Ninety-Eight Percent of School Districts Expect to Stay Within Tax Cap

ALBANY, NY (03/06/2017) (readMedia)-- NYSASBO has analyzed information that school districts are required by law to submit to the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) on their tax cap calculations and proposed taxes for school year 2017-18 budgets. Of the districts that have submitted information so far to the OSC, 98 percent of them have proposed to stay within their respective tax caps. The statewide tax cap for this year is 1.26 percent without permissible exclusions. The actual proposed tax increase is 1.82 percent with permissible exclusions. This is less than the 2% allowed by the law for this year.

While it's still early in the school budget process, 15 school districts propose to override the tax cap. This number is the lowest since the inception of the tax cap in 2011-12. Last year, the tax cap was at record low of .12% and 36 districts attempted an override.

The number of negative tax caps also dropped considerably to 18 districts from the 82 districts that had them last year. Many factors can lead to negative tax caps, including changes in capital exclusions, local property base, or payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTS).

"School district leaders continue to manage their finances in a prudent and cost effective manner that reflects community priorities at a cost that the public can support. School districts hope the Legislature will support a state Budget that includes a combination of mandate relief and increased aid that will allow them to provide a sound basic education to all students in the state," stated Michael J. Borges, NYSASBO Executive Director.