Buffalo Schools to Receive $8 Million in Aid (NY)
August 11, 2010
Congress completed action on a bill Tuesday that is expected to bring Buffalo Public Schools almost $8 million — not nearly enough to cover the district’s $34 million deficit for the coming school year.
Fourteen other local school districts are in line to receive at least $1 million from the bill, with others getting lesser amounts, according to estimates compiled by the office of Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and New York State United Teachers.
President Obama signed the measure later Tuesday.
While the bill aims to prevent teacher layoffs, its impact on Buffalo schools re mains unclear. The district eliminated 145 jobs this year — including 96 by layoff, said Barbara J. Smith, the chief financial officer.
The National Education Association, nevertheless, estimated that the bill will preserve 241 teaching jobs throughout Western New York.
"We are saving hundreds of jobs in Western New York and thousands across New York State that will keep our children in quality classrooms, our neighbors on the job and our streets safe," said Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo.
The bill drew a much more mixed response from Smith.
"Unfortunately, we are at this point looking at about a $34 million deficit," she said. "Getting $8 million is all well and good, but it doesn’t go very far."
The bill includes $1.4 billion in Medicaid funding for New York State and $530 million for its counties — including $14.6 million for Erie County.
The federal legislation is intended to help cash-strapped states with their recession-
driven Medicaid costs, as well as to prevent teacher layoffs at school districts hit by falling tax revenues.
The trouble is, Republican delaying tactics held up the bill in the Senate for months, until school districts across the country had to make layoffs for the coming school year.
West Seneca schools, for example, will receive $2.6 million from the bill, but the district already has eliminated 50 jobs, including several teaching positions.
Laid-off Buffalo teachers already have received their notices, and the district won’t review its plans until it actual ly receives its new federal money, Smith said.
While Democrats said the $26.1 billion measure was necessary to keep schools sound, Republicans said it meant more federal spending at the wrong time.
Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, chairman of the House Republican Conference, termed the measure "the latest installment of the failed Democratic policy of stimulus, bailout and higher taxes as a means of economic growth."
Democrats, meanwhile, stressed that the bill is designed to avoid increasing the deficit. The outlays, in part, will be covered by a provision making it more difficult for U.S.-based corporations to use foreign tax credits to reduce their U.S. taxes — which previously encouraged them to outsource their operations.
"We cannot rebuild our national or local economy when we continue to reward corporations for carrying out operations overseas and taking our jobs with them," said Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport. "Instead, let’s use that revenue to keep Western New Yorkers in their jobs."
Called back from its summer recess to act on the measure, the House approved the bill by a 247-161 vote. The bill won the support of only two Republicans, while three Democrats opposed it.
The Senate approved the measure last week.
Overall, school districts in Erie County will receive
$34.8 million, while those in Niagara County will get $10.6 million, Schumer said.
"It really comes to the rescue just in time," Schumer said. "There are no strings. This money is coming."
<br /> ;
But Republicans insisted that the new spending embodied the wrong approach.
"We ought to be improving teaching and education, not just dumping more money into it that we don’t have," said Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee.
"To me it’s just another temporary bailout of the states, paid for with long-term tax increases," said Rep. Chris Lee, R-Clarence. "Once this money runs out, we’ll be facing the same situation again."