NY Comptroller: Amityville District 'In Significant Fiscal Stress'

AMITYVILLE, NY — The Amityville school district is in significant fiscal stress, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System.

It didn't come as a total surprise.

"Over the past months, our Board of Education and administration have been transparent regarding the District’s independent audit report results for the 2022-23 school year," Amityville Superintendent Gina Talbert said in a letter to parents Jan. 25. "This report was presented during a public Board meeting on Nov. 8, 2023. At that time, we informed the community that the District ended the 2022-23 school year with a decrease in unassigned fund balance from $4,219,216 to $686,244. We noted that some of the primary drivers contributing to this reduction included services for our students with special needs within and outside the District, increased costs for safety and security needs, increased costs due to unanticipated charter school enrollment, increased health insurance and pension adjustments for retirees, and health insurance costs."

In response to that November audit report, she said, the Board of Education adopted a corrective action plan at its Jan. 10 meeting to strengthen internal controls and operating efficiency.

Purchases for the 2023-24 school year were closed as of Jan. 1. Only emergency purchases will be permitted.

"This plan has been submitted to the Comptroller’s office and details our efforts," she said. "Again, I want to stress our continued commitment to transparency and the financial health of our District moving forward. Thank you for your continued support and participation in our school district."

She pointed out that some costs are directly associated with mandates required by New York State.

"Additionally, a number of grants used to fund programs and services within the District were eliminated, requiring the District to make up for the loss in funding not directly to impact students," she said. "These designations rely on financial data provided by school districts and other factors beyond a district’s control."

The latest list, released last week, names 16 districts in some level of fiscal stress.

"The number of districts designated in fiscal stress remains low after significant increases to both federal and state aid over the past few years," DiNapoli said in an announcement about the list. "Although federal relief packages and state aid provided much needed assistance, school officials should remain diligent and closely monitor their financial condition in the current and future budget cycles as one-time federal funds are depleted and state aid is uncertain.”

The designation is for the school year ending June 30, 2023. The list is longer than the prior year — up from 14 districts in fiscal stress — but still well below the 33 designated in stress in 2019, he said. Increased temporary federal aid and growth in state aid have contributed to the declining number of school districts designated in fiscal stress.

DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System was designed to identify issues that school districts, counties, cities, towns and villages are having with budgetary solvency, or the ability to generate enough revenue to meet expenses. School districts are given a fiscal stress score based on several factors: year-end fund balance, operating deficits and surpluses, cash position, and reliance on short-term debt for cashflow. The higher the score, the more severe the level of stress.

This release of scores, which excludes New York City and the “Big Four” City School Districts of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers, found three school districts in “significant fiscal stress,” the highest category – Amityville Union Free School District, New Suffolk Common School District, both in Suffolk County, and Mount Vernon School District in Westchester County. One district, Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District in Albany County, was designated as being in “moderate fiscal stress.” Twelve districts were designated as “susceptible to fiscal stress.”