Amd SS2852, 2854, 2856 & 2857, rpld S2854 sub 3 (b-1), add SS2852-a & 2852-b, Ed L; amd S97-sss, add
SS97-jjjj & 97-kkkk, St Fin L; amd SS922 & 1338, RPT L
Relates to charter schools; provides for local approval of charter schools, annual charter school budget votes and annual reporting to local boards of education; provides for collective bargaining for certain charter school employees; relates to financing of such schools; repeals paragraph (b-1) of subdivision 3 of section 2854 of the education law relating to collective bargaining; further relates to including information concerning charter school payments on real property tax statements; adds new sections to the state finance law relating to the charter schools transition fund and the distressed school district grant fund; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6107
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 25, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HOOPER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. EDDING-
TON, JOHN, SWEENEY, ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, the state finance law and the real
property tax law, in relation to charter schools; and to repeal para-
graph (b-1) of subdivision 3 of section 2854 of the education law,
relating to collective bargaining
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 2 of section 2852 of
2 the education law, paragraph (c) as amended and paragraph (d) as added
3 by section 2 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended
4 and three new paragraphs (e), (f), (g) and are added to read as follows:
5 (c) granting the application is likely to improve student learning and
6 achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision
7 two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of this article; [and]
8 (d) in a school district where the total enrollment of resident
9 students attending charter schools in the base year is greater than five
10 percent of the total public school enrollment of the school district in
11 the base year (i) granting the application would have a significant
12 educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed
13 charter school or (ii) the school district in which the charter school
14 will be located consents to such application[.];
15 (e) the applicant has presented an economic impact study for the
16 school district affected;
17 (f) the applicant has presented a financial impact statement on how
18 the local school district will be impacted; and
19 (g) the applicant has conducted no less than three public hearings
20 prior to approval.
21 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2852-a to
22 read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08748-01-9
A. 6107 2
1 § 2852-a. Procedures for local approval of charter schools in certain
2 school districts. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to
3 the contrary, prior to the establishment of a charter school proposed in
4 a school district that is subject to section nineteen hundred six, two
5 thousand twenty-two or twenty-six hundred one-a of this title, a charter
6 entity shall submit to the board of education of such district an
7 approved charter application. Such charter application shall be placed
8 before the voters of the school district, for their approval or disap-
9 proval, pursuant to the provisions of section nineteen hundred six, two
10 thousand twenty-two or twenty-six hundred one-a of this title. Such
11 charter application, if proposed for the following school year, shall
12 include a proposed charter school budget, as defined in section twenty-
13 eight hundred fifty-two-b of this article. If such charter school appli-
14 cation is not approved by a majority of the voters in a school district,
15 that charter application shall be deemed disapproved and shall be
16 returned to the charter entity that approved such application; if such
17 charter entity approves the application for a second time, such applica-
18 tion shall not be resubmitted to the voters until the following school
19 year. If such charter application is approved by the school district
20 voters and is established by the applicant, the charter school shall be
21 subject to annual school budget votes as defined in section twenty-eight
22 hundred fifty-two-b of this article.
23 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2852-b to
24 read as follows:
25 § 2852-b. Procedures for adoption of charter school budgets in certain
26 school districts. 1. A charter school that is located in a school
27 district subject to sections nineteen hundred six, two thousand twenty-
28 two or twenty-six hundred one-a of this title, shall provide for the
29 submission of a budget for approval of the voters pursuant to the
30 provisions of this section.
