Table 1: State School Aid for School Year 2017-2018

_{Note: Building Aids includes Building Aid and Building Reorganization Aid; Transportation includes regular and Summer Transportation Aid; Vocational/BOCES Aid includes Special Services Aid for the Five Large City School District and Non-Components of BOCES aids for Career Education, Computer Administration, Academic Improvement, and BOCES aid. Excess Cost Aids include Public Excess Cost Aid, Private Excess Cost Aid, and Supplemental Public Excess Cost Aids. Other Aids includes Hardware Aid, Charter School Transitional Aid, Operating Reorganizing Aid, Full Day Kindergarten Conversion, and Academic Enhancement Aid.} 

_{Source: CBC staff analysis of data from New York State Education Department, Fiscal Analysis & Research Unit, "2017-2018 Enacted School Aid Files" (May 15, 2017).}

As can be seen in Table 2, in contrast to all other aid types, the amounts of  Library, Textbook, and Software Aids (LTSA) and High Tax Aid increase from decile 1 (least wealthy) to decile 10 (most wealthy). The lack of targeting to needy districts is most egregious for High Tax Aid: the wealthiest decile of districts receives an average $323 per pupil, while the poorest decile only receives an average of $100 per pupil. 

Table 2: Average District Per Pupil Aids, 2017-2018 School Year

_{Note: Building Aids includes Building Aid and Building Reorganization Aid; Transportation includes regular and Summer Transportation Aid; Vocational/BOCES Aid includes Special Services Aid for the Five Large City School District and Non-Components of BOCES aids for Career Education, Computer Administration, Academic Improvement, and BOCES aid. Excess Cost Aids include Public Excess Cost Aid, Private Excess Cost Aid, and Supplemental Public Excess Cost Aids. Other Aids includes Hardware Aid, Charter School Transitional Aid, Operating Reorganizing Aid, Full Day Kindergarten Conversion, and Academic Enhancement Aid. Excludes Kiryas Joel.}

_{Source: CBC staff analysis of data from New York State Education Department, Fiscal Analysis & Research Unit, "2017-2018 Enacted School Aid Files" (May 15, 2017).}

Library, Textbook, and Software Aids

Library, Textbook, and Software Aids cost state taxpayers $243 million in school year 2017-2018. All three types of aid are set on a per-pupil basis, regardless of wealth, and combined provide an average $79.48 per pupil. Library Materials Aid ($19 million) is $6.25 per pupil, Textbook Aid ($178 million) is $58.25 per pupil, and Software Aid ($46 million) is $14.98 per pupil. Private school enrollees are included in the allocation of aid, and public schools are required to purchase and provide materials to private schools.³ If district spending exceeds the maximum reimbursement amount for either software or textbooks, it can be reimbursed under other aid types (software, hardware, or textbook), provided the district has not exhausted those per pupil maximums. Per pupil LTSA shows no variance among regions or deciles.⁴

High Tax Aid

High Tax Aid provides $223 million to certain school districts based on historical shares. It has been frozen since school year 2013-2014, when it was calculated as the maximum of:

1. The amount listed in the State Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Executive Budget Proposal (65 districts receive school aid under this calculation);⁵
2. The amount received in School Year 2007-2008 multiplied by a due minimum factor (70 districts receive school aid under this calculation); or
3. The amount received in school year 2008-2009, which is based on 2006-2007 school year statistics and is the sum of three arcane formulas crafted to drive funding to specific districts (176 districts receive school aid under this calculation).⁴

Statewide, 46 percent of school districts receive high tax aid, while almost 85 percent of districts in the wealthiest decile benefit and 22 percent of districts in the least wealthy decile receive benefits. Qualifying districts in the less wealthy five deciles averaged $378 per pupil and recipients in the wealthier half of districts received $422 per pupil. (See Table 3).

On a regional basis, every district on Long Island receives High Tax Aid, while only 10 percent of districts in Western New York receive it. (See Table 4.) However, among districts that receive High Tax Aid, Long Island districts average $373 per pupil, which is $43 or 10 percent below the state average of $416 per pupil.  The Mid-Hudson Valley has the second highest percentage of districts receiving High Tax Aid (91.5 percent), but they average $307 per pupil – more than $100 or 25 percent below the state average. New York City receives no High Tax Aid.

Table 3: High Tax Aid, School Year 2017-2018

_{Source: New York State Education Department, Fiscal Analysis & Research Unit, "2017-2018 Enacted School Aid Files" (May 15, 2017).}

Table 4: High Tax Aid by Region, School Year 2017-2018

_{Source: New York State Education Department, Fiscal Analysis & Research Unit, "2017-2018 Enacted School Aid Files" (May 15, 2017).}

What Should Be Done?

With prospective deficits looming, New York State must target school aid to the neediest districts. In the coming fiscal year, LTSA should be redistributed through the Foundation Aid formula and High Tax Aid should be eliminated. Redistributing LTSA will provide high-need districts with the funding they currently receive, while allowing districts additional flexibility.  Currently, LTSA inappropriately supplements all districts equally, irrespective of district wealth or student needs. In addition, providing a base reimbursement with no required local share may encourage additional spending on certain supplies when other needs are more vital.

High Tax Aid drives funding to the wealthiest districts in the state. Despite changing enrollment and demographics, High Tax Aid has been completely frozen since the 2013-2014 school year, with most districts receiving the same amount of aid since the 2007-2008 school year. The time has to come to reform or eliminate education aid categories that do not properly account for district wealth and student needs.