Introduction
Education plays important in any given society because it is one of the most effective tools that can be used to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. It is the main equalizer in the society. At the same time, education ensures that people have relevant knowledge and skills that are needed to enhance socio-economic growth and development while at the same time addressing societal problems. As a result, national, state, and local governments have the responsibility of ensuring that all people access quality education. New York (NY) is one of the states that have been striving to ensure that its citizens access quality education. It has been collaborating with the local and national governments to improve the quality of education, especially through funding and providing necessary resources to schools. Besides, the NY has been using its Education Department to provide adequate supervision of education system and process. The main purpose of this paper, therefore, is to discuss the relationship between local and state government of NY on the supervision and funding of public education, specifically K-12 from the Dutch settlement to the modern times. 1
Overview of Public Education (K-12) in New York
Currently, it is estimated that the NY has 3.1 million K-12 students and the number include 2.7 million who have enrolled in the public district schools. 2 NY State has about 694 public school district of which 674 are major public district school, and 12 are special district schools. Also, there are six district schools that have less than eight teachers and two that are non-operating. Therefore, the state has numerous public schools that accommodate millions of students. At the same time, the education system in NY serves diverse students who speak different languages and belong to various cultures and religious organizations. Even though the diversity of students in NY is associated with many benefits, it has also led to some challenges limited English proficiency, intellectual and physical disability, and issues of poverty. Students grappling with such issues and challenges require special interventions to enhance education equality. Also, the enrollment of K-12 education is not equal, as the big five city schools accommodate about 43% of total students in the state. Many public schools in NY are concentrated within and around urban settlements.
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The relationship between Local and State Government in NY on Education Funding and Supervision
NY has a long history of education supervision and funding that can be traced back during the Dutch settlement to the present time. The education funding and supervision have shaped the relationship between local and state governments in the state. However, the relationship has significantly changed from the time of Dutch settlement to the present time. It can be argued that the relationship was better during the earlier days than the present time.
New York did not have defined education system during the colonial era, as learning institutions were privately owned by individuals. However, formal school systems started emerging when communities were settled, and they could assume some level of permanence. 3 The change in settlement led to the development of church-owned and town-owned schools, and it was mainly the responsibility of the communities to supervise and fund the operations of schools that were established at that time. For instance, schools in Dutch settlers dominated areas appointed schoolmasters in 1600s whose main responsibility was to supervise the operations of church-based schools. 4 Church members and the community at large played a significant role in funding and supervising education in New York during the mid-1600s.
A new system of education emerged by the time New York was increasingly becoming cosmopolitan. Specifically, Anglican, Dutch, and Jews came up with charity schools that were charging low tuition feed and offered elementary subjects emerged in the 1700s. These schools were largely funded by their respective churches, even though the communities could sometimes contribute some resources towards their operations. As a result, many schools during the colonial era in NY hard religious sponsorship and were owned by the community.
Therefore, the relationship between local and state government in NY regarding schools supervision and funding during the 1600s was positive and highly beneficial. This was because local government through communities and religious organizations actively played a role and contributed towards the funding and supervision of schools, especially elementary schools. People at that take considered in a public desire and responsibility to provide quality education to all people in the society. The local governments were working closely with the state government to fund and supervise schools and to ensure that they succeeded in achieving their set goals and objectives. 5
The desire to expand and improve the K-12 education system in NY continued in the 1700s and 1800s, especially after the development of state common school system. In 1975, the NY Legislature created a system of state aid that was aimed at encouraging the development and support of elementary public schools in the state. Consequently, the state set aside $50,000 annually that was used to fund common public schools. The fund was to be divided among different towns, and local governments were responsible for managing the money allocated to them. At the same time, every local government was to receive state subsidy based on the number of students they had. As a result, more than 1,300 and a total of 60,000 were able to benefit from state aid funds and subsidy that were supervised and implemented by local governments. 6
The state aid fund and subsidy improved the relationship between local and state government mainly because the former was given the responsibility and the authority to manage and ensure effective implementation of such programs. The local governments felt that they were being recognized by the state government, especially regarding playing an active role in the education system. The positive relationship made the local and state government work together in supervising and ensuring effective use of the money that was allocated to schools by the state. The good working relationship between the two levels of government led to the creation of Common School Fund in 1805, which made money available to many K-12 schools in NY. 7 Close collaboration between the state and local governments significantly reduced the disparity in the K-12 public schools in the state. The disparity in the distribution of funds was reduced by the policy designed to ensure that fund was distributed to schools based on the number of students. Equality in the distribution of funds also improved the relationship between state and local government.
However, the issues of educational equality started emerging in 1900 as the population of learners was growing, and more K-12 schools were being developed. As a result, the demand for state educational funds increased with significant margins. At the same time, it increasingly became challenging to adequately supervise schools due to lack of enough educational personnel and resources. 8 Education equality became difficult to achieve in the 19 th century. The disparity in state funding started emerging, especially among students in urban areas and those in poor rural areas. For instance, in 1920, had about 10,000 public K-12 schools and more than 8,000 schools in the state had only one room. 9 At the same time, there was one segment of the society that was left out or discriminated in the education system in the 19 th century, and the segment was black people. A significant number of cities in the state made a policy that required black people to attend their schools that were separate from those of whites. The state also ratified the development of colored schools that only accepted black teachers. There was also a clear disparity in funding between schools dominated by blacks and schools meant for white people. The disparity in the funding and supervision of K-12 schools that started in the 19 th century is still being felt today, and it has, to some extent, ruined the relationship between local and state government.
