While I have no dispute with the facts presented in the article “Tax cap tied to school inequality,” Dec. 6, I do not believe eliminating the tax cap is the solution that poor communities need.
As was pointed out in the article, districts dominated by working-class and low-income households need to increase taxes by a significantly higher percentage to raise the same amount of money as wealthy communities. This is because the value of the properties being taxed is much lower.
Children in poorer areas already make do with less. Raising the property taxes of the poor and working class will only exacerbate the problem by reducing the financial resources of these families.
If, as Watervliet City School District Superintendent Lori Caplan stated concerning her district, “25 percent of the population pays 100 percent of the taxes,” these families already share a disproportionate amount of the tax burden.
There are two solutions that will work for struggling families in our small cities and rural communities. The state Legislature needs to meet its constitutional obligation to educate students by fully implementing the foundation aid formula. This will ensure that poorer communities get the funds necessary to educate children. The state also needs to focus on developing jobs that pay a living wage. The working poor are not able to pay property taxes and contribute financially to the education of their children when many jobs pay poverty level wages.
John Foley
Schenectady
Vice president, Board of Education, Schenectady School District
I would like to point out that another thing that hurts Schenectady is the fact that high dollar amounts paid to schools will usually bring back some benefit to the homeowner, because people willingly move into higher-taxed communities if the schools are good. But, the portion of our tax bill that does not go to the schools would need to stay lower for there to be a benefit from the higher school taxes, because the overall bill is too high when the city hogs so much. For instance, a guy on Moyston Street, forking over a thousand bucks quarterly in taxes, now if he were to pay exactly the same amount as now to the schools, and the city started only charging the amount necessary to pay for services received, his bill would be lower, he could keep his house, and he might even receive decent service. But because the city hogs such a huge amount of property taxes, people are forced to give up their homes, leaving even fewer people to pay enough for decent schools. I know that there is a lot of unhappiness with our school system, but as far as delivering what they are supposed to deliver for the money we pay, they are meeting that legal obligation. The city, on the other hand, takes money meant for one thing, wastes it, and then charges us more, and then still doesn't deliver. The man who wrote the letter is recognizing that gouging homeowners is not the answer for everything, in fact it is counter-productive, while our city government is still stuck on that model.
Prior to the 20th century, lotteries were used in New York to raise revenue for non-educational needs. New York City Hall was built in part with lottery proceeds. Other lotteries helped build and repair canals, roads, ferries, and bridges. Lotteries also were held for non-public needs. They helped develop New York City's manufacturing industries. Churches were built, rebuilt, or improved, with lottery funds. On November 8, 1966, New Yorkers voted to approve a constitutional amendment authorizing a government-run lottery. The referendum passed with over 60% in favor. The proceeds of the Lottery were to be "applied exclusively to, or in aid or support of, education." In 1967, the New York Legislature created a Division of the Lottery and a Lottery Commission within the Department of Taxation and Finance. The Lottery later became an autonomous unit within the Department of Taxation and Finance. Under the New York State Lottery for Education Law, the Director of the Division of the Lottery has full authority over the administration of the Lottery. The Lottery began in 1967; its first slogan was "Your Chance of a Lifetime to Help Education". It has generated over $34 billion in aid to education revenue. Sales were suspended for about nine months in 1975-76 due to a scandal. An agreement between Mega Millions and Powerball was reached in October 2009. All lotteries then with either game were allowed to sell tickets for both games beginning January 31, 2010. Players must be at least 18 (including video lottery); however, the minimum is 21 for Quick Draw (a keno game drawn four minutes apart) where alcohol is served. Lottery winnings are subject to state and Federal income taxes. New York City and Yonkers residents also are subject to local income taxes. Despite it being the US lottery with the highest sales, the New York Lottery has been increasingly criticized for offering low payout percentages, and not allowing scratch-game winners of annuitized prizes to choose cash in lieu of periodic payments. New York Lotto, begun in 1978, which has the lowest payout (of each dollar wagered, no more than 40 cents are paid to players) of an American lottery game. (In the 2011-12 fiscal year, sales of New York Lotto were down almost 15% from the previous 12 months; its minimum rollovers are now only $300,000 annuity.) A claim on or after May 1, 2013 of an annuitized scratch-game prize (including "lifetime" prizes) allows the winner to choose lump sum in lieu of the periodic payments [1]; the New York Lottery had been phasing in scratch games with lump-sum prizes of at least $1,000,000. On February 1, 2013, the New York Lottery's operations were merged with that of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board to form the New York State Gaming Commission.