31 2. The board of education shall conduct all annual and special school
32 district meetings for the purpose of adopting a charter school budget in
33 the same manner as a union free school district in accordance with the
34 provisions of article forty-one of this title, except as otherwise
35 provided by this section. The annual meeting and election of each such
36 school district for the purpose of adopting a charter school budget
37 shall be held on the third Tuesday of May in each year, provided, howev-
38 er, that such annual meeting and election shall be held on the second
39 Tuesday in May if the commissioner at the request of a local school
40 board certifies no later than March first that such election would
41 conflict with religious observances. The provisions of this article, and
42 where applicable subdivisions nine and nine-a of section twenty-five
43 hundred two of this title, governing the qualification and registration
44 of voters, and procedures for the nomination and election of members of
45 the board of education shall continue to apply, and shall govern the
46 qualification and registration of voters and voting procedures with
47 respect to the adoption of a charter school budget.
48 3. The charter school shall prepare a proposed charter school budget
49 for the ensuing year in accordance with the provisions of section seven-
50 teen hundred sixteen of this title, including all provisions relating to
51 required notices and appendices to the statement of expenditures. No
52 charter school shall incur a liability except as authorized by the
53 provisions of section seventeen hundred eighteen of this title. Such
54 proposed budget shall be presented in three components: a program compo-
55 nent, a capital component and an administrative component which shall be
56 separately delineated in accordance with regulations of the commissioner
A. 6107 3
1 after consultation with local school district officials. The adminis-
2 trative component shall include, but need not be limited to, office and
3 administrative expenses, traveling expenses and salaries and benefits of
4 all charter school administrators and supervisors who spend a majority
5 of their time performing administrative or supervisory duties, any and
6 all expenditures associated with the operation of the charter school
7 including the costs related to general administration, the school busi-
8 ness office, consulting costs not directly related to direct student
9 services and programs, planning and all other administrative activities;
10 and shall include an accounting of the net revenues or profits that have
11 been realized by the charter school, or its parent corporation, during
12 its operation in the district. The program component shall include, but
13 need not be limited to, all program expenditures of the charter school,
14 including the salaries and benefits of teachers and any school adminis-
15 trators or supervisors who spend a majority of their time performing
16 teaching duties, and all transportation and operating expenses. The
17 capital component shall include, but need not be limited to, all trans-
18 portation capital, debt service, and lease expenditures; costs resulting
19 from judgments in tax certiorari proceedings or the payment of awards
20 from court judgments, administrative orders or settled or compromised
21 claims.
22 4. In the event the qualified voters of the district reject the budget
23 proposed pursuant to subdivision three of this section, the charter
24 school may propose to the voters a revised budget or may adopt a contin-
25 gency budget pursuant to subdivision five of this section and subdivi-
26 sion five of section two thousand twenty-two of this title. The charter
27 school budget for any school year, or any part of such budget or any
28 propositions involving the expenditure of money for such school year
29 shall not be submitted for a vote of the qualified voters more than
30 twice. In the event the qualified voters reject the resubmitted budget,
31 the board shall adopt a contingency budget in accordance with subdivi-
32 sion five of this section and subdivision five of section two thousand
33 twenty-two of this title.
34 5. If the qualified voters fail or refuse to vote the sum estimated to
35 be necessary for teachers' salaries and other ordinary contingent
36 expenses, the charter school shall adopt a contingency budget in accord-
37 ance with this subdivision. Such contingency budget shall include the
38 sum determined by the board to be necessary for:
39 (a) teachers' salaries;
40 (b) items of expense necessary to maintain the charter school's educa-
41 tional programs, preserve the property of the district or protect the
42 health and safety of students and staff, including, but not limited to,
43 support services, pupil personnel services, the necessary salaries for
44 the necessary number of non-teaching employees, necessary legal
45 expenses, water and utility charges, instructional supplies for teach-
46 ers' use, emergency repairs, temporary rental of essential classroom
47 facilities, and expenditures necessary to advise school district voters
48 concerning school matters;
49 (c) expenses incurred for interschool athletics, field trips and other
50 extracurricular activities; and
51 (d) any other item of expense determined by the commissioner to be an
52 ordinary contingent expense in any school district.
53 6. The commissioner shall determine appeals raising questions as to
54 what items of expenditure or ordinary contingent expenses pursuant to
55 subdivision five of this section in accordance with sections two thou-
56 sand twenty-four and three hundred ten of this chapter.