According to the report that was released by the Education Trust in 2015, New York is ranked number two regarding educational inequality in the whole US. The same report revealed that the funding gap between 100 wealthiest and 100 poorest district schools in the state is about $9,796 per student. Some people argue that the educational inequality in New York can be traced back in 1982 when the court ruled in the case that was involving Board of Education, Levittown Union Free School, and Nyquist that the real disparity in education funding did not amount to the violation of either state or federal constitution. At the same time, the NY State Constitutional Education Amendment that was written more than 122 years ago does not guarantee equitable per student.
The huge disparity and inequality in education funding in NY has ruined the relationship between local and state governments, as the affected districts complain a lot. The disparity in education funding in NW is more severe in Western part than any other area in the state. 10 A good example is Buffalo where charter schools get about 40% less than their traditional counterparts. At the same time, students in public schools in Western NY receive about $5,232 less than their counterparts in traditional schools. The disparity in education funding in NY is equal to $5.3 million per student every year. 11 Therefore, the inequality in education funding has led to a controversial relationship between states and local governments.
Besides, some people associate the disparity in education funding with property tax caps. Some of the underfunded schools in NY are still being forced to pay facility costs such as rent and utilities. The main argument is that property tax caps reduce the ability of schools make up for the reductions and a wide disparity in funding. As a result, it pushed many poor schools to financial crisis and insolvency. The 2% property tax cap in NW is still high and drives many schools to financial challenges. 12
Also, the nature of supervision of K-12 education has led to a conflicting debate between state and local governments. According to some scholars, the high stake K-12 testing and supervision has been wrong for decades and needs to be changed. Critiques of the nature and procedures of supervisions in NY argue that it mainly they mainly focus on teachers while at the same time they are used by politicians to achieve their interest. There is also a disparity in supervision that is ruining the relationship between state and local governments, particularly due to lack of effective coordination.
The No Child Is Left Behind is affecting the relationship between state and local governments, especially concerning testing and supervising schools. Some districts such as Somers, Cheshire, and Marlborough have rejected some of the No Child Is Left Behind programs. 13 For instance, they rejected the $133,000 that was set aside by the state, arguing that the money is not worth the trouble and elaborate plans to implement the programs. The local governments that have not meet the requirements under the Act are also constantly in conflict with the state government. Therefore, apart from property tax cap, No Child is Left Behind is also influencing the relationship between state and local governments in NY.
Conclusion
The quality of education can only be improved if all key stakeholders work together. NY is one of the states with the highest number of K-12 students, and there is a need for both state and local government to collaborate to enhance the quality of education. Traditionally, there was a good relationship between local and state government in NY regarding funding and supervision of public K-12 education. However, this has changed, especially due to the emergence of funding equality in the state.
Bibliography
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1 NY Education Reform Commission. “Putting Students First: Final Action Plan.” 2013. http://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/archive/assets/documents/NewNYEducationReformCommissionFinalActionPlan.pdf
2 NY Education Reform Commission. “Putting Students First: Final Action Plan.” 2013. http://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/archive/assets/documents/NewNYEducationReformCommissionFinalActionPlan.pdf
3 Wolf, Patrick J., Larry D. Maloney, Jay F. May, and Corey A. DeAngelis. "Charter School Funding: Inequity in the City." School Choice Demonstration Project (2017).
4 Hackman, Larry. “ Researching the History of Your School: Suggestions for Students and Teachers.” 2000. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/common/archives/files/ed_researching_school.pdf
5 Hackman, Larry. “ Researching the History of Your School: Suggestions for Students and Teachers.” 2000. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/common/archives/files/ed_researching_school.pdf
6 Wolf, Patrick J., Larry D. Maloney, Jay F. May, and Corey A. DeAngelis. "Charter School Funding: Inequity in the City." School Choice Demonstration Project (2017).
7 Hackman, Larry. “ Researching the History of Your School: Suggestions for Students and Teachers.” 2000. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/common/archives/files/ed_researching_school.pdf
8 The Editorial Board. “ The Central Crisis in New York Education.” The New York Times, January 4, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/opinion/the-central-crisis-in-new-york-education.html
9 Hackman, Larry. “ Researching the History of Your School: Suggestions for Students and Teachers.” 2000. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/common/archives/files/ed_researching_school.pdf
10 Spector, Joseph. “ School spending disparity in NY is growing.” December 7, 2017. https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/new-york/2016/12/07/ny-spends-22593- per-pupil-but-there's-wide-disparity/95103958/
11 Noltemeyer, Amity L., Julie Mujic, and Caven S. Mcloughlin. "The history of inequity in education." Disproportionality in education: A guide to creating more equitable learning environments (2012): 3-22.
12 Roby, John. “What to know about New York's school tax cap.” May 11, 2016. https://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2016/05/11/new-york-tax-cap/84194230/
13 Gordon, Jane. Towns Are Rejecting No Child Left Behind. The New York Times , December 21 st , 2003. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/21/nyregion/towns-are-rejecting-no-child-left-behind.html
