost savings could allow schools to put more money into tutoring, language programs, music or art classes, and other academic programs that benefit students, as well as programs that keep kids safe and engaged after the school day ends.

If the governor can achieve mandate relief, he will have accomplished something that none of his predecessors could do: Stand up to Albany's entrenched status quo and let local leaders better serve their communities.

If anybody can do it, Andrew Cuomo can.