Regents Push for Expansion Of School Accountability Plan
In a vote of confidence for Governor Spitzer's plan to hold schools accountable for how they spend a historic influx in state funds, the state Board of Regents is recommending more strings for a larger school budget next year. The Regents are suggesting that New York raise school spending by $1.9 billion next year, to more than $21 billion, from $19.5 billion last year. The recommendation would channel more than $8 billion to New York City in the 2008–09 school year.
But the board also is seeking to expand on an accountability program Mr. Spitzer advocated last year as a way to ensure that the spending improves student achievement. The program requires schools to sign documents, called Contracts for Excellence, promising to spend their extra funds on a set list of policies — and then, at the end of the school year, to show how the policies have paid off.
Last year's push required schools under the contracts to consult with three groups of outside reviewers; next year, the Regents propose that schools be required to follow the reviewers' advice. The Regents also are advocating a new $10 million fund to help cover consulting expenses, which school districts now pay for in full.
Negotiations over this year's contracts have been dragging on, but the state education commissioner, Richard Mills, said the talks should conclude in the next few weeks. He said the state wants to ensure contracts are as "strong" as possible. "The Regents want to come back into the legislative process and say: 'We used the dollars entrusted to us with great care. We're watching how those funds produced results,'" he said.
The Regents are calling for a larger portion of the funding increase, 73%, to go to school districts with high poverty rates. This year, 65% of the increase in state aid went to high-need schools.
In addition to accountability, the increase would go toward expanding programs at career and technical schools; extending prekindergarten; and expanding resources for non-native English speakers.
