Officials ponder the local impacts of referees' call By Tim Gannon and Carolyn Thorenz RIVERHEAD--A court-appointed panel reported this week that New York City schools need billions of dollars in aid, but the panel made no recommendations for school aid changes outside the city. When the State Legislature missed its July deadline to come up with a new school aid plan in response to a Court of Appeals ruling on a lawsuit brought by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), a group challenging school funding in New York City, the decision was left up to the courts. Justice Leland DeGrasse, a Manhattan Democrat, appointed a panel of referees to recommend ways to provide New York City school children with a "sound, basic education," as called for by the CFE lawsuit. The recommendations of referees John Feerick, E. Leo Milonas and William Thompson would allow a $5.63 billion increase in aid for city schools over a four-year period. But the decision doesn't apply to other schools throughout the state, many of which were hoping the court case would result in changes to school aid formulas statewide. Riverhead school board president Lori Hulse Montefusco said this is what the board has been worried about all along. "We are going to be competing with city schools to get funding," Ms. Hulse Montefusco said Wednesday. The current state aid structure combines Long Island and city schools, according to Ms. Hulse Montefusco. "They will be getting the lion's share," she said. "These aren't good numbers for us." The panel also suggested doing an analysis by July 1, 2008, to determine the cost of providing all New York City students with the opportunity for a sound basic education. The referees said a statewide renovation of the current state aid distribution is strongly recommended, but they content their assignment was to deal solely with city schools. They offered no specific recommendations for other schools in the state. Riverhead receives about 20% of its budget in state aid, whereas districts with similar demographics in western Suffolk often receive more than 40% and, in some cases, 60%. Riverhead school board member Chrissy Prete said state aid decisions should be made by the legislature, not a judge. "Courts can't change the funding," Ms. Prete said. "They are representing the CFE's case and not dealing with the problems of the funding formula." CFE contends that any reform made for city schools, which educate 38 percent of the state's children, would have a statewide impact. The group said in a press release that it intends to adapt the panel's recommendations and the court order into a statewide reform bill. Michael Rebell, CFE executive director and counsel, said the governor and the legislature must act now to meet the needs of students in New York City and across the state. The referees are recommending that Supreme Court Justice DeGrasse give the state no more than 90 days from the date of his decision to enact a financial plan for the city. Riverhead School District officials have been traveling to Albany yearly in an effort to change the state aid formula for the district. "We are land rich but pocketbook poor," said school board member Kathy Berezny. This year the district received a 2.38% increase in state aid, which is still below the average 5.1% average increase for Suffolk schools under the legislature's current budget, according to outgoing Interim School Superintendent, Dr. Joseph Laria. "Our taxes are high and we are stretched for state aid," Ms. Berezny said, "I can't believe that we are still fighting for these dollars."
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