LEGALIZING CASINO GAMBLING IN NYS?????
SHOW ME THE GUMBA $$ TRAIL.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Legislator Says State Lottery Is Shortchanging City Schools
By PATRICK O'GILFOIL HEALY
Published: March 21, 2005
As the state grapples with a court order requiring more money to be spent on New York City schools, an assemblyman from Manhattan yesterday attacked another aspect of the state's school-financing formulas, saying that city schools have been cheated out of $340 million in state lottery money since 2000.
A study released yesterday by the assemblyman, Scott Stringer, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side, argued that the city was being shortchanged because it generates 44 percent of state lottery revenue but receives only 38 percent of the lottery funds dedicated to education.
That gap of 6 percentage points translates to millions lost every year, said Mr. Stringer, who is chairman of the Assembly's Committee on Cities. Using state lottery numbers, his study found that the city had received $2.58 billion in state lottery funds since 2000, but would have received $2.9 billion if the city's portion of lottery financing matched the percentage it pays into the system.
"It's another discriminatory funding mechanism that cheats New York City school kids," he said yesterday. "The discrepancies are getting larger."
Mr. Stringer's critique of the lottery financing comes as lawmakers, lawyers and education officials across the state face a court order requiring that $5.6 billion more a year be spent on the city's public schools. Gov. George E. Pataki has vowed to appeal the order.
Mr. Stringer said he had introduced a bill to change the way lottery funds are parceled out, so that each school district would receive the same percentage that it contributes into the system.
Right now, state lottery funds are distributed under a formula calculated by the Legislature and the state's Education Department that accounts for a district's population, individual needs and property values, said Jennifer Mauer, a spokeswoman for the state lottery.
The lottery, which takes in $4 billion to $6 billion annually, dedicates one-third of its revenue to education aid, and the money is distributed by the state comptroller's office to separate school districts.
New York City receives the bulk of the money, with its share fluctuating from 35 percent to 40 percent since 1996, according to statistics compiled by the State University of New York. Suffolk County is a distant second, receiving 7 percent, followed by Erie, Monroe, Onondaga and Nassau Counties.
Mr. Stringer said that the inequities in lottery financing were hurting city schools more and more each year. According to the study, the city lost out on $48 million in 2000, $57 million in 2001, $91 million in 2002 and $142 million in 2003, money that could have gone to teacher salaries or school construction.
Margie Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education, said the findings were not surprising. "We have long been getting an inequitable share of state aid," she said.
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
This report addresses an issue that is almost always the subject of a question when I meet with New Yorkers: "Isn't lottery money supposed to provide extra aid for education?"
The answer, as with anything involving government accounting and budgets, is complex. Lottery receipts are indeed deposited into a special fund, and that fund is used for education. In reality, however, the lottery is simply part of the pool of resources that is divided among various competing needs in the state budget process. This report, for example, documents past budget actions that simultaneously increased lottery receipts and yet reduced support for education.
When the lottery was approved in the early 1960s, the public was promised that it would support education. Implied in that promise was that the lottery would add to state aid, rather than merely replace it. Even today, a new lottery advertising campaign perpetuates the myth that schools receive additional resources from the lottery. The truth is that the Legislature and Governor decide how much state aid will go to local schools and the amount from the lottery is just a small part of that total. Lottery money has never supplemented state aid; it doesn't today and it likely never will.
In New York, as in many other states, lottery earnings have been earmarked for education primarily as a public relations device. The opposition that arises from the use of gambling proceeds to fund government services is deflected by pointing to the worthy purpose that the lottery funds.
