As the legislative session winds down, property owners across New York State are hoping Governor Paterson's tax cap will pass. The bill would limit any increase in property taxes to 4 percent. But as our Kaitlyn Ross tells us, some public schools think its passage could really hurt their district.
COEYMANS, N.Y. -- Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Business Administrator Dennis Geisler said, "You're boxed in. Do you pay Peter, or do you pay Paul?"
The Ravena Coeymans Selkirk budget only increased property taxes by 2 percent for the 2007-08 school year, but that number changes in every budget.
As the last day of the legislative session winds down, property owners across New York State are hoping Governor Paterson's tax cap will pass. The bill would limit any increase in property taxes to 4 percent. But as our Kaitlyn Ross tells us, some public schools think its passage could really hurt their district.
And while the district tries to keep the cost down from year to year, they're keeping a close eye on the governor's property tax cap proposal to find out if they'll be locked in to a number they can't live up to.
Geisler said, "I would raise the question, if the state's going to impose that limitation, are they going to impose a similar limitation on the increasing costs of health insurance, fuel, retirement system, salaries?"
The rising price of diesel fuel for the buses alone has taken a big bite out of RCS's annual budget. They doubled the amount they were spending this year and are still coming up short. Now with nearly $500,000 devoted to fuel for the buses, the school worries that other programs may suffer.
Geisler said, "To give you an example, would you prefer typewriters in classrooms versus computers? Well, are we going to go back to that type of program without appropriate funding?"
Though the state does provide some aid to public schools, they rely on the money from property tax increases to fund most of their programs.
If the tax cap passes, Geisler said, "Many of the popular programs that enhance a student's academic career K-12 would end up going by the wayside."
But even if the property tax cap doesn't pass, RCS said relying on property taxes for their funding is still a problem.
Geisler said, "There needs to be a long standing, valid revenue source for school districts."
As the legislative session winds down, so is the school year. And RCS, like many districts, is playing the waiting game for future funding.