S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9823
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 2, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT in relation to apportioning funds  to  the  Yonkers  city  school
   district for services and expenses
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The Yonkers city school district shall be paid on an accel-
 erated schedule as follows:
   (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for  aid  payable
 in  the school years 2024-2025 through 2053-2054 upon application to the
 commissioner of education submitted not sooner than the second Monday in
 May of the school year in which such aid is payable and not  later  than
 the Friday following the third Monday in May of the school year in which
 such  aid  is payable, or ten days after the effective date of this act,
 whichever shall be later, the Yonkers  city  school  district  shall  be
 eligible  to  receive an apportionment pursuant to this act in an amount
 equal to the product  of  five  million  dollars  ($5,000,000)  and  the
 quotient of the positive difference of thirty minus the number of school
 years elapsed since the 2024-2025 school year divided by thirty.
   (2)  Funds  apportioned pursuant to this subdivision shall be used for
 services and expenses of the Yonkers city school district and  shall  be
 applied  to  support  of  its  educational  programs  and  any liability
 incurred by such city school district in carrying out its functions  and
 responsibilities under the education law.
   (b)  The  claim  for  an  apportionment to be paid to the Yonkers city
 school district pursuant to subdivision (a) of  this  section  shall  be
 submitted to the commissioner of education on a form prescribed for such
 purpose  and  shall  be  payable upon determination by such commissioner
 that the form has been submitted  as  prescribed  and  that  the  school
 district  has  complied with the reporting requirements of this act. For
 each school year in which application is made  pursuant  to  subdivision
 (a)  of this section, such approved amount shall be payable on or before
 May thirty-first of such school year upon the audit and warrant  of  the
 state  comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15807-01-4
 S. 9823                             2
 
 of education in the manner prescribed by law from moneys  in  the  state
 lottery fund appropriated for general support of public schools and from
 the  general fund to the extent that the amount paid to the Yonkers city
 school district pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision (a) of this
 section exceeds the amount of the moneys apportioned, if any, for gener-
 al  support  for  public  schools  due  such school district pursuant to
 section 3609-a of the education law on or before September first of such
 school year.
   (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3609-a of the  education
 law,  an  amount  equal  to  the  amount paid to the Yonkers city school
 district during the base year pursuant to subdivisions (a)  and  (b)  of
 this  section  shall  first  be  deducted  from  payments due during the
 current school year pursuant to subparagraphs (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5)
 of paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the  education  law
 in  the  following  order: the lottery apportionment payable pursuant to
 subparagraph (2) of paragraph a of subdivision 1 of  section  3609-a  of
 the  education  law followed by the fixed fall payments payable pursuant
 to subparagraph (4) of paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of
 the education law, and any remainder to be deducted from the individual-
 ized payments due to the district pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision
 1 of section 3609-a of the education law shall be deducted on a  chrono-
 logical basis starting with the earliest payment due the district.
   (d)  Notwithstanding  any other provisions of law, the sum of payments
 made to the Yonkers city school district during the base  year  pursuant
 to  subdivisions  (a) and (b) of this section plus payments made to such
 school district during the current year pursuant to  section  3609-a  of
 the  education  law  shall be deemed to truly represent all aids paid to
 such school district during the current school year pursuant to  section
 3609-a  of  the  education law for the purposes of computing any adjust-
 ments to such aids that may occur in a subsequent school year.
   (e) (1) On or before the first day of each  month  beginning  in  July
 2025  and  ending  in June 2055, the chief fiscal officer and the super-
 intendent of schools of the Yonkers city school district  shall  prepare
 and submit to the board of education a report of the fiscal condition of
 the  school  district,  including  but  not  limited to the most current
 available data on fund  balances  on  funds  maintained  by  the  school
 district  and the district's use of the apportionments provided pursuant
 to subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section.
   (2) Such monthly report shall be in a format prescribed by the commis-
 sioner of education. The board of  education  shall  either  reject  and
 return  the report to the chief fiscal officer and the superintendent of
 schools for appropriate revisions and resubmittal or shall  approve  the
 report  and submit copies to the commissioner of education and the state
 comptroller of such approved report as submitted or resubmitted.
   (3) In the 2024-2025 through 2053-2054 school years, the chief  fiscal
 officer  of  the  Yonkers city school district shall monitor all budgets
 and for each budget, shall prepare  a  quarterly  report  of  summarized
 budget  data  depicting  overall  trends  of  actual revenues and budget
 expenditures for the entire budget as well  as  individual  line  items.
 Such  report  shall  compare revenue estimates and appropriations as set
 forth in such budget with the actual revenues and expenditures  made  to
 date.  All  quarterly  reports  shall be accompanied by a recommendation
 from the superintendent of schools or chief fiscal officer to the  board
 of education setting forth any remedial actions necessary to resolve any
 unfavorable  budget variance including the overestimation of revenue and
 underestimation of appropriations. The chief fiscal officer  shall  also
 S. 9823                             3
 
 prepare,  as  part  of such report, a quarterly trial balance of general
 ledger accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting princi-
 ples as prescribed by  the  state  comptroller.  All  reports  shall  be
 completed  within  sixty days after the end of each quarter and shall be
 submitted to the chief fiscal officer and the board of education of  the
 Yonkers  city  school district, the state division of budget, the office
 of the state comptroller, the commissioner of education,  the  chair  of
 the  assembly  ways  and  means  committee  and  the chair of the senate
 finance committee.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.