Garden City Public Schools’ 'Question of the Week'

In alignment with the Board of Education’s goal to enhance communication with the community, Garden City Public Schools continues its “Question of the Week” feature to provide information and address concerns of village residents. The initial questions will be devoted to examining aspects of the new tax levy cap that have been posed to the board and administration over the past several weeks.

A complete listing of questions and answers to date is posted on the district’s website: www.gardencity.k12.ny.us.

Below is this week’s question and answer:
          
Question of the Week: What are tax certiorari settlements and how will these impact Garden City Public Schools?
 
Tax certiorari is a legal proceeding whereby a taxpayer challenges his/her property tax assessment in court on the grounds of excessiveness, inequality, illegality or misclassification by the County’s Department of Assessment.

Since the approval of the “County Charter” (Laws, 1936, Ch. 879) on June 5, 1936, refunds of successful tax certiorari challenges were paid by Nassau County to the taxpayer. With the passage of a new amendment to the county charter in 2011, school districts will become responsible for tax certiorari settlements beginning in the 2013-14 school year.   

In essence, the Nassau County Legislature and the County Executive passed legislation voiding its “County Guaranty,” making it no longer accountable or financially responsible for its own property assessments.

The new legislation shifts the burden of tax certiorari settlements, placing it squarely on school districts and the local taxpayer. Tax certiorari or “tax cert” settlements will require all Nassau County school districts to refund monies (estimated to be an average of $52 million annually), even though school districts have no role in the assessment process. To fund this new expenditure, the school district will be required to budget for tax cert settlements.

At an estimated annual liability in excess of $900,000 for Garden City Public Schools, this new cost presents a double whammy for the school district as tax cert settlements are NOT excluded from the new 2 percent tax levy cap going into effect on July 1, 2012.

The estimated tax cert figure reduces the available revenues to Garden City Public Schools and, because tax certs are not excluded from the tax levy cap, will pose yet a further challenge to the maintenance of Garden City’s outstanding educational program.