Highland Falls Central School District RTTT Funding Per Student
If the Highland Falls Central School District accepts its entire award for the Race To The Top education reforms, it will receive $13,443 over 4 years. After 2015, the Highland Falls Central School District will be expected to fund whatever the ongoing costs for implementing common core and other required initiatives outlined in the Obama Race To The Top reforms.
Although many consider the Race To The Top awards to be mainly for inner city minority districts, it appears the average per student award on a statewide basis is $143 when the data is broken down by race. One exception are Asians, who on average received $138 per student. According to the 2011 census, Highland Falls Central School District had 1019 students enrolled with the following racial makeup:
- American Indian : 0
- Asian : 37
- Hispanic: 232
- Black: 143
- White: 607
- Mixed: 0
Highland Falls Central School District and it’s award of $13,443 equals $13 per student over 4 years. As time goes by Highland Falls Central School District should begin to report new Common Core/Race To The Top expenses in their budget. As a a parent or taxpayer in this district, it would be wise to request this number. Especially given the fact that multiple news sources are reporting massive costs are around the corner.
In total, New York state was awarded $700 million for implementing performance-based standards for teachers and principals, complying with Common Core standards, lifting caps on charter schools, turning around the lowest-performing schools, and building data systems. That money is essentially gone.
Highland Falls Central School District Teacher Absenteeism Report. – 12.4%
Below is a breakdown of teacher absence costs for the Highland Falls Central School District. These numbers were reported to various Federal and State agencies in 2011-2012. To our knowledge, they have never been compiled in this manner. The individual district results can vary widely with some being very normal and others seeming to be completely out of normal. In some cases, public school teachers may be very sick. In other cases where up to 100% of the teachers are taking 10+ days off, there may be a serious systemic problem. Statewide concerns should be addressed directly to NY education officials and legislators. Those results are far beyond what normal should be as the Charter school totals suggest. As always we encourage parents and taxpayers to share this information.
District 2011-2012 details:
- Name: Highland Falls Central School District
- County: Orange
- Spending: $24,693,581.00
- Spending per student: $21,950
- Tax Levy (Local tax): $9,311,483.00
- % of local tax that covers overall spending: 37.71%
- Local tax applied per student: $8,276.87
- Mandatory school year: 180 days
Thoughts to consider.
The results below should be higher as they only include information on fulltime Highland Falls Central School District teacher absences. A more accurate and much larger number would also include absences of the administration and other employees plus other costs such as health/welfare insurance. Additionally, our breakdown is based on the reported number of “10 or more days” and does not include exact absences beyond 10 days or amounts for teachers taking less than 10 days. We ask that you treat these numbers as a starting point for a discussion with local district officials if you feel the Highland Falls Central School District results are abnormal.
| Item | Highland Falls CSD | Statewide | Charter Schools |
| Total Teachers | 89 | 205,497 | 5,019 |
| Student : Teacher Ratio | 13:1 | 13:1 | 13:1 |
| Avg. salary | $63,362.79 | $69,341 | $57,570 |
| Avg. pay per day | $352.02 | $385 | $319 |
| Teachers Absent 10+ days | 11 | 68,387 | 462.42 |
| % of teachers absent 10+ days | 12.4% | 33% | 9.2% |
| *Cost of absences | $61,174 | $421,739,779 | **$2,156,981 |
| *Absence costs as a percent of spending | 0.2% | .08% | N/A |
| *** Classes contracted for but substituted | 550 | 3,419,331 | 23,121 |
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Average private sector sick days taken: 4 days or less per year. USDOL 2013 |
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* Includes costs for 10 days of salary, substitutes (NYC rate of $165 per day) + 2011 pension rate of 11.11% .
** Excludes pensions as most charter schools use 401k’s or do not report.
*** Based on 5 classes per day
Data Sources: US Dept Of Labor, NY State Education Department. All data compiled and totaled in MS Excel using simple math commands. If the numbers above contain significant “No Data” results, that is because the district or NYS did not report the information at the time the datasets were compiled.