A. 6107 4
1 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 and paragraph (b) of subdivision 3
2 of section 2854 of the education law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as
3 amended by section 5 of part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007 and
4 paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 as added by chapter 4 of the laws of
5 1998, are amended to read as follows:
6 (a) A charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission
7 policies, employment practices, and all other operations and shall not
8 charge tuition or fees; provided that a charter school may require the
9 payment of fees on the same basis and to the same extent as other public
10 schools. A charter school shall not discriminate against any student,
11 employee or any other person on the basis of ethnicity, national origin,
12 gender, or disability or any other ground that would be unlawful if done
13 by a school. Admission of students shall not be limited on the basis of
14 intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic
15 ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion, or
16 ancestry; provided, however, that nothing in this article shall be
17 construed to prevent the establishment of a single-sex charter school or
18 a charter school designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for
19 students at-risk of academic failure; and provided, further, that the
20 charter school shall demonstrate good faith efforts to attract and
21 retain a comparable or greater enrollment of students with disabilities
22 and limited English proficient students when compared to the enrollment
23 figures for such students in the school district in which the charter
24 school is located. A charter shall not be issued to any school that
25 would be wholly or in part under the control or direction of any reli-
26 gious denomination, or in which any denominational tenet or doctrine
27 would be taught; provided further, however, that in no case shall the
28 enrollment in charter schools exceed more than five percent of the total
29 public school enrollment of such school district unless the charters for
30 such charter schools are approved by the board of education of such
31 school district.
32 (b) The school employees of a charter school [that has been converted
33 from an existing public school] who are eligible for representation
34 under article fourteen of the civil service law shall be deemed to be
35 included within the negotiating unit containing like titles or posi-
36 tions, if any, for the school district in which such charter school is
37 located and shall be subject to the collective bargaining agreement
38 covering that school district negotiating unit; provided, however, that
39 a majority of the members of a negotiating unit within a charter school
40 may modify, in writing, a collective bargaining agreement for the
41 purposes of employment in the charter school with the approval of the
42 board of trustees of the charter school.
43 § 5. Paragraph (b-1) of subdivision 3 of section 2854 of the education
44 law is REPEALED.
45 § 6. Section 2856 of the education law, as added by chapter 4 of the
46 laws of 1998, and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 378 of the laws of
47 2007, is amended to read as follows:
48 § 2856. Financing of charter schools. 1. (a) The enrollment of
49 students attending charter schools shall not be included in the enroll-
50 ment, attendance, membership and, if applicable, count of students with
51 disabilities of the school district in which the pupil resides. The
52 charter school shall report all such data to the [school districts of
53 residence] department in a timely manner. [Each school district shall
54 report such enrollment, attendance and count of students with disabili-
55 ties to the department.] The [school district of residence] department
56 shall pay directly to the charter school for each student enrolled in
A. 6107 5
1 the charter school [who resides in the school district the charter
2 school basic tuition, which shall be an amount equal to one hundred] for
3 grades kindergarten through four, an amount equal to eighty-five
4 percent, for grades five through eight, an amount equal to ninety-five
5 percent and for grades nine through twelve an amount equal to one
6 hundred five percent of the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph f of
7 subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter for
8 the student's school district for the year prior to the base year
9 increased by the percentage change in the state total approved operating
10 expense calculated pursuant to paragraph t of subdivision one of section
11 thirty-six hundred two of this chapter from two years prior to the base
12 year to the base year.
13 (b) Provided, however, that during the first three years of operation
14 of a charter school, the amount paid by the school district of residence
15 directly to the charter school for pupils who attended public school in
16 the school district of residence in the year prior to enrolling in the
17 charter school shall be reduced by the amount provided pursuant to the
18 provisions of subdivision one-a of this section.
