Twenty-six New York State school districts designated as being in "fiscal stress"

New York StateComptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reports 26 school districts in New York State are in "fiscal stress"

Source: Office of the State Comptroller

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Twenty-six school districts have been designated as fiscally stressed under New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System.* Although the same number of districts were designated in fiscal stress last year, many of the entities in this year’s list have changed. Only 12 were designated as stressed in both 2018 and 2017.

Using financial indicators that include year-end fund balance, cash position, short-term borrowing and patterns of operating deficits, DiNapoli’s monitoring system creates an overall fiscal stress score which drives the classification.

“Despite the ongoing financial pressures facing school districts, our fiscal stress monitoring system has revealed encouraging results in several communities,” said DiNapoli. “However, school boards and superintendents must remain cautious. Today’s budget decisions can have long-lasting implications and can quickly move a district into fiscal stress.”

This year, five school districts are designated in “significant fiscal stress” and the remaining 21 as “susceptible to fiscal stress.” The scores are based on the evaluation of 672 school districts with fiscal years ending on June 30, 2018.

The five school districts that were classified in “significant stress” are Eldred (Sullivan County); New Suffolk (Suffolk); Norwich (Chenango); Schenevus (Otsego) and Wyandanch (Suffolk).

A report released by DiNapoli today in conjunction with the fiscal stress scores showed the regions of Central New York, Long Island and the Southern Tier as those having comparatively high percentages of districts in fiscal stress.

The scores are based on financial information submitted as part of each district’s ST-3 financial report filed with the State Education Department as of Dec. 28, 2018.

* N.B. This announcement does not include scores for the dependent school districts in the “Big Four” cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers. Information for these districts will be incorporated into the scoring for their respective cities later this year. The monitoring system does not score New York City.

For a list of school districts designated in fiscal stress, visit:

https://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/schools/pdf/2018/stress-list.pdf

For the complete list of school district fiscal stress scores, visit:

https://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/index.htm

For a copy of the fiscal stress report, visit:

https://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/pdf/common-themes-for-school-year-2017-18.pdf

Mitigation of the disciplinary penalty to be imposed found warranted under the circumstances

Mitigation of the disciplinary penalty to be imposed found warranted under the circumstances

OATH Index No. 2137/18

A New York City correction officer was charged with using excessive force against an inmate and submitting a false report.

A video of the incident and respondent’s testimony indicated that a newly-admitted inmate resisted processing. When the correction officer attempted to guide the inmate to a table, the inmate swatted the correction officer's hand away and attempted to spit in the correction officer's face. The correction officer admitted that his hand was briefly was on the inmate’s neck as he tried to push the inmate away.

OATH Administrative Law Judge Noel R. Garcia sustained the excessive force charge but he recommended dismissal the false report charge. Judge Garcia found the correction officer’s written statement was consistent with the video evidence.

The ALJ recommended that correction officer be suspended for thirty-five days without pay, finding mitigation of the penalty was warranted based on the fact that the use of force was set in motion by the inmate’s belligerence, that the inmate did not suffer any injury, consideration of the correction officer’s long service record, and that the correction officer accepted responsibility for his actions.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://archive.citylaw.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/oath/18_cases/18-2137.pdf

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Click here to Read a FREE excerpt from A Reasonable Disciplinary Penalty Under the Circumstances, a guide to disciplinary penalties imposed on officers and employees of New York State and its political subdivisions.

Documents containing information used to evaluate the performance of specified public employees are not subject to disclosure pursuant to a Freedom of Information request

Documents containing information used to evaluate the performance of specified public employees are not subject to disclosure pursuant to a Freedom of Information request

Luongo v Records Access Appeals Officer, 2019 NY Slip Op 00344, Appellate Division, First Department

The Legal Aid Society, New York, appealed a Supreme Court decision denying its petition to compel the New York City Police Department's Records Access Appeals Officer to disclose documents it had requested pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law [FOIL]* and dismissing the proceeding Legal Aid had brought pursuant to CPLR Article 78. The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the lower courts ruling.

The Appellate Division explained that the New York City Police Department documents at issue contain information used to evaluate a police officer's performance and included such items as the disposition of disciplinary charges brought against the officer.

Further, said the Appellate Division, the records, which contain factual details regarding misconduct allegations and punishments imposed on officers, could contain "material ripe for degrading, embarrassing, harassing or impeaching the integrity of [the] officer[s]," citing New York Civil Liberties Union v New York City Police Department, 2018 NY Slip Op 0842. The court pointed out that the records sought were exempt from disclosure pursuant to Civil Rights Law §50-a.

§50-a.1, which applies to the personnel records of police officers, firefighters and correction officers, provides as follows:

1. All personnel records used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion, under the control of any police agency or department of the state or any political subdivision thereof including authorities or agencies maintaining police forces of individuals defined as police officers in section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law and such personnel records under the control of a sheriff's department or a department of correction of individuals employed as correction officers and such personnel records under the control of a paid fire department or force of individuals employed as firefighters or firefighter/paramedics and such personnel records under the control of the department of corrections and community supervision for individuals defined as peace officers pursuant to subdivisions twenty-three and twenty-three-a of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law and such personnel records under the control of a probation department for individuals defined as peace officers pursuant to subdivision twenty-four of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law shall be considered confidential and not subject to inspection or review without the express written consent of such police officer, firefighter, firefighter/paramedic, correction officer or peace officer within the department of corrections and community supervision or probation department except as may be mandated by lawful court order.

However, it should noted that subdivision 4 of §50.1 of the Civil Rights Law provides that "The provisions of this section shall not apply to any district attorney or his assistants,** the attorney general or his deputies or assistants, a county attorney or his deputies or assistants, a corporation counsel or his deputies or assistants, a town attorney or his deputies or assistants, a village attorney or his deputies or assistants, a grand jury, or any agency of government which requires the records described in subdivision one, in the furtherance of their official functions."

* Article 6 of the New York State Public Officers Law.

**  §22 of the General Construction Law provides as follows: Gender. Whenever words of the masculine or feminine gender  appear in any law, rule or regulation, unless the sense of the sentence  indicates otherwise, they shall be deemed to refer to both male or  female persons.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2019/2019_00344.htm