How's My School District Doing?

State Ed Posts Performance, Property Tax, By The Numbers

Our children get report cards in school so that we, as parents, can gauge their performance, noting strengths, weaknesses, and progress.

So, too, is the performance of New York's public schools graded by the NYS Education Department (the folks who bring you Regents Exams), in their annual school Report Card.

Check out the Report Card for NYS Testing and Accountability for all New York school districts by clicking HERE.

With the school budget vote just weeks away (Tuesday, May 19), taxes are on the minds of many New Yorkers. This is particularly so here on Long Island, where school taxes account for upwards of 60% of the local property tax tab.

State Ed has recently issued the Property Tax Report Cards for all of New York's school districts showing data for the 2008 school year, which includes budget tax levies for 2008-09 and the percent change from the prior year.

Of course, that's last year's news.

School districts are required to make their proposed 2009-10 budgets available to the public no later than seven (7) days prior to the scheduled budget hearings (April 28 - May 5); to hold budget hearings seven (7) to fourteen (14) days before the budget vote (May 5 - 12); and to mail a budget notice to all residents by May 13.

Residents should contact their local school districts for more information, and are encouraged to attend the school budget hearings.

Be an informed citizen, and take the time to know how your tax dollars are being spent.

Your vote for the school budget on Tuesday, May 19 matters -- to our children and our future.