Skartados’ Bill Helps Newburgh School District

NEWBURGH – Assemblyman Frank Skartados (D-Milton) announced that his legislation to make the Newburgh Enlarged City School District eligible for a 10-year payment plan for a late-filing penalty has passed the Assembly (A.8062-A). A payment plan was made available in the recent budget to many school districts, but Newburgh was ineligible because of a technicality in the budget language.

“Newburgh, like many school districts in our state, has faced some tough challenges and as a result, has been struggling to cover costs,” said Skartados. “Forcing the district to pay what they owe up front means they would have to cut valuable resources, programs and staff. This bill doesn’t take the school district off the hook; it simply gives the district more time to pay and ensures our kids aren’t punished for something they had no control over.”

The Newburgh Enlarged City School District owes the state $12.7 million in penalties for late cost report filings. The 2017-18 state budget allows school districts facing such penalties an optional 10-year period to pay the penalty. However, due to the specific language in the budget, Newburgh was inadvertently excluded from the longer payment period. The bill rectifies that by changing the eligibility criteria for the plan. By allowing the school district to pay the penalty over a 10-year span, the measure prevents cuts to invaluable school programs and staff. Children should not have to pay the price and sacrifice a quality education due to a mere oversight, Skartados noted.

“Our region has faced some difficult challenges, from the shutdown of the Danskammer Plant after Superstorm Sandy to Newburgh Mall’s tax hurdles,” said Skartados. “I’ll always fight to get our community the resources they need to protect our schools and to keep the burden off taxpayers.”