New York's new cap law holds down school tax hikes
Voters at John Lewis Childs School in Floral Park. (May 15, 2012) Credit: Chris Ware
So far, the new tax cap seems to be doing its job, controlling the budget and tax increases of school districts. Tax hikes averaged only 2.6 percent on Long Island this year, the lowest regional increase in 15 years.
Voters in 92.7 percent of the 124 districts approved their budgets Tuesday. The failure rate was much higher for districts that tried to exceed the cap on property tax increases than those that did not: Budgets in seven of the 17 districts that tried to go beyond the cap were defeated, and only two budgets that did not were rebuffed.
The new law holds down taxes in two ways. Districts know they need 60 percent approval to break the cap -- which limits tax increases to 2 percent, plus a bit more for exceptions like increased pension costs. But they also know if they lose that first vote, and then a second plan is rejected, their budgets will be frozen.
That's a far cry from the "austerity budgets" that used to kick in after two "no" votes. Those austerity budgets often included significant tax increases.
There's no shortage of money in the school districts of Long Island. Average spending per student in the region is around $24,000, one-third higher than the statewide average, and the state is among the highest in per-student spending and teacher salaries nationally.
Think about what that means: The 25 students in a typical classroom have about $600,000 devoted to their education each year, yet when budget time rolls around we're often told by district administrators and the education establishment that it isn't enough.
Districts spent freely for years on teacher contracts and administrators, as well as for benefit packages that far exceed the ones most employees in the private sector enjoy. Those costs have to be brought under control, and the only way is to control the flow of money.
So the tax cap is working, but not just because it generally controlled costs. It also allowed voters in 10 Long Island districts to override the cap and devote more money to their schools. That's their right, and it should be possible. It just shouldn't be easy. And thanks to a well-designed tax cap, it no longer is.