19 [(b)] (c) The [school district] department shall also pay directly to
20 the charter school any federal or state aid attributable to a student
21 with a disability attending the charter school in proportion to the
22 level of services for such student with a disability that the charter
23 school provides directly or indirectly. Notwithstanding anything in this
24 section to the contrary, amounts payable pursuant to this subdivision
25 from state or local funds may be reduced pursuant to an agreement
26 between the department, the charter school and the charter entity set
27 forth in the charter. Payments made pursuant to this subdivision shall
28 be made by the [school district] department in six substantially equal
29 installments each year beginning on the first business day of July and
30 every two months thereafter. Amounts payable under this subdivision
31 shall be determined by the commissioner. Amounts payable to a charter
32 school in its first year of operation shall be based on the projections
33 of initial-year enrollment set forth in the charter until actual enroll-
34 ment data is reported to the school district by the charter school. Such
35 projections shall be reconciled with the actual enrollment as actual
36 enrollment data is so reported and at the end of the school's first year
37 of operation and each subsequent year based on a final report of actual
38 enrollment by the charter school, and any necessary adjustments result-
39 ing from such final report shall be made to payments during the school's
40 following year of operation.
41 [(c)] (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision to
42 the contrary, payment of the federal aid attributable to a student with
43 a disability attending a charter school shall be made in accordance with
44 the requirements of section 8065-a of title twenty of the United States
45 code and sections 76.785-76.799 and 300.209 of title thirty-four of the
46 code of federal regulations.
47 1-a. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this
48 section, for the first three years of operation of a charter school,
49 each pupil so received into any of such charter schools who attended
50 public school in the school district of residence in the prior school
51 year shall be provided with an amount equal to that calculated pursuant
52 to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision; and the direc-
53 tors of the charter school shall receive an allocation for each pupil so
54 provided for, to be paid by the commissioner of taxation and finance,
55 out of the charter schools stimulus fund, as established in section
56 ninety-seven-sss of the state finance law, on the warrant of the comp-
A. 6107 6
1 troller, to the treasurer of such charter school; provided, however,
2 that one-sixth of such payment shall be made beginning on the first
3 business day of July and every two months thereafter.
4 (b) (i) During the first year of operation of a charter school estab-
5 lished pursuant to the provisions of this article, the state shall pay
6 to each charter school from the charter schools stimulus fund an amount
7 equal to fifty percent of the amount calculated pursuant to the
8 provisions of subdivision one of this section for each pupil enrolled
9 who attended public school in the school district of residence in the
10 prior school year;
11 (ii) During the second year of operation of a charter school estab-
12 lished pursuant to the provisions of this article, the state shall pay
13 to each charter school from the charter schools stimulus fund an amount
14 equal to thirty percent of the amount calculated pursuant to the
15 provisions of subdivision one of this section for each pupil enrolled
16 who attended public school in the school district of residence in the
17 prior school year;
18 (iii) During the third year of operation of a charter school estab-
19 lished pursuant to the provisions of this article, the state shall pay
20 to each charter school from the charter schools stimulus fund an amount
21 equal to ten percent of the amount calculated pursuant to the provisions
22 of subdivision one of this section for each pupil enrolled who attended
23 public school in the school district of residence in the prior school
24 year.
25 1-b. (a) Pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the school
26 district shall receive an allocation for each resident pupil attending a
27 charter school to be paid by the commissioner of taxation and finance,
28 out of the charter schools transition fund, as established in section
29 ninety-seven-gggg of the state finance law, on the audit and warrant of
30 the comptroller; provided, however, that one-sixth of such allocation
31 shall be made beginning on the first business day of July and every two
32 months thereafter.
