STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 325 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (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: 1 Section 1. In order to avoid endangering the fiscal stability of the 2 Mount Vernon city school district, certain apportionments payable to the 3 city school district of the city of Mount Vernon shall be paid on an 4 accelerated schedule as follows: 5 a. (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for aid payable in 6 the school years 2025-2026 through 2052-2053 upon application to the 7 commissioner of education submitted not sooner than the second Monday in 8 June of the school year in which such aid is payable and not later than 9 the Friday following the third Monday in June of the school year in 10 which such aid is payable, or ten days after the effective date of this 11 act, whichever shall be later, the Mount Vernon city school district 12 shall be eligible to receive an apportionment pursuant to this act in an 13 amount equal to the product of five million dollars ($5,000,000) and the 14 quotient of the positive difference of thirty minus the number of school 15 years elapsed since the 2025-2026 school year divided by thirty. 16 (2) Funds apportioned pursuant to this subdivision shall be used for 17 services and expenses of the city school district of the city of Mount 18 Vernon and shall be applied to support of its educational programs and 19 any liability incurred by such city school district in carrying out its 20 functions and responsibilities under the education law. 21 b. The claim for an apportionment to be paid to the Mount Vernon city 22 school district pursuant to subdivision a of this section shall be 23 submitted to the commissioner of education on a form prescribed for such 24 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. LBD00790-01-5S. 325 2 1 that the form has been submitted as prescribed and that the school 2 district has complied with the reporting requirements of this act. For 3 each school year in which application is made pursuant to subdivision a 4 of this section, such approved amount shall be payable on or before June 5 thirtieth of such school year upon the audit and warrant of the state 6 comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of 7 education in the manner prescribed by law from moneys in the state 8 lottery fund appropriated for general support of public schools and from 9 the general fund to the extent that the amount paid to the Mount Vernon 10 city school district pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision a of 11 this section exceeds the amount of the lottery apportionment, if any, 12 due such school district pursuant to subparagraph 2 of paragraph a of 13 subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the education law on or before 14 September first of such school year. 15 c. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3609-a of the education 16 law, an amount equal to the amount paid to the Mount Vernon city school 17 district during the base year pursuant to subdivisions a and b of this 18 section shall first be deducted from payments due during the current 19 school year pursuant to subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of paragraph a of 20 subdivision 1 of section 3609-a of the education law in the following 21 order: the lottery apportionment payable pursuant to subparagraph 2 of 22 such paragraph followed by the fixed fall payments payable pursuant to 23 subparagraph 4 of such paragraph, and any remainder to be deducted from 24 the individualized payments due to the district pursuant to paragraph b 25 of such subdivision shall be deducted on a chronological basis starting 26 with the earliest payment due the district. 27 d. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the sum of payments 28 made to the Mount Vernon city school district during the base year 29 pursuant to subdivisions a and b of this section plus payments made to 30 such school district during the current year pursuant to section 3609-a 31 of the education law shall be deemed to truly represent all aids paid to 32 such school district during the current school year pursuant to such 33 section 3609-a for the purposes of computing any adjustments to such 34 aids that may occur in a subsequent school year. 35 e. (1) On or before the first day of each month beginning in July 2026 36 and ending in June 2053, the chief fiscal officer and the superintendent 37 of schools of the Mount Vernon city school district shall prepare and 38 submit to the board of education of the city school district a report of 39 the fiscal condition of the school district, including but not limited 40 to the most current available data on fund balances on funds maintained 41 by the school district and the district's use of the apportionments 42 provided pursuant to subdivisions a and b of this section. 43 (2) Such monthly report shall be in a format prescribed by the commis- 44 sioner of education. The board of education shall either reject and 45 return the report to the chief fiscal officer and the superintendent of 46 schools for appropriate revisions and resubmittal or shall approve the 47 report and submit copies to the commissioner of education and the state 48 comptroller of such approved report as submitted or resubmitted. 49 (3) In the 2025-2026 through 2052-2053 school years, the chief fiscal 50 officer of the Mount Vernon city school district shall monitor all budg- 51 ets and for each budget, shall prepare a quarterly report of summarized 52 budget data depicting overall trends of actual revenues and budget 53 expenditures for the entire budget as well as individual line items. 54 Such report shall compare revenue estimates and appropriations as set 55 forth in such budget with the actual revenues and expenditures made to 56 date. All quarterly reports shall be accompanied by a recommendationS. 325 3 1 from the superintendent of schools or chief fiscal officer to the board 2 of education setting forth any remedial actions necessary to resolve any 3 unfavorable budget variance including the overestimation of revenue and 4 underestimation of appropriations. The chief fiscal officer shall also 5 prepare, as part of such report, a quarterly trial balance of general 6 ledger accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting princi- 7 ples as prescribed by the state comptroller. All reports shall be 8 completed within sixty days after the end of each quarter and shall be 9 submitted to the chief fiscal officer and the board of education of the 10 Mount Vernon city school district, the state division of budget, the 11 office of the state comptroller, the commissioner of education, the 12 chair of the assembly ways and means committee and the chair of the 13 senate finance committee. 14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.