Another Letter to the Editor!

In case you missed the Herald last week!

Letter to the Editor

In case you missed today's Glen Cove Record Pilot -

Cost per Student

Many sites purport to compare the cost per student among various school districts. Many, even most, simply take the district's entire budget and divide it by the number of students. It's one measure.

The tax levy divided by the number of students is another measure.

When you use the entire budget and not just the tax levy, it will look like the 'cost' has gone up under scenarios including districts which receive significant aid, grant money, other funds that pass through the district with no impact, etc. - anything that isn't the tax levy. These budget items impact every school district differently.* North Shore has reduced the percent of its budget covered by the tax levy to about 82% - lower than it's been in decades. (See proposed budget narratives on district website.)

When you use the entire budget, you also include the expense for buses, textbooks, health care, and special education services for students who live in our district but attend private schools. However, you are only dividing that budget by the number of students in our schools - not all the students covered by the budget. Again, every district is impacted differently by these figures.

Separately, we can also ask what we get for our budget. See that list here.

*For example, our district is home to St. Christopher's. The cost in the budget for those students is nearly $500,000 but it is entirely covered by other sources. If you divide the entire budget by our students, you would think there's roughly $200 per student added by that line. But no. That number is on both sides of the budget - costs and revenue. However, it is not in the tax levy.

Absentee Ballot Application - School Budget Vote and Board of Education Election

Not able to vote in person on May 21st? Kids away at college? Spouse away on business? Let's make sure everyone's voice is heard. Download your absentee ballot application here:

Absentee Ballot Application

• Application Due by May 14th if you need a ballot mailed to you.
• Ballot due by May 20th.

Note: Absentee voting is a two-step process. First, you complete the application and return it to the District office at 112 Franklin Ave. Then, you will receive a ballot to complete and return. Both steps can be done in person or by mail.

Register to Vote!

If you are not registered at your current address, please register -

Sat., May 11th

10am-2pm

North Shore Schools

Central Office

112 Franklin Ave.

Sea Cliff

Check your registration here.

Download a reminder to your calendar here.

North Shore is Special

So, what is so special about North Shore? Glad you asked.

• Children start learning a new language in kindergarten. Elementary schools offer two and by middle school they have five choices.(Our schools were just recognized state-wide for our outstanding program.)*
• Small class sizes
• An award-winning music program. Children can start an instrument in 3rd grade - earlier than most schools.*
• Highly educated, experienced Faculty
• Small, neighborhood elementary schools
• All middle schoolers can participate in athletics. There are no cuts except when we do not have enough gym space.
• Schools on all levels noted for their achievements. GWL is a blue ribbon school, the high school noted as a Reward School for closing achievement gaps, our middle school a 'school to watch' and more
• Through our unique SVOs, schools focused on the essential skills needed for success by developing Thinkers, Collaborators, Communicators, Problem-Solvers, Innovators, and Committed Individuals
• Our International Baccalaureate program distinguishes us from most schools on LI and provides us with international benchmarking on our education
• Recent home sales show most buyers have children and those noted the schools were a reason for buying here

*Great research here on how teaching new languages, musical instruments, and reading aloud to kids helps their brains develop in ways that support all learning (All things our students get!) - https://www.kqed.org/…/what-types-of-sound-experiences-enab…

Since Meet the Candidates, there have been a lot of questions about our district and people needed to see that data. Now, let's kick off the week by talking about what we know and love about our schools.

Save the Date!

North Shore's Budget Vote and School Board Election is:

Tuesday, May 21st
7am - 10pm
North Shore High School

Click this link to download the event to your calendar!

Reserve Funds and You, Pt II

Part II – Property Tax Report Cards

NYS’s Property Tax Report Card system now also includes a schedule of reserves. Here’s the data on North Shore and Manhasset (cited at Meet the Candidates Night). Please note the last column which indicates what will be spent in the coming year.

Here are my questions:

·         Why would you have almost $4,000,000 in a Capital Reserve fund with no plans to save it? This reserve is not a rainy day or emergency repair reserve. The projects to be funded have to be approved by the voters when they vote to establish the reserve.