The lottery accounts for a relatively small share of state resources directed to education, and it is unlikely that any budget practice could be devised that would ensure that the lottery would provide additional support. The creativity used to balance past budgets would certainly be used to thwart any such measure.
The real debate in school finance should focus on whether our school aid system is equitable and efficient. I have issued a series of reports over the past two years that document serious problems with the state's education financing policies and suggested reforms to address them.
Sincerely,
H. Carl McCall, State Comptroller
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
The New York Lottery contributes billion to help support education in New York State, over 15 percent of total state education funding to local school districts.
NEW YORK LOTTERY'S MISSION WHERE THE MONEY GOES The New York Lottery contributed $3.04 billion in fiscal year 2012-2013 to help support education in New York State, nearly 15 percent of total state education funding to local school districts. The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, earning over $48.3 billion in education support statewide since its founding over 45 years ago.
supporting education ALSO means paying for teachers to further their education to be 'better teachers'
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
NEW YORK LOTTERY'S MISSION WHERE THE MONEY GOES The New York Lottery contributed $3.04 billion in fiscal year 2012-2013 to help support education in New York State, nearly 15 percent of total state education funding to local school districts. The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, earning over $48.3 billion in education support statewide since its founding over 45 years ago.
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
This is how it works: All year, the lottery deposits revenue from the sale of lottery tickets into a special account, which is controlled by the lottery and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. At the beginning of each school year, DiNapoli distributes the aid to education funds for more than 700 school districts. The amount is based on a formula developed by both the state Legislature and the state education department. It’s the same formula used to figure out state aid to schools in general. It factors in population, grade level, special student needs and the property and income wealth of the district’s residents (based on NYS tax returns and assessed value of property.)
If the lottery does better one year, it does not increase the amount of money to any one school. It is a contribution toward the total amount of state aid the Legislature and the education department settle on for each district that year.
Lottery money represents about 5 percent of total school spending in New York if federal aid is included. Without federal aid, it is about 15 percent, the state says.
For the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2012, the state made about $8.5 billion in traditional sales and net win from video gaming.
The state lists the amount of money earned and given to schools from each game in a report on its Website.
The state spent the money like this:
$130 million for other operating expenses $218 million for gaming contractor fees and other direct expenses $420 million for retailer commissions $617 million for video gaming facility commissions $4.1 billion in prizes That leaves: $2.9 billion for schools
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
First.....most of the lotto money is siphoned downstate. upstate gets what's left over.
Second.....the question everyone should be asking....what is the return on their 'school tax' investments?
And third....do school taxpayers attend the meetings at the schools? How involved are they?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
New York Lottery Aid to Education Fiscal Year 2012-2013
SCHENECTADY County $30,364,797.37 Duanesburg 1,103,817.32 Niskayuna 4,035,449.20 Rotterdam-Mohonasen 3,715,123.49 Schalmont 1,678,163.57 Schenectady 16,546,415.57 Scotia-Glenville 3,285,828.22 Since 1977 Schenectady schools have received over $216 million from lotto funds.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
bt, I used to attend school meetings. Some of the more important topics, as to how the money gets spent, don't ever come before the public, such as the fact that an insane janitor was building an empire. Also, the bigger funding issues come up in various hearings in Albany, and like Common Core, they are a done deal before we ever get to put our two cents in. Commissioner King is not elected, and we can't remove him. About all you can do is sue, and there was such a lawsuit, by the biggest school districts, back when Eliot Spitzer was AG. We were not included, we're a smaller district. Most people rely on what they are told by the media. Look at the STAR 'rebate', and the phony 'tax-cap' gimmick. BTW, Mr. King does not send his children to any public school. This Common Core he's pushing on everybody else's kids, his own will be way less affected by it. Most people can't afford to pay private school tuition on top of their school taxes, but he makes over $200,000, so he's all set, he's insulated personally from any negative consequences. Come to think of it, he is insulated personally from Obamacare as well. Must be nice.
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