McCall said he supported the Regents attempts to raise educational standards, but he noted that the large gap between current results and the new standards had to be addressed through increased accountability and more equitable funding. We ve got to help the under funded districts, but that s not the whole answer. There has to be accountability. Every school district should receive equitable funding, and every school should be held responsible for results. School districts strongly prefer unrestricted funding because it gives them flexibility to address local needs.
Economists point to the greater efficiency of unrestricted aid.
Schools are in a better position to know what their needs are, and if aid is earmarked for particular purposes, schools may end up spending more without necessarily improving results. Despite these efficiency issues, enacted State budgets have continued to focus on a categorical, reimbursement-based approach. Even the unrestricted aid formulas have components driven by local expenditures, and these spending-driven portions increased two to eight times more rapidly than basic operating aid. A simplified, permanent and predictable funding formula would let school boards and administrators concentrate on running their schools instead of dealing with a system that encourages inefficiency and buries them with administrative nightmares and makes long-term planning virtually impossible. New York s economic future depends on a strong educational system, and the current school aid formula is putting that future in jeopardy.