Did You Know? Facts and Figures About Long Island, Part II

More: Did You Know?

Today’s Topic: Enrollment Shares are Important in computing aid.  Take a  look at these numbers!

Enrollment Shares on Long Island - 2012 – 2013:

Nassau          203,683 students     7.5% of total state
Suffolk           251,406 students     9.3% of total state
LI Total          455,089 students    16.8% of total state

• Currently, Nassau receives aid amounting to $4,099 per student.  If our aid share matched our enrollment share, the new amount per pupil would be $7,514 per child, amounting to an 83% increase.
• Key Terms for Your Understanding: Two basic aid categories supply state aid on Long Island:
  • Formula Aids – Driven by wealth and needs; Discretion is derived locally on how money is spent.
  • Expense Driven Aids (expenditure thresholds with strings attached on spending)
    • Categorical aid and grants – examples include textbook, software, hardware aids
    • Reimbursement aid – examples include building, transportation, BOCES and special education.
• Formula and Expense Driven Aids as a Percent of Total Aid:
  Of total aid received, Nassau receives 17.9% in formula aid and 82.1% in expense aids.  This means that 82% of the aid is tied to funding that is not discretionary.  If we incorporated Suffolk, Long Island would have 71.8% of funds tied to expense aids and 28.2% of funds attached to formula aids.  Note that this is not the case throughout the state.  Long Island’s aids’ receipts are severely imbalanced with the rest of the State!
• The Governor has distributed $550 million in state aid, but still retains roughly $300 million for use in “competitive grant funding,” not designated, but may possibly include:
  • Three grant programs outside of the normal course of funding schools
    • Pre-Kindergarten for high needs districts ($25 million)
    • Additional time to extend school day or school year (20 million)
    • Social and health benefits for schools (competitive) 

How Do We Get More State Aid to Long Island?

What You Can Do:

• Enlist Long Island’s nine senators' support through letter writing, phone calls and face-to-face conversations.  Tell them that we want more aid to match the quantity of students educated on Long Island.  12% is not enough when we educate 17% of the students.
• Participate in upcoming Board of Education meetings.
• Enroll in NYSUT’s MAC application to easily send faxes to your legislators.  NYSUT is 600,000 strong – We need to put a face on that number.

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Your voice is needed in assisting our communities, our students, our teachers. 

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Did You Know: Facts and Figures About Long Island

The facts and figures below were culled from the February 15, 2013 NCCSS Conference.  This is the first in a two-part piece, entitled, "Did You Know: Facts and Figures About Long Island."

Did You Know?

Long Island – The Numbers:

• Long Island hosts a population of 2,832,882.  If we were a state, Long Island would rank 33^rd between Kansas and Arkansas. 
• With 2,370 people per square mile, we would rank first in the country if we were a state.
• If Long Island were a state, we would be ranked first in the high school completion rate for public schools.
• We represent 17% of the student population in NYS
• On Long Island, there are 450,000 students out of 2.8 million statewide
• Over 20% of students on LI qualify for Free/Reduced lunch, proving that we have a diverse population.
• Long Island outperforms every other region in NYS on every measure
• Although it has been reported that New York is 37^th in the country’s high school completion rate, here are some facts for you:
• Washington Post “Challenge Index” indicated that 50 of 115 of high schools on Long Island were among the top schools in the country. These schools were in the top 8.0% out of 24,544 schools.
• Intel Competition - Long Island ranked first, with two students in the finals.
• Siemans Research Competition – If we were a state, we would be ranked third in the number of semifinalists.
• 197 Long Island students were on the 2012 National Merit Semifinalists list.
• Seven Long Island school districts won the “National AP District of the Year Award.”
• 54% of Long Island students earn a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation, vs. 38% for rest of New York State.

More Facts on Long Island’s Schools and Students:

• Over 40% of Long Island students are enrolled in districts that fall below the state wealth average (41.7%).  
• With regard to Long Island residents’ funding of educational services across the state, the Rockefeller Institute (2011) reported that “downstate suburbs” provide 27.4% of NYS receipts, yet only 17.7% of state expenditures are directed to our region. 
• LI schools enroll 17% of the students, but only get 12% of school state aid
• NYC receives $129 in new education aid per student
• NYS receives $119 in new education aid per student
• LI receives $66 in new education aid per student!
• A Long Island Education Coalition budget survey showed that over 3,000 jobs have been eliminated between 2010 and 2013.  Class sizes have increased on the Island.  In addition, career and technology classes and inter-scholastic programs have been reduced.

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Your voice is needed in assisting our communities, our students, our teachers. 

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