State Comptroller Says 82 School Districts Face “Fiscal Stress”

The Corinth School District is one of 82 districts statewide considered to be under significant fiscal stress.

But the report had some positive news for school districts, which are struggling with limited revenue, higher costs and a tax cap limit that will be near zero for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The classifications are based on financial information submitted by school districts for the fiscal year ending in June 2015.

Watervliet was also considered under moderate stress, which is a step up from a year ago when it was listed as under significant stress.

Twenty-five of the Island’s 124 districts, or 20 percent, faced greater-than-average fiscal troubles previous year – the biggest concentration of any region in the state, the comptroller said.

For the past three years, DiNapoli has been monitoring the budgets of New York’s schools, so as to help highlight schools in need of attention and long term budget planning. None are listed with the eight schools in the category called “significant stress” and only Sandy Creek is listed in “moderate stress” along with 23 other schools. “I recommend that local school officials use our system as a tool when crafting their budgets and developing long-term financial plans”. Hempstead on Long Island had the worst score at 98.3 percent, the highest score ever for a school district under DiNapoli’s system.

East Ramapo ranked sixth on the fiscal stress list, with a 66.7% score.

The report took into account for key indicators: low fund balance, operating deficits, low liquidity and short-term debt.

According to a research report issued today with the fiscal stress scores, school districts found to be in fiscal stress share a number of common characteristics.

Despite the fiscal problems indicated in the report, the overall health of the districts across the state is healthy, the report found. In addition, fiscally stressed school districts are more likely to have a shrinking property tax base, low budget support and a low graduation rate.