33 (b) (i) During the first year of operation of a charter school estab-
34 lished pursuant to the provisions of this article, the state shall pay
35 to the school district of residence from the charter schools transition
36 fund, pursuant to section ninety-seven-jjjj of the state finance law, an
37 amount equal to fifty percent of the amount calculated pursuant to the
38 provisions of subdivision one of this section for each resident pupil
39 enrolled in a charter school who was enrolled in the public school
40 district of residence in the year prior to enrolling in a charter
41 school;
42 (ii) During the second year of operation of a charter school estab-
43 lished pursuant to the provisions of this article, the state shall pay
44 to the school district of residence from the charter schools transition
45 fund, pursuant to section ninety-seven-jjjj of the state finance law, an
46 amount equal to thirty percent of the amount calculated pursuant to the
47 provisions of subdivision one of this section for each resident pupil
48 enrolled in a charter school who was enrolled in the public school
49 district of residence in the year prior to enrolling in a charter
50 school;
51 (iii) During the third year of operation of a charter school estab-
52 lished pursuant to the provisions of this article, the state shall pay
53 to the school district of residence from the charter schools transition
54 fund, pursuant to section ninety-seven-jjjj of the state finance law, an
55 amount equal to ten percent of the amount calculated pursuant to the
56 provisions of subdivision one of this section for each resident pupil
A. 6107 7
1 enrolled in a charter school who was enrolled in the public school
2 district of residence in the year prior to enrolling in a charter
3 school;
4 (iv) The commissioner of taxation and finance shall also apportion
5 funds from the charter schools transition fund to the school district of
6 residence in an amount equal to one hundred percent of the amount calcu-
7 lated pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of this section for
8 each resident pupil enrolled in a charter school who was enrolled in a
9 nonpublic school in the year prior to enrolling in a charter school, for
10 the first three years of such pupil's enrollment in a charter school;
11 (c) For the purpose of providing payments of amounts calculated pursu-
12 ant to this subdivision to a charter school in existence prior to the
13 effective date of this subdivision, the first year of operation for such
14 charter school shall be deemed to be the school year commencing on or
15 after the effective date of this subdivision.
16 2. [In the event of the failure of the school district to make
17 payments required by this section, the state comptroller shall deduct
18 from any state funds which become due to such school district an amount
19 equal to the unpaid obligation. The comptroller shall pay over such sum
20 to the charter school upon certification of the commissioner. The
21 commissioner shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of
22 this subdivision.
23 3.] Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit any person
24 or organization from providing funding or other assistance to the estab-
25 lishment or operation of a charter school. The board of trustees of a
26 charter school is authorized to accept gifts, donations or grants of any
27 kind made to the charter school and to expend or use such gifts,
28 donations or grants in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the
29 donor; provided, however, that no gift, donation or grant may be
30 accepted if subject to a condition that is contrary to any provision of
31 law or term of the charter.
32 3. A school district shall not be required to make any payments pursu-
33 ant to this section unless the charter school has received a certificate
34 of occupancy for the facilities which are to be used by the charter
35 school and the facilities meet all local zoning, land use regulations,
36 and building codes which apply to nonpublic schools. All payments sched-
37 uled to be made by a school district pursuant to this section which are
38 withheld as a result of a failure of the charter school to comply with
39 the provisions of this subdivision shall be due and payable fifteen days
40 after the charter school meets the requirements of this subdivision.
41 4. When a charter school is established pursuant to section twenty-
42 eight hundred fifty-two of this article, the state shall not refuse aid
43 to any school district located in an officially designated poverty area.
44 § 7. Subdivisions 1-a and 2 of section 2857 of the education law,
45 subdivision 1-a as added and subdivision 2 as amended by section 7 of
46 part D-2 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended to read as
47 follows:
48 1-a. In the event the school district fails to conduct a public hear-
49 ing, the board of regents or the charter entity shall conduct a public
50 hearing to solicit comments from the community in connection with the
51 issuance, revision, or renewal of a charter.
