Assembly Bill A7867

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7867
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Education
 
 AN ACT providing for accelerated payments to the city school district of
   the city of Mount  Vernon;  and  providing  for  the  repeal  of  such
   provisions upon expiration thereof

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The Mount Vernon city school district 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 2054-2055 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, provided, however that for the 2025-2026
 school year such application shall be no later than May  11,  2025,  the
 Mount Vernon city school district shall be eligible to receive an appor-
 tionment pursuant to this act in an amount equal to the product of up to
 eight  million  dollars  ($8,000,000)  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, provided, however, that for the
 2025-2026   school   year  such apportionment shall be paid to the Mount
 Vernon city school district no later than May 20, 2025.
   (2) Funds apportioned pursuant to this subdivision shall be  used  for
 services and expenses of the Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon city
 school district pursuant to subdivision  a  of  this  section  shall  be
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00790-04-5
              

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 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 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 moneys apportioned, if  any,  for
 general  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 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 2055, 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 2054-2055 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
 A. 7867                             3
 
 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
 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 and shall expire June  30,
 2055  when  upon  such  date  the provisions of this act shall be deemed
 repealed.