2005 Priorities New York State School Board Association’s Advocacy Effort

1. Legislative Reform. Current legislative rules and practices are largely responsible for our state's failure to address many of the vital issues facing public education. For boards of education to successfully address the serious challenges faced in leading children to excellence, we must have a legislature that is responsive, accountable and productive.
   
   
2. State Budget Reform. For far too long, school districts have suffered the annual havoc of late state budgets. Budget reform can wait no longer.
   
   
3. School fiscal Accountability. Public confidence in the management of school finances is essential to continued support of public education. Sadly, public confidence has been shaken. Future community support rests on our ability to restore public trust by finding improved ways of protecting their funds.
   
   
4. Ensuring Educational Excellence. The quality of our schools is directly linked to strong educational leadership, effective teachers, curriculum aligned with standards and state assessments that accurately gauge student achievement.
   
   
5. Educational Efficiency. Local boards of education are better situated to determine where resources will be the most effective and better equipped to make decisions affecting schools in their districts. Un-funded state and federal mandates continually restrict school boards in governing efficiently.
   
   
6. State Education Aid Reform. It is long past time for reforming our state's educational funding system to provide adequate resources on a statewide basis. NYSSBA will advocate for a statewide funding system based on the principles of adequacy, equity, flexibility, predictability and clarity.