Schools

NYS Regents Board Considers School District Consolidation

Malverne Superintendent says school district has more to lose than gain from the move.

As the New York State Board of Regents places school district consolidation back on the table, local educators and school administrators say the proposal is not the best solution.

The concept of consolidation is not new among education circles, but it gained new life on Dec. 13 when the NYS Board of Regents voted to create a panel to review the potential benefits and pitfalls of merging school districts in the state. The formation of this panel must be approved by the state legislature and Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo.

The consolidation panel review is one of 11 suggestions adopted unanimously by the Board of Regents in its State Aid proposal for 2011-2012. School district consolidation is an idea that has been raised several times in the past on Long Island but heavily opposed by residents and educators who believe it would hurt educational programs and drive up costs.

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's a myth that you're going to save a lot of money from this," said Malverne Superintendent Dr. James Hunderfund. "The savings amounts to only a few administrators...only about 1 percent of total costs."

Hunderfund explained that while the recourse may work for some districts, he does not see a need for it in Malverne, which is not struggling to maintain its enrollment figures.

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The high school is full and the elementary schools are growing," he said.

He actually indicated that Malverne would not only gain very little from consolidation, but it would have much to lose.

"Malverne has strong programs and a strong identity," Hunderfund said. If it were to merge with our districts, he predicted students would lose out on many opportunities they enjoy now. There would be less spots available on sports teams - imagine one basketball team open to two or three student bodies - fewer course offerings and cuts to other programs.

"You lose your personal identity and control...the larger you get, the more mediocre you become," he said, likening the situation to the New York City school system.

And still, he sees minimal savings resulting from combining two or three school districts. 

"If you combine the whole County you might save more," he said, but pointed out that there would be several legal hurdles to overcome, particularly contractual issues, and warned that the effectiveness of system would be even more diluted.

"The reasons shouldn't just be financial," he said. "You have to look at quality. Right now, you have a leadership that is producing quality results."

Jane Briggs, a spokesperson for the Board of Regents, told Patch in a phone interview, that consolidation is just a conceptual proposal right now.

"[It's] certainly not set in stone," Briggs said. "The goal is to take a look at school district consolidation and the possibility of saving money given the current fiscal crisis."

The consolidation panel suggested by the Board of Regents calls for assessing "current incentives and disincentives" tied to potential school district reorganization, and "supporting models that are consistent with needed educational reforms, cost savings and shared services." But the panel cannot be formed without approval from the state legislature and the governor.

"Consolidation is not a panacea," added Jay Breakstone, president of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. "It is a tool which may or may not make sense in a given district. Forcing districts to consolidate is senseless."

Other components of the State Aid proposal put forth by the Board of Regents includes no increase in Foundation Aid funding for the next year, making sure that no school district state wide suffers more than a five percent loss in state aid over the prior year, suggests that school districts form three-year financial plans and allow school districts to establish additional reserve funds to cover future costs such as retiree expenses.

The state aid plan also recommends $15 million in funding to continue the Regents testing program. Earlier this month state education officials had indicated that exam costs may be pushed on to local districts given state funding issues.

In addition, the plan recommends moderating aid on school construction, transportation and shared services, such as the BOCES program used by districts on Long Island, and recommends that BOCES Aid for cooperative programs and services support be considered a funding priority.

"The funding proposal approved is what the board feels is fair in terms of striking a balance with the fiscal crisis and about the need of finding new ways of doing business," Briggs said.

Hunderfund suggested other cost-cutting solutions should be examined over forcing districts to merge, and pointed to the Triborough Amendment to the state's Taylor Law, which require districts to pay out salary increases to teachers, even after their contract has expired.

He said,"If that were appealed... you'd go a long way at solving the economic problems."


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