Wyandanch, New Suffolk districts placed on state's 'significant stress' list
The Wyandanch school district, which is running a budget deficit, has been placed on the state comptroller's "significant stress" list. Credit: Danielle Silverman
The number of Long Island school districts facing fiscal stress has doubled in the past year from four to eight, and two of those systems are among the most financially strained in the state, a new report finds.
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reported Thursday that the mid-sized Wyandanch district in northern Babylon Town and the tiny New Suffolk district in Southold Town both showed signs of "significant stress." That's the state rating reserved for districts under the greatest financial pressure .
Six additional systems were rated as "susceptible to fiscal stress" — a less-severe category. Local districts in that group are Roosevelt, North Bellmore, Rockville Centre, Eastport-South Manor, Hempstead and Long Beach.
Wyandanch's listing was hardly a surprise.
School officials there acknowledged in November that the 2,700-student district faced a budget deficit estimated at $3.3 million. Board trustees have cut about 18 staff positions in an effort to reduce the fiscal gap, and Superintendent Mary Jones has warned that residents could face a hefty tax increase next year.
A Monday board meeting has been scheduled in Wyandanch to begin discussions of the 2019-20 budget, which will be submitted to residents in May. Board President James Crawford said Thursday that the district still was considering the idea of asking voters for a 60 percent majority that would be needed to raise taxes beyond limits set by a state cap law.
"Everything is still a possibility," said Crawford, who serves as an assistant high school principal in another district. "We'll have a series of discussions, and we want to get our hands wrapped around the situation. We just need all hands on deck in terms of assistance."
The state Comptroller's Office, which is a fiscal watchdog agency, draws on a numerical monitoring system to assess districts' financial solvency. The system looks both at factors that districts control, such as reliance on short-term borrowing, and at conditions beyond their control, such as poverty rates and taxable property wealth.
Every district's situation is different, however.
New Suffolk, for example, reached a financial settlement last year with a teacher who contended the district owed her roughly $300,000 back wages and benefits, and who won a state ruling in her favor. The amount of money under dispute was a significant sum in a district that serves about a dozen students and operates on a budget of a little over $1 million.
Eastport-South Manor, a sprawling district with an enrollment of about 3,400 students, decided last year to cut dozens of staff positions in order to head off a potential budget deficit and rebuild dwindling reserve funds.
"We see that as being on the road to recovery, but far from being out of the woods," said Tim Laube, the district's assistant superintendent for business and operations.
Both North Bellmore and Long Beach issued statements Thursday that reported steady progress in boosting cash reserves and taking other steps that would ultimately remove them from the stress list.
"We continue to offer robust student programming and remain fiscally accountable to our community members," stated Marie Testa, who is North Bellmore's superintendent.
Michael DeVito, assistant superintendent in Long Beach, predicted that his system would shed its "susceptible" rating by the end of the current school year in June.
Most districts in the "susceptible" category have been posted on the state's financial watch list before. One surprise was Rockville Centre, which serves a largely affluent community and had not been listed before.
William Johnson, the Rockville Centre schools chief, acknowledged his district recently increased short-range borrowing, but added the system retained a strong rating from Moody's, a private credit-analysis service.
"I don't think it has much meaning," Johnson said of the state's rating for his district.
At the state level, analysts noted the number of districts cited as under stress was relatively small — just 26 systems statewide out of 674, or 3.9 percent. Long Island's percentage was larger — eight districts out of 124, or 6.5 percent — but still limited.
"However, school boards and superintendents must remain cautious," DiNapoli stated. "Today's budget decisions can have long-lasting implications and can quickly move a district into fiscal stress."
This marks the sixth year the comptroller's office has released its report, "Fiscal Stress in School Districts."
John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.
