ALBANY - Education advocates are calling
for a special panel to oversee the revamping of school
funding in the wake of a court ruling that said the
state has been shortchanging city schools.
Last week, the state Court of Appeals gave the
Legislature a year to come up with a new school aid
funding formula.
City schools advocates - including Michael Rebell of
the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the lead lawyer in the
winning case against the state - said a commission
should be formed to help lawmakers set up a new funding
formula.
"We don't want to micromanage what [legislators] do,"
said Rebell. "We think a commission is the way to do
it."
Still, Rebell suggested reevaluating thestate's STAR
property tax relief program, which benefits even the
wealthiest of homeowners, as a possible way of finding
money to fix city schools.
He also said he has no estimate of how much more the
state will have to spend to provide students with a
meaningful education, as the court decision requires.
But he noted Maryland has pumped an additional $5
billion into classroom aid after a similar fight there.
A spokesman for Gov. Pataki was noncommittal on
whether a commission would be set up. "We're looking
forward to partnering with parents, educators and the
Legislature as we work to enact sweeping reforms," said
Pataki aide Joe Conway.
Originally published
on July 3, 2003
