S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    325
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT providing for accelerated payments to the city school district of
   the city of Mount Vernon

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  In order to avoid endangering the fiscal stability of the
 Mount Vernon city school district, certain apportionments payable to the
 city school district of the city of Mount Vernon shall  be  paid  on  an
 accelerated schedule as follows:
   a. (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for aid payable in
 the  school  years  2025-2026  through 2052-2053 upon application to the
 commissioner of education submitted not sooner than the second Monday in
 June of the school year in which such aid is payable and not later  than
 the  Friday  following  the  third  Monday in June 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 Mount Vernon 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 2025-2026 school year divided by thirty.
   (2) Funds apportioned pursuant to this subdivision shall be  used  for
 services  and  expenses of the city school district of the city of Mount
 Vernon 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 Mount Vernon  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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00790-01-5
 S. 325                              2
 
 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 June
 thirtieth  of  such  school year upon the audit and warrant of the state
 comptroller on vouchers certified or approved  by  the  commissioner  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 Mount  Vernon
 city  school  district pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision a of
 this section exceeds the amount of the lottery  apportionment,  if  any,
 due  such  school  district pursuant to subparagraph 2 of paragraph a of
 subdivision 1 of 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 Mount Vernon 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
 such  paragraph  followed by the fixed fall payments payable pursuant to
 subparagraph 4 of such paragraph, and any remainder to be deducted  from
 the  individualized payments due to the district pursuant to paragraph b
 of such subdivision shall be deducted on a chronological basis  starting
 with the earliest payment due the district.
   d.  Notwithstanding  any  other provisions of law, the sum of payments
 made to the Mount Vernon 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 such
 section 3609-a for the purposes of computing  any  adjustments  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 2026
 and ending in June 2053, the chief fiscal officer and the superintendent
 of  schools  of  the Mount Vernon city school district shall prepare and
 submit to the board of education of the city school district 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 2025-2026 through 2052-2053 school years, the chief fiscal
 officer of the Mount Vernon city school district shall monitor all budg-
 ets 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
 S. 325                              3
 
 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
 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
 Mount Vernon 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.