Schools: Wage hike would affect thousands (New York state)

By Todd Clausen of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Excerpts:

"School taxes would go up significantly and force many districts to present budgets exceeding the so-called property tax cap if state lawmakers approve a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour, according to leaders of various Monroe County school districts.

Such a measure — pushed heavily by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as part of the state budget negotiations — would increase the minimum wage through several incremental steps upstate by July 2021, and much more quickly downstate.

"What (Cuomo) doesn't understand is the domino effect of this type of decision," said Kimberle Ward, superintendent at Gates Chili Central School District. "Quite frankly, we can't go there. We would not be able to afford that and it would be a terrible burden on our taxpayers.""

"The measure has been widely criticized because of fears of job cuts and price increases in the private sector. It has drawn opposition from farmers, business groups, nonprofits and Republicans in the state Senate vowing to block the increase in the state Legislature.

School districts are concerned about how increased labor costs might force them to cut programs, jobs or both. School leaders started studying the issue after the $15 an hour wage was approved last year for fast food workers of large chain restaurants.

Ward said without a corresponding state aid increase to cover higher labor costs — which has not been publicly proposed in the Legislature — school districts would be forced to make tough program cuts while presenting budgets to voters above the state-imposed property tax cap.

Budgets with spending increases above the cap, which is 0.12 percent for schools this upcoming fiscal year, must receive at least a 60 percent approval rate from voters. Homeowners in school districts and municipalities under the tax cap are eligible for tax rebate checks, with about 2 million New Yorkers having received checks ranging from $200 to $800 in recent months."

""We get that the impact wouldn't come all at once, but you are still talking about incremental increases for all those different units in order to account for the possibility for that," said Sherry Johnson, executive director of the Monroe County School Boards Association. "I think schools are pretty lean already and I think this is going to be an added issue. You've got to let us make the right decisions on the local level, and basically our hands are tied right now.""

"Key Findings

• Monroe County school districts fear a tough road ahead if the minimum wage is increased to $15 an hour for all workers in New York state.

• Bringing everyone up to $15 an hour would affect roughly 6,050 school workers at a cost of nearly $24.8 million, according to the Monroe County School Boards Association and information supplied by Monroe No. 1 BOCES.

• Greece Central School District said it would cost roughly $3.8 million to bring 800 workers to $15 an hour. An additional 310 workers making slightly more than $15 now may also see a pay hike.

• Almost 290 people would be affected at the Pittsford Central School District, where the cost increase has been estimated at $582,000.

• Clerical, custodial and food service workers, teacher aides, bus drivers and others would receive a bump in pay, according to school districts."