·         We have funds in the Unemployment and Workers’ Comp reserves because we are self-insured – which saves us money. Are they not self-insured or not holding funds for claims?

·         We’ve had tremendous spikes over the years in pension fund costs, why not fund the ERS reserve?

·         All audit reports note that school districts have tremendous long-term liabilities. Why not use the Employee Benefits Accrued Liability fund?

·         Repair Reserve – The emergency repairs would have to be less than $150,000. Low?

·         Does the overall lack of reserves explain why they aren’t plan to use them? (Versus NS’s plans.)

Source: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/mgtserv/propertytax/#Data

Reserve Funds and You, Pt I

Part I – Fiscal Stress Scores

This report notes that Manhasset’s cash is less than it’s average monthly gross expenditures which may be the reason heir short-term borrowing via Tax Anticipation Notes is 50% higher than North Shore’s.

The NYS Comptroller Awarded 0 points to North Shore.

Should our district merge to save money?

Experts conclude that school districts of more than 1500 students will not save money in a merger.

From Newsday:

A 2005 study by Syracuse University researchers found that two districts of 300 students each could cut costs 23.7 percent by combining, due to economies of scale. Combining two districts of 1,500 students each could save 3.9 percent, the study showed. Many experts have concluded that consolidations involving districts with enrollments of more than 1,500 each should be attempted only if the reorganization meets some other goal, such as giving students a wider choice of advanced courses.

Source: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/school-district-consolidation-faces-key-test-in-southampton-tuckahoe-vote-tuesday-1.9620361

From the NYS School Boards Association:

According to the the Broome-Tioga BOCES Study conducted by the nonpartisan Center for Government Research, “Research clearly shows that cost efficiencies are highest when mergers occur between districts in the 750 student range or less, and the savings drop off rapidly once districts reach the range of 1,000 to 1,500 students.”

The other study, by the Center for Policy Research of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, had this to say:

Overall, consolidation is likely to lower the costs of two 300-pupil districts by over 20 percent, to lower the costs of two 900-pupil districts by 7 to 9 percent, and to have little, if any impact on the costs of two 1,500-pupil districts. State aid to cover the adjustment costs to consolidation appears to be warranted, but only in relatively small districts.

Source: https://www.nyssba.org/news/2008/12/22/on-board-online-dec-22-2008/school-consolidations-not-blanket-solution/

From Newsday:

LI officials to Cuomo: We’re already consolidating services

Source: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/opposing-governor-some-local-officials-say-they-already-consolidate-1.13155803

Note: North Shore participates in numerous joint bids for goods and services. Motions for these bids appear in the minutes for the Board of Education. Further, through BOCES, the district also takes advantage of numerous shared services.

Admin Costs

Where's North Shore?
(From Newsday's report on administrative costs)
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A New Way to Compare Schools

Really interesting research (Click the title) -

How Effective Is Your School District? A New Measure Shows Where Students Learn the Most

Here's the data on some local districts:

Here's North Shore vs the rest of the country!

Districts Ratings

North Shore posts exhaustive financial information online at www.northshoreschools.org/boe/.

Here's just a sample -

But look at how we spend it –on the educational program

From May 2019 --


For example, next year, NS has budgeted $2,133,842 for transportation while Manhasset plans for $5,202,542 - more than twice as much. North Shore's administration built a bus depot several years ago. That kind of planning means 1) We've kept our costs significantly lower 2) We generate revenue by servicing buses from other districts 3) We have our own, trusted, drivers and control over our routes 4) We've been able to make more students eligible for bus service

TOB Tax Rates

School Budget Cut Calculator

You can change any number in a white box. Hit 'enter' to see the result.

Thanks to everyone for made it to Meet the Candidates last night. If you missed it, we'll have a link to the video soon. Meanwhile, as there were several references to Manhasset and Herricks specifically last night, I wanted to share the data from NYSED on our districts (Click the picture to enlarge)