Business as Usual: How Albany's "Open Secret" Holds Back Real Progress in School Funding Equality

Abstract

In the winter of 2000-2002, the budget negotiations in Albany began with a lot of excitement about educational funding reform. Budget proposals from the Regents, the Assembly, and the Governor all included reform language that seemed to reflect long sought goals of the Educational Priorities Panel, such as cost indexes, measures of student need, and the elimination of tax aids. But the reform language came to a halt as the spring budget standoff dragged on into the summer. The budget that was finally passed was stripped of reform language, and largely moved in the opposite direction. Large political barriers exist to real reform of the system of state aid to school districts. This report examines the 2001 educational budget proposals of the Regents, the Governor, and the Assembly, to show that, although they contained reform language, the actual spending levels in each proposal strayed little from traditional levels. We present evidence that there is an “open secret” that limits New York City’s share of aid and therefore limits funds from getting where they are most needed.