MONTICELLO, NY — New York State lawmakers Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and Senator Jen Metzger have been calling for the governor to pass legislation that would allow the Roscoe Central School District and the Monticello Central School District and a couple of others to stop paying back debt owed to the New York State Education Department (SED). The debt was incurred years ago and was essentially triggered by minor bookkeeping errors.

Gunther announced on November 8 that Cuomo has signed the legislation regarding Roscoe. The district was compelled to pay a penalty of $145,000 to the SED in June 28. If Cuomo hadn’t signed the legislation, Roscoe would have had to pay $1.1 million over 10 years out of a $9 million budget.
But Cuomo vetoed the legislation for the Monticello School District, and the penalty payments for that school district will continue.

“I’m happy that the governor has signed the Roscoe forgiveness bill into law. It will alleviate any potential increase to our already burdened property taxpayers in that district. I am disappointed that our Monticello legislation was not signed. This veto will create an increased burden on our Monticello School District taxpayers. I will continue to fight for a reconsideration of this veto.”

Metzger said, “From the day I took office, I have been working to get amnesty from extreme building aid penalties imposed on the Roscoe Central School District, and I am thrilled that my bill to forgive these penalties has been signed into law. The Roscoe Central School District has been a model for shared services among school districts, working to keep its operating expenses low while providing a quality education to students. These penalties were an undue hardship, and I thank the governor for bringing this important relief to overburdened taxpayers and much-needed resources to the schools.”

“Words cannot begin to describe how grateful I am to Sen. Jen Metzger for her tireless effort and support in making this a reality for our school district and our community,” said Roscoe superintendent John Evans.