Message Regarding State Comptroller's Report
The Long Beach Public Schools Board of Education and administration
would like to inform the community about an issue that may appear in the
media in the next few days regarding the district financial status in
2015.
In 2013, the State Comptroller’s office implemented a statewide fiscal
stress monitoring system to identify local governments and school
districts experiencing fiscal stress. We have been informed by the State
Comptroller’s office that based upon the formula used to calculate a
fiscal stress score, the Long Beach Public Schools has been listed as a
school district “susceptible to fiscal stress.” Please be assured that
this is only one aspect of the district’s overall financial picture.
The Comptroller’s designation is based upon a complicated formula that
does not account for the unique circumstance that Long Beach Public
School District is in financially due to SuperStorm Sandy. Because
FEMA’s reimbursement process provides payment based on actual
expenditures, Long Beach Schools borrowed approximately $35 million in
the year immediately following the storm through a revenue anticipation
note to pay for the costs associated with repairs due to SuperStorm
Sandy so that our educational program could continue through
reconstruction with minimal disruption. In the second year following the
storm, we reduced the borrowing to $28 million and in the third year,
it was reduced to $14.5 million. The district has been aggressively
working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and our
legislators to ensure that the district is fully reimbursed for all
emergency expenditures related to SuperStorm Sandy. In addition, the
District administration is working directly with the Governors’ Storm
Recovery team to expedite reimbursement. The anticipated disaster
recovery funding through FEMA and New York State is not accounted for in
the Comptroller’s analysis.
The Comptroller’s formula identifies short-term borrowing as a financial
stressor. If the short-term borrowing for the storm recovery was not an
element in the Comptroller’s fiscal health matrix, Long Beach would a
rating of “no designation” as pertaining to fiscal stress.
Again, please be assured that this designation is not an accurate representation of the district’s financial status.