In 2004 four neighboring local school districts joined together to consider issues of mutual concern and come up with solutions. A dedicated advocacy group of board members and superintendents meet each month to discuss and respond to legislative issues like: 
- Fair and sufficient funding for all districts
- Relief from state and federal mandates
- More effective local school board function and control
- Relief from standardized tests
READ is currently working directly with the media, local legislators, and the county-wide WPSBA, to further the interests of education in our region. We have expanded to include two more local districts.
READ also works through the New York State School Board Association. Four READ resolutions were adopted at the 2005 and 2006 NYSSBA conventions [CLICK HERE for resolution texts].
The 'READ Files pages summarize our past activities. Join us, or contact your local school district liaison, and help advocate for your school's success.
READ has prepared a position paper on recent tax cap proposals. A summary follows, or CLICK HERE for full text.
READ Position on Property Tax Relief
The members of the READ have pushed to cut education costs, in particular from unfunded mandates, so we welcome some of the recommendations of The Commission on Property Tax Relief (the ‘Suozzi Report’). For instance, the Suozzi report called for much-needed Wickes Law reform, which our state-wide organization has been advocating for over ten years. However, the Suozzi report also called for measures which look to hurt education, and which READ opposes for the following reasons:
- The predicted cost savings don’t appear credible, seeing that the costs of some reforms are not accounted for in the committee’s analysis. Also, union give-backs of health and retirement benefits are assumed, despite strong union opposition to the plan.
- The experience with tax caps in California and Massachusetts looks far more negative than admitted in the Suozzi analysis.
- The Suozzi report suggests no way to reduce unfunded mandates on local schools, and in fact comes up with yet another new, unfunded mandate to report collective bargaining outcomes.
- The Commission suggests eliminating local school budget votes on the unspoken and highly-suspect assumption the state government is a better guardian of the tax dollar than local school boards and local voters. This move appears intended to take decision-making out of the hands of local communities.
In the face of the current crises in the state budget, this is not the time for a plan the New York Times characterizes as “an election-year gimmick that will do far more damage than good”. READ districts believe all programs have to be adequately thought through so they won’t affect some districts more than others, and that savings should be based on
- Real, not imaginary, cost cuts by negotiation with the unions and reductions in unfunded mandates, particularly in the area of standardized tests and adversarial special-ed requirements.
- Assessment and redistricting reforms that can be implemented quickly and in a cost-effective manner.
- Acknowledgement that the solution is more democracy, not less, and that community control of local school votes is a proven check on spending.