52 2. Each charter school shall submit to the charter entity, the local
53 board of education and to the board of regents an annual report. Such
54 report shall be issued no later than the first day of August of each
55 year for the preceding school year. The annual report shall be in such
A. 6107 8
1 form as shall be prescribed by the commissioner and shall include at
2 least the following components:
3 (a) a charter school report card, which shall include measures of the
4 comparative academic and fiscal performance of the school, as prescribed
5 by the commissioner in regulations adopted for such purpose. Such meas-
6 ures shall include, but not be limited to, graduation rates, dropout
7 rates, performance of students on standardized tests, college entry
8 rates, total spending per pupil and administrative spending per pupil.
9 Such measures shall be presented in a format that is easily comparable
10 to similar public schools. In addition, the charter school shall ensure
11 that such information is easily accessible to the community. The char-
12 ter school shall make the charter school report card publicly available
13 by transmitting to local newspapers of general circulation, appending it
14 to copies of the proposed budget, where applicable, made publicly avail-
15 able as required by law, making it available for distribution at the
16 annual meeting, and otherwise disseminating it as required by the
17 commissioner. Such report card shall include measures of the academic
18 and fiscal performance of the charter school, as prescribed by the
19 commissioner. Pursuant to regulations of the commissioner, the report
20 card shall also compare these measures to statewide averages for all
21 public and charter schools, and statewide averages for public schools
22 and charter schools of comparable wealth and need, developed by the
23 commissioner. Such report card shall include, at a minimum, any informa-
24 tion on the charter school district regarding pupil performance and
25 expenditure per pupil required to be included in the annual report by
26 the regents to the governor and the legislature pursuant to section two
27 hundred fifteen-a of this chapter; and any other information required by
28 the commissioner.
29 (b) discussion of the progress made towards achievement of the goals
30 set forth in the charter.
31 (c) a certified financial statement setting forth, by appropriate
32 categories, the revenues, including any profits realized by the charter
33 school or its parent corporation and expenditures for the preceding
34 school year, including a copy of the most recent independent fiscal
35 audit of the school.
36 § 8. Section 97-sss of the state finance law, as added by chapter 4 of
37 the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
38 § 97-sss. Charter schools stimulus fund. 1. There is hereby estab-
39 lished in the joint custody of the comptroller and the commissioner of
40 taxation and finance a fund to be known as the charter schools stimulus
41 fund. Such fund shall consist of all monies made available pursuant to
42 appropriation for this purpose, all monies transferred to such fund
43 pursuant to law, and grants, gifts and devises and donations from any
44 public or private source. The purpose of such fund is to provide discre-
45 tionary financial support, including grants and loans to charter school
46 applicants and to charter schools for start-up costs and for costs asso-
47 ciated with the acquisition, renovation, or construction of school
48 facilities or general operating expenses.
49 2. (a) In addition to the apportionments authorized in subdivision one
50 of this section, when the commissioner of education, upon application of
51 an affected district, certifies that such school district's financial
52 situation has become distressed as a result of the operation of a char-
53 ter school located within such district, the comptroller shall award
54 grants from the charter schools stimulus fund to a charter school or a
55 distressed district in an amount to mitigate such financial distress of
56 the affected school district.
A. 6107 9
1 (b) Each school district which seeks a distressed school district
2 grant shall submit a grant application to the commissioner of education,
3 pursuant to guidelines to be established by the commissioner of educa-
4 tion.
5 (c) The commissioner of education shall evaluate each grant applica-
6 tion on the basis of criteria, including, but not limited to: the
7 percentage of a school district's pupils enrolled in a charter school;
8 the impact of charter school funding on district general fund expense;
9 and the resultant local tax impact.
10 3. The commissioner of taxation and finance shall apportion funds
11 from the charter schools stimulus fund to a charter school in an amount
12 per pupil equal to the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (a) of
13 subdivision one of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-six of the educa-
14 tion law for each resident pupil enrolled in a charter school who was
15 enrolled in a non-public school in the year prior to enrolling in the
16 charter school for the first three years of such pupil's enrollment in
17 such charter school.
