Mount Vernon school district one of three in NY in 'significant' fiscal stress, state says
The Mount Vernon school district is one of only three districts in the state identified as being in "significant" fiscal stress by the state Comptroller's Office.
Each year the comptroller's report assigns districts scores based on several factors, including fund balances at the end of the year and operating deficits and surpluses. The higher the score, the worse the district's financial situation.
This year, Mount Vernon was tied with another district for the second-highest score in the state.
On Feb. 1, two days after this article initially published, Mount Vernon Acting Superintendent K. Veronica Smith and the Mount Vernon school board said in a joint statement they acknowledged significant budget challenges contributing to the district's fiscal stress.
The statement said: "We have a high need student population that requires an array of instructional programs and supports, especially concentrated in special education and family services. Our school buildings are advanced in age and their current condition demands upgrade and investment. And while neighboring districts have seen their school taxes increase in recent years in step with expenditure increases, our revenue from taxpayers has barely budged. This would only be made worse by the Governor’s proposed budget since it decreases the desperately needed funding from our district."
The district would lose 3.5% of its state "foundation aid," or $2.9 million, under Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget proposal.
The statement also said the district would continue to advocate for more funding in Albany.
The district has over 6,600 students, most of whom are Black (63%) or Hispanic or Latino (29%). Seventy percent of students were classified as economically disadvantaged in 2022-23.
A report by the Comptroller's Office listed a total of 16 districts in fiscal stress, a number Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said remained low because of federal pandemic relief money to school districts, which runs out this year.
Still, DiNapoli said in a news release "school officials should remain diligent and closely monitor their financial condition in the current and future budget cycles as one-time federal funds are depleted and state aid is uncertain."
Last year the comptroller's analysis found 14 districts to be in fiscal stress. In 2019 there were 33.
The other two districts in significant fiscal stress as of June 30, 2023 were both on Long Island: Amityville Union Free School District and New Suffolk Common School District.
One district in Albany County was listed as being in "moderate" fiscal stress. The remaining 12, spread throughout the state, were listed as "susceptible to fiscal stress."
The report relied on data submitted to the State Education Department by school districts.
State aid reported by districts increased from $15.1 billion during the 2021-22 school year to $16.7 billion in 2022-23, excluding the state's largest five districts, New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mount Vernon NY schools in significant fiscal stress, says comptroller
