New York City spends more money on fringe benefits for teachers and other education personnel than any other school district in the country, according to a new study.
The Citizens Budget Commission, which conducted the analysis, attributed the lopsided spending to the fact that most school systems require employees to pay a portion of their health-care premiums.
They city stands out as one of the few that doesn’t.
As a result, the budget watchdog reported that $5,102 of the $20,226 the city spent per pupil in 2012 went toward fringe benefits.
That’s more than three times the US average of $1,573.
The average for New York State was $4,056.
The free-ride policy for city educators will continue under the new contract hammered by out by Mayor de Blasio and the United Federation of Teachers, which the union overwhelmingly ratified Tuesday.
“Fringe-benefit costs in New York City were the highest among the regions . . . Most districts in the state require some contribution to health-insurance premiums from employees, while New York City does not,” noted CBC analyst Elizabeth Lynam.
“New York City is an extreme outlier. Employee contributions toward medical premiums provide an incentive to keep costs down. It’s the most direct way to produce savings.”
De Blasio and the teachers union agreed to generate $1.4 billion in health-care savings in the new $ 9 billion contract by reining in costs of prescriptions and clinical services.
A mayoral spokesman pointed to those savings as proof the administration was making headway in reducing fringe-benefit costs.
“With this teachers contract, we are securing more than $1 billion in health-care savings. As mandated by binding agreement, these savings are both achievable and enforceable. For years, people have sounded the alarm on fast-rising health-care costs—we are actually doing something about it,” said de Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell.
But Lynam called the city’s failure to require teachers to contribute toward their health care a “missed opportunity.”
The higher cost of fringe benefits is another reason why New York State tops the nation in education spending — $19,552 per student — nearly double the $10,608 national average.
Despite the highest-in-the-nation spending, New York State is under court order to direct more resources to the neediest districts, including the city.
“New York is among the most inequitable states in the nation in how it distributes state school funding. The funding gap between New York’s 100 wealthiest and 100 poorest school districts is a whopping $8,601 per pupil,” said Wendy Lecker of the Education Law Center.
“This deep disparity severely disadvantages the state’s most at-risk students.”
Billy Easton of the Alliance for Quality Education said “the gap between rich and poor school districts is growing under Gov. Cuomo.”