18 § 9. The state finance law is amended by adding two new sections
19 97-jjjj and 97-kkkk to read as follows:
20 § 97-jjjj. Charter schools transition fund. 1. There is hereby estab-
21 lished in the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance
22 and the comptroller, a fund to be known as the "charter schools transi-
23 tion fund".
24 2. Such fund shall consist of all monies made available pursuant to
25 appropriation for this purpose, all moneys transferred to such fund
26 pursuant to law, and grants, gifts and devises and donations from any
27 public or private source. The purpose of the fund is to provide transi-
28 tion aid over a three-year period, as calculated pursuant to the
29 provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-eight
30 hundred fifty-six of the education law, to local school districts which
31 have resident pupils attending charter schools to lessen the financial
32 impact on the local school district.
33 3. Monies of the fund shall be expended only for such transition aid
34 to local school districts which have resident pupils enrolled in a char-
35 ter school.
36 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
37 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
38 of taxation and finance.
39 § 97-kkkk. Distressed school district grant fund. 1. There is hereby
40 established in the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and
41 finance and the comptroller, a fund to be known as the "distressed
42 school district grant fund".
43 2. Such fund shall consist of all monies made available pursuant to
44 appropriation for this purpose, all moneys transferred to such fund
45 pursuant to law, and grants, gifts and devises and donations from any
46 public or private source. The purpose of the fund is to provide grants
47 to local school districts which have resident pupils enrolled in charter
48 schools to lessen the financial impact on the local school district.
49 3. Each school district which seeks a distressed school district grant
50 may submit an application for funds pursuant to guidelines to be estab-
51 lished by the commissioner of education.
52 4. The commissioner of education shall evaluate each grant application
53 on the basis of criteria, including, but not limited to: the percentage
54 of a school district's pupils enrolled in a charter school; the impact
55 of the charter school funding on district general fund expense; and the
56 resultant local tax impact.
A. 6107 10
1 5. The commissioner of education, pursuant to the criteria established
2 in subdivision four of this section, may certify that such school
3 district's financial situation has become distressed as the result of
4 the operation of a charter school. Upon certification, the comptroller
5 shall award grants to the distressed district in an amount to mitigate
6 such financial distress of the affected school district on vouchers
7 approved and certified by the commissioner of taxation and finance.
8 § 10. Subparagraphs (xiii) and (xiv) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1
9 of section 922 of the real property tax law, as amended by section 5 of
10 part B of chapter 389 of the laws of 1997, are amended and a new subpar-
11 agraph (xv) is added to read as follows:
12 (xiii) such other information as may be prescribed by law; [and]
13 (xiv) if, not later than ten days after the filing of the preceding
14 tentative assessment roll, the assessing unit mailed to each owner of
15 taxable real property a notice in a form prescribed by the state board
16 containing the information described by subparagraphs (iii) and (xii) of
17 this paragraph (excluding the taxes due on the parcel and the tax rate
18 for each taxing purpose), the statement of taxes need not include the
19 information prescribed by subparagraph (xii) of this paragraph[.]; and
20 (xv) a statement setting forth the amount of taxes levied that shall
21 be applied or that are projected to be applied to the payment of charter
22 schools.
23 § 11. Subdivision 1 of section 1338 of the real property tax law, as
24 added by chapter 953 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
25 1. Upon receipt of the tax roll and warrant, the collecting officer
26 shall mail to each owner of property listed thereon, a statement of
27 taxes as provided by law. Such statement shall include, but shall not
28 be limited to, information required pursuant to subparagraph (xv) of
29 paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section nine hundred twenty-two of
30 this chapter.
31 § 12. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
32 the date on which it shall have become a law, provided that the amend-
33 ments to subdivision 1 of section 2856 of the education law made by
34 section six of this act shall not affect the expiration of such subdivi-
35 sion and shall expire therewith.