Absenteeism group on Facebook
Smart Schools Bond Act – What it means for Highland Falls Central School District
NY’s 2014-2015 budget includes the $2 billion Smart Schools Bond Act to be put before voters in the November 2014 election. Should it pass, Highland Falls Central School District will receive a proportional share of the $2 billion based on the proportion of total formula school aid the district receives.
To receive the funds, Highland Falls Central School District in the county of Orange is required to submit a detailed plan to a state review board. In developing plans, the school district is required to consult with appropriate stakeholders, including Highland Falls parents, teachers, students and Highland Falls community members.
Highland Falls Central School District Smart Schools Capital Projects can include:
- Acquiring learning technology equipment or facilities including interactive whiteboards; computer servers, desktop, laptop and tablet computers;
- Installing high-speed broadband or wireless Internet connectivity for schools and communities
- Constructing, enhancing and modernizing educational facilities to accommodate prekindergarten programs
- Providing instructional space to replace transportable classroom units
- Installing high-tech security features in school buildings and on school campuses, including installation of high-tech security features such as video surveillance, emergency notification systems and physical access controls
Highland Falls District numbers for parents and taxpayers to consider:
Highland Falls 2014 enrollment: 974 students
| Funding type | Formula Aid | Hardware/Software | Pre-k | Bond Allocation |
| State Total | $21,280,313,886 | $85,204,216 | $385,034,734 | $2 Billion |
| District Share | $8,657,695 | $29,259 | $0 | $848,982 |
| Per Student | $8,888.80 | $30.04 | $0.00 | $871.64 |
| Percentage | 0.038% | 0.034% | 0.000% | 0.042% |
Not enough money.
A significant problem with this bond is that a district might spend on getting broadband access and a few computers while another district may spend the money on building pre-k classroooms. There just isn’t enough money unless Highland Falls Central School District already has high speed access, pre-k and a somewhat robust technology department. Even then, the legacy costs of maintaining additional salaries, pensions, benefits and technology will belong to Highland Falls taxpayers. Similarly, Obama’s Race to the top program required all sorts of added services while providing pennies per student. As with this bond, it was big on “progressive” ideas and short on methods to pay for and maintain it. In the end it will likely result in higher local property taxes and state taxes (AKA- state aid).
3 technology spending examples:
Every district is required to have a technology plan. Most districts put these documents online for public review. Within this document you can get a general idea of the district equipment, class types, personnel and costs. Once you know what your local district has and roughly how much it costs, the proposed bond allocation may seem pointless or a jackpot. Keep in mind, mandatory pre-k costs for some districts will absorb a significant portion of the allocation.
| District | Oceanside | Scarsdale | Fredonia |
| Enrollment | 5,732 | 4,739 | 1,502 |
| 2013 spending* | $1.5 million/yr | $920,000 | $550,000 |
| Bond allocation | $1.9 million | $444,0000 | $1.1 million |
*Spending numbers taken from the district’s technology plan, which may or may not reflect actual dollar amounts spent. Dollar amounts have been rounded.
As you can tell, some districts will be shorted while others will see a onetime increase depending on their current formula aid from the state. In the end, everyone will pay for the borrowed money.
Find the Highland Falls Central School District technology plan with a pre-linked search at Bing.
Don’t vote without knowing your local plan.
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- 25 ton door at Cheyenne Mountain.
The $2 billion Smart Schools Bond is set to be voted on in November 2014. That being said, Highland Falls Central School District parents, taxpayers and community members should pay close attention to what the district is planning to do with this money. You may find the media pushing the idea that everyone is getting a laptop while your district has to buy a building for mandatory preschool services and decides it needs to install video surveillance. Then again, you may wind up with a front door that will stop a tank. Every district has different needs.
Click here to see how little Highland Falls received in Race To The Top funds.