State Education Department

The Executive Budget recommends (analysis as of January 22, 2004):

·        An FTE level of 2,654 on March 31, 2005, which represents a decrease of 400 positions from the current estimate of the FTE level on March 31, 2004.  This is a represents a decrease of 400 positions from last year’s adjusted projection of the FTE level on March 31, 2004.  The agency gained 12 positions, in addition to the positions that were not moved out of the agency during the current fiscal year.  Reductions in 2004-05 will occur in the Elementary, Middle and Secondary Education Program (-5), the Higher Education and the Professions program (-3) and in a “Management Efficiencies Program” will take reduce another 20 FTEs across the entire agency.  Additions will occur in the Office of Higher Education and the Professions (+28).  Consolidations and transfers will result in reductions in the Cultural Education Program (-400).  All of these positions will move to Council on the Arts.

·        Moving the Cultural Education program to a new public benefit corporation, the New York Institute for Cultural Education in the Council on the Arts.  The move is proposed for October 1, 2004.  The Executive Budget states that all 400 positions being eliminated in the SED budget will be transferred.  The employees of the Institute would be governed by the State Civil Service Law and would remain in the bargaining units they were in prior to the transfer.  It appears this transfer will cost the state an additional $1 million.

·        The following changes in the Department’s State Operations budget:  an overall decrease of $24.9 million (-5.5 percent), a decrease in General Fund support of $8.3 million (-18.9 percent) a $19 million decrease (-6.9 percent) in the Special Revenue Fund-Federal; a $2.6 million increase (2.3 percent) in Special Revenue Funds-Other; a $1.2 million increase (6.3 percent) in Internal Services Funds and the elimination of the $1.4 million Fiduciary Funds support.

·        An increase of $5.2 million in the Office of Management Services Program.  This includes a reduction of $73,000 in personal services and increases of $4.8 million (28.4 percent) in Special Revenue-Other and $1.1 million (9.6 percent) in Internal Services Funds.  The $600,000 in Fiduciary Funding becomes a Special Revenue-Other appropriation.  The other $4.2 million increase in the Special Revenue-Other appropriation is for services and expenses of the indirect cost recovery account.  The $1.1 million increase in the Internal Services appropriation is for the automation and printing chargeback account.

·        A decrease of $31.8 million in the Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education Program.  This breaks out to a decrease of $2.2 million (-16.4 percent) in General Fund personal services, an increase of $4.5 million (78.9 percent) in General Fund nonpersonal services, a decrease of $5.5 million (-95.2 percent) in General Fund Maintenance Undistributed, a decrease of $28.5 million (-21.4 percent) in the Special Revenue-Federal and the elimination of the $978,900 Special Revenue-Other appropriation.  This Special Revenue Fund-Federal further breaks out to a $15.2 million decrease in personal services, a $15.8 million decrease in nonpersonal services, a $3.4 million decrease in fringe benefits, and a $5.5 million increase in indirect costs and transfers.  These numbers present some concerns.  The 2003-04 Executive Budget estimated that the Federal funds would support 288 positions by March 31, 2004.  The 2004-05 Executive Budget estimated that there will be 305 positions funded on March 31, 2004.  While the 04-05 budget calls for a reduction of 5 positions this is still 12 more than in the current budget and next year’s budget calls for significant cuts in personal services funding.

·        Funding for the School for the Blind is increased by $927,100 (12.2 percent).  This includes a modest increase in personal services, $110,000 (2.1 percent) and a significant increase in nonpersonal services $474,800 (169.5 percent).

·        Batavia ICF/DD funding is increase by 767,000 (27.6 percent).  This includes a $108,000 (6.4 percent) increase in personal services and a large increase in nonpersonal services of $515,000 (172.8 percent).

·        Funding for the School for the Deaf is increased by $721,000 (9.7 percent).  This includes an increase in personal services of $276,000 (5.7 percent).

·        The personal services increases for the School for the Blind, Batavia ICF/DD and School for the Deaf may reflect the accrued pay period for the institutional payroll in SFY2004-05

·        The Office of the Professions program is increased by $5.8 million (11.1 percent).  It is not possible to determine the changes in personal services or nonpersonal services because these appropriations were lumped together into a Maintenance Undistributed appropriation by the Legislature when they restored funding for the program last year. The personal services adjusted appropriation for this program in the Executive Budget shows no change between the 2003-04 and 2004-05 appropriations.  There was a significant increase in Special Revenue-Other funding of $5.8 million (12.8 percent).  Increases were primarily the following funding streams, in Tuition Reimbursement ($1.4 million), Office of the Professions ($1.9 million) and Tenured Teacher Hearing Account ($2.1 million).

·        Funding for the Vocational Rehabilitation program is increased by $8 million (6.1 percent).  All General Fund support is withdrawn from this program and replaced by Special Revenue-Federal support.  It appears that overall funding for personal service funding is increased by $606,800 (1 percent).

·        The Governor also makes some broad claims that this budget includes savings of, $2.9 million in “efficiencies in State operations and reduction in local assistance,” $1.1 million in “annualization of savings and projected spending increases,” $8 million in “elimination of one-time expenditures for prior years obligations,” and $19.8 million from “transfer of programs and miscellaneous adjustments.”  It is not clear where, specifically, these savings are in the State Education Department budget.