A 7867: Provides for accelerated payments to the city school district of the city of Mount Vernon.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7867 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY 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: 1 Section 1. The Mount Vernon city school district shall be paid on an 2 accelerated schedule as follows: 3 a. (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for aid payable in 4 the school years 2025-2026 through 2054-2055 upon application to the 5 commissioner of education submitted not sooner than the second Monday in 6 June of the school year in which such aid is payable and not later than 7 the Friday following the third Monday in June of the school year in 8 which such aid is payable, or ten days after the effective date of this 9 act, whichever shall be later, provided, however that for the 2025-2026 10 school year such application shall be no later than May 11, 2025, the 11 Mount Vernon city school district shall be eligible to receive an appor- 12 tionment pursuant to this act in an amount equal to the product of up to 13 eight million dollars ($8,000,000) and the quotient of the positive 14 difference of thirty minus the number of school years elapsed since the 15 2025-2026 school year divided by thirty, provided, however, that for the 16 2025-2026 school year such apportionment shall be paid to the Mount 17 Vernon city school district no later than May 20, 2025. 18 (2) Funds apportioned pursuant to this subdivision shall be used for 19 services and expenses of the Mount Vernon city school district and shall 20 be applied to support of its educational programs and any liability 21 incurred by such city school district in carrying out its functions and 22 responsibilities under the education law. 23 b. The claim for an apportionment to be paid to the Mount Vernon city 24 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 
 A. 7867 2 1 submitted to the commissioner of education on a form prescribed for such 2 purpose, and shall be payable upon determination by such commissioner 3 that the form has been submitted as prescribed and that the school 4 district has complied with the reporting requirements of this act. For 5 each school year in which application is made pursuant to subdivision a 6 of this section, such approved amount shall be payable on or before June 7 thirtieth of such school year upon the audit and warrant of the state 8 comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of 9 education in the manner prescribed by law from moneys in the state 10 lottery fund appropriated for general support of public schools and from 11 the general fund to the extent that the amount paid to the Mount Vernon 12 city school district pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision a of 13 this section exceeds the amount of the moneys apportioned, if any, for 14 general support for public schools due such school district pursuant to 15 section 3609-a of the education law on or before September first of such 16 school year. 17 c. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3609-a of the education 18 law, an amount equal to the amount paid to the Mount Vernon city school 19 district during the base year pursuant to subdivisions a and b of this 20 section shall first be deducted from payments due during the current 21 school year pursuant to subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of paragraph a of 22 subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the education law in the following 23 order: the lottery apportionment payable pursuant to subparagraph 2 of 24 such paragraph followed by the fixed fall payments payable pursuant to 25 subparagraph 4 of such paragraph, and any remainder to be deducted from 26 the individualized payments due to the district pursuant to paragraph b 27 of such subdivision shall be deducted on a chronological basis starting 28 with the earliest payment due the district. 29 d. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the sum of payments 30 made to the Mount Vernon city school district during the base year 31 pursuant to subdivisions a and b of this section plus payments made to 32 such school district during the current year pursuant to section 3609-a 33 of the education law shall be deemed to truly represent all aids paid to 34 such school district during the current school year pursuant to such 35 section 3609-a for the purposes of computing any adjustments to such 36 aids that may occur in a subsequent school year. 37 e. (1) On or before the first day of each month beginning in July 2026 38 and ending in June 2055, the chief fiscal officer and the superintendent 39 of schools of the Mount Vernon city school district shall prepare and 40 submit to the board of education of the city school district a report of 41 the fiscal condition of the school district, including but not limited 42 to the most current available data on fund balances on funds maintained 43 by the school district and the district's use of the apportionments 44 provided pursuant to subdivisions a and b of this section. 45 (2) Such monthly report shall be in a format prescribed by the commis- 46 sioner of education. The board of education shall either reject and 47 return the report to the chief fiscal officer and the superintendent of 48 schools for appropriate revisions and resubmittal or shall approve the 49 report and submit copies to the commissioner of education and the state 50 comptroller of such approved report as submitted or resubmitted. 51 (3) In the 2025-2026 through 2054-2055 school years, the chief fiscal 52 officer of the Mount Vernon city school district shall monitor all budg- 53 ets and for each budget, shall prepare a quarterly report of summarized 54 budget data depicting overall trends of actual revenues and budget 55 expenditures for the entire budget as well as individual line items. 56 Such report shall compare revenue estimates and appropriations as set 
 A. 7867 3 1 forth in such budget with the actual revenues and expenditures made to 2 date. All quarterly reports shall be accompanied by a recommendation 3 from the superintendent of schools or chief fiscal officer to the board 4 of education setting forth any remedial actions necessary to resolve any 5 unfavorable budget variance including the overestimation of revenue and 6 underestimation of appropriations. The chief fiscal officer shall also 7 prepare, as part of such report, a quarterly trial balance of general 8 ledger accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting princi- 9 ples as prescribed by the state comptroller. All reports shall be 10 completed within sixty days after the end of each quarter and shall be 11 submitted to the chief fiscal officer and the board of education of the 12 Mount Vernon city school district, the state division of budget, the 13 office of the state comptroller, the commissioner of education, the 14 chair of the assembly ways and means committee and the chair of the 15 senate finance committee. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire June 30, 17 2055 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed 18 repealed.