Assemblyman Jim Conte is committed to ensuring
that all children in our state receive a
quality education and graduate to become
productive and contributing members of New
York’s workforce and economy. During
the 2006-07 school year, total education
expenditures in New York were $48.4 billion
(including federal, state and local shares)
for an average of $14,084 per pupil. This
per pupil educational spending places New
York among the highest in the nation. New
York, however, still falls short in the
areas of test scores, graduation rates and
school district accountability. The following
proposals are designed to enhance educational
opportunities for student success while
protecting the investment made by taxpayers.
Strengthening
Financial Accountability:
While New York has some of the best teachers
and administrators, there continues to be
instances of misuse of school district property
and taxpayer dollars. The following proposals
from Assemblyman Jim Conte will ensure that
the over $48.4 billion in taxpayer funds
spent on education in our state will be
used for the benefit of all students.
Enhancing Fiscal Oversight
– Assemblyman Jim Conte recommends
creating a State Inspector General for Education
who will be charged with investigating criminal
activity and fraud in the education system.
In order to give parents and members of
the community the opportunity to further
review school districts’ finances,
Jim Conte also supports requiring districts
to post audit reports, proposed and enacted
budgets, expenditure reports, union contracts,
superintendent contracts and the minutes
of all board meetings. In addition, Jim
Conte recommends requiring additional reporting
by school districts on those employees who
are collecting pensions.
Code of Ethics –
Assemblyman Jim Conte supports the creation
of a Code of Ethics within each school district
to help minimize the misuse of school funds
and resources.
Consistent Policy on Use of District
Property - Requires school districts
to develop a policy regulating the use of
cell phones, automobiles and credit cards
issued and owned by the district.
Business Officials Qualifications
- To better ensure fiscal accountability
within school districts, we propose increasing
qualifications for school business officials
to include:
- A post-graduate degree in finance,
accounting or related field;
- A semester-long internship or fellowship
focused on school financing or within
a school business office; and
- Attendance at annual professional development
classes.
Also, note rural and/or small school districts
could share school business officials through
BOCES or an inter-school district agreement
if a full time business official is not
required.
Recording of School Board Meetings
- Requires the audio and/or video with audio
recording of public sessions of school board
meetings for the purpose of making them
available to taxpayers.
School Budget Reform –
Assemblyman Jim Conte supports the following
reforms to increase voter participation
in the expenditure of over $23.5 billion
in local educational expenses:
Require all bond resolution votes to be
held on a set day statewide;
- Extend the school budget voting hours
to correspond with general elections;
- Include the county board of elections
in the school budget process; and
- Clarify voting locations on mailings
sent out for school budget votes.
Autism Awareness:
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental
disabilities that cause impairments in social
interaction and communication, marked by
the presence of unusual behaviors and interests.
Many people with ASDs have unusual ways
of learning, paying attention and reacting
to different sensations. The thinking and
learning abilities of people with ASDs can
vary-from gifted to severely challenged.
An ASD begins before the age of 3 and lasts
throughout a person's life. ASDs occur in
all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups
and are four times more likely to occur
in boys than in girls. The U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism
and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring
Network released data in 2007 that found
about 1 in 150 eight-year-old children in
multiple areas of the country had an ASD.
Assemblyman Jim Conte is aware of the extent
of this matter and plans to hold an autism
awareness forum on Long Island to highlight
the issues surrounding this subject.
This year, Assemblyman Jim Conte is sponsoring
legislation to help ease some of the burdens
that children and families with ASD face
while working to make the future a more
promising place to live.
Assemblyman Jim Conte’s
2008 Autism Proposals:
- Creation of the Autism Identification
and Education Act of 2008 to identify
the incidence and needs of those affected
by autism spectrum disorder in New York
and require additional training of educational
personnel to better identify and care
for children with autism;
- Appropriate $1 million from the state
budget to offer grants to not-for-profits
for after school, weekend, social/sibling
support programs for eligible families
of children with autism spectrum disorders;
- Allow county BOCES to provide school
districts with a staff training program
specific to children with autism spectrum
disorders; and
- Provide grants to school districts to
train para-professionals, who work within
the district, on how to correctly interact
and help children who have autism spectrum
disorder.
Enhancing Higher
Education:
SUNY and CUNY Rational Tuition
Policy – Assemblyman Jim
Conte opposes any SUNY tuition hike which
sends students and families scrambling to
find money before the new semester begins.
Instead, Jim Conte supports a rational tuition
policy for all SUNY and CUNY schools that
provides parents and students the ability
to plan for and budget college costs based
on a predictable method. This plan promotes
freezing tuition for all current students
for the remainder of their current program.
Beginning in 2009, and continuing for all
new students thereafter, the tuition level
would be equal to that of the previous year,
then adjusted upward to reflect increases
in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Tuition
would be frozen for the duration of the
defined term of a student's degree program.
This ensures that once a student enters
school as a freshman, there is a guarantee
that their tuition will not increase during
their undergraduate tenure. The policy would
also require SUNY and CUNY to reinvest the
incremental annual tuition increases directly
into areas related to the recruitment and
retention of full-time tenure track faculty.
This policy would restrict SUNY and CUNY
from increasing student fees by more than
five percent in any academic year and require
the state to match revenue generated by
any tuition increase.
College Graduate Personal Income
Tax Credit - Establishes the “Graduate
Outreach Assistance Program,” which
exempts college graduates with a four-year
degree or higher from
State Personal Income Tax on the first $250,000
earned after graduation with a maximum of
$50,000 per year. Furthermore, Jim Conte
recommends a similar provision for two-year
graduates that would provide a PIT credit
for the first $150,000 earned after graduation
with a maximum of $25,000 per year.
Textbook and Laptop Computer Refundable
PIT - Establishes a PIT credit
of up to $1,000 for new and used required
textbooks and laptop computers for college
students or their parents. This credit will
be available to New York residents who attend
any college in or out of the state.
