Over the last few years, Assemblywoman Galef has focused on ways to reduce the crippling property tax burden in her Assembly District as well as throughout the state, which rates number one for the highest property taxes paid in the country (New York was neck in neck with New Jersey until that state recently instituted a tax cap.) Her constituents often approach her with complaints that the current system is not equitable and have asked that she consider a proposal, such as Assemblymember Cahill's Equity in Education Act (A447), which would look at taxing income at the state level to pay for schools versus taxing local property. As a former educator, Galef felt that hearing about the legislation first hand, with input from other groups who have considered the pros and cons of this proposal, would be helpful to her as well as her constituents in evaluating how best to fund local public schools.
"We must take transformative actions if we are ever truly going to get a handle on the property tax crisis that is crippling our state," said Assemblymember Cahill. "A property tax cap by itself will not solve the problem. The time has come for the state to provide the resources necessary for an equitable, high quality education for every child. The only way to accomplish this goal is with a full state takeover of education funding and the elimination of the regressive school property tax burden on homeowners, renters and businesses."
In response to Cahill's proposal, E.J. McMahon of the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center commented: "A full state takeover of K-12 school funding is both impractical and inadvisable. It would require a massive income tax hike, harming the state's economy, while weakening local control of schools and making education funding much more volatile. Governor Cuomo's property tax cap would give local residents more direct control over their own school tax bills while putting greater pressure on the state to address the inequities and the inefficiencies of K-12 education financing."
The Fiscal Policy Institute's Frank Mauro said, "Reducing reliance on local property taxes and increasing reliance on broad-based statewide income taxes is the way to go. Implementing a well targeted middle class circuit breaker is, in effect, an important step in that direction."
Martin Reid from the New York State School Board's Association weighed in for School Boards, saying: "The School Boards Association was happy to participate in this important program to search for solutions to funding our public schools, while understanding the burden of property tax payers in this Great Recession. NYSSBA continues to advocate for new methods of operating our schools and more flexibility to make use of cost savings. We know change is upon us and the elected school board members of New York State embrace this challenge and remain hopeful we can provide our students with the best possible education a community can afford."
Galef does believe there is equity in a per-student formula for school funding with the ability to balance the formula by need and by region, especially if this can help reduce the cost drivers. The assemblywoman said, "I think Kevin's proposal is very interesting. I still have concerns that raising personal income taxes to pay for education, which are already high in the state, will drive more people out of our state. We are already seeing high earners and businesses move to tax friendly states. I will continue to seek input from my constituents and the business community as we look for ways to fix the school funding issue." Galef will also be reintroducing her bill A7097 (2010) which offers a hybrid option for local districts, combining property tax and local income tax levies to pay for schools, as another alternative. The assemblywoman continues to encourage feedback on this topic, and invites the public to contact her in her district office at (914) 941-1111 or in Albany at (518) 455-5348, or galefs@assembly.state.ny.us.