Final Cost Report Penalty Updates

This web page is devoted to posting updates related to New York State's imposed penalty for the late filing of final cost reports.

August 17, 2018 – New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill forgiving the North Syracuse Central School District of a $20 million penalty for the late filing of final cost reports for capital projects dating back 20+ years.

In June, bills were passed in both the Senate and Assembly for full forgiveness of New York State's imposed penalty. The district is grateful to Senator DeFrancisco and Assemblyman Stirpre for sponsoring these bills and to Senator Valesky, Assemblywoman Hunter and Assemblyman Magnarelli for their support.

Of the news, Superintendent of Schools Annette Speach said, “On behalf of all of our students, teachers and administrators, I want to thank Assemblyman Stirpe for championing this bill and for his unwavering commitment to our community. This new bill will ensure our students and teachers are not unfairly penalized and allow us to continue providing our students with a high-quality education that prepares them for future success.”

In a press release about the news, Assemblyman Al Stirpe said, "This is a huge victory for North Syracuse students and for our community,” said Stirpe. “By eliminating this exorbitant penalty, my legislation ensures local schools have the resources they need to offer a wide array of classes and after-school programs in a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment. It’s unacceptable to penalize our students because of paperwork errors. This law will ensure our kids and property taxpayers don’t pay for those mistakes.”

June 20, 2018 Update
The New York State Assembly passed the bill that would grant penalty relief for the North Syracuse Central School District. Click here to view the story on NewsChannel9's website.

June 6, 2018 Update
The New York State Senate has passed a bill that would grant penalty relief for the North Syracuse Central School District. Click here to view the story on NewsChannel9's website or click here to read the story on Spectrum's website.

May 22, 2018 Update
Recently, we have been in direct contact with the governor’s office and continue to work with our senators and assembly members to advance legislation which will provide the district with relief from these penalties. Please feel free to contact the governor's office, senate or assembly members to advocate for the district.

May 9, 2018 Update
Although the penalty assessed by NYS for the late filing of final cost reports has NO IMPACT on the 2018-19 budget, people have has asked us many questions about this issue during our budget presentations.  Therefore, we thought it would be helpful to share with you a list of the frequently asked questions and the answers.  We hope that this document helps clarify the situation for you and assists you when answering questions in the community.  

Contact the Governor:
Submit a message to the Governor on line by clicking here.
Phone: 1-518-474-8390 Office hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Mail: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224

Contact your representative:

Senator John DeFrancisco
50th Senate District Office
800 State Office Bldg.
333 East Washington St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 428-7632
Email: jdefranc@nysenate.gov
Senator DeFrancisco on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Senator-John-A-DeF rancisco /8776617150
Twitter: @JohnDeFrancisco

Senator David J. Valesky
53rd Senate District Office
333 East Washington St.,
Room 805
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 478-8745
Email: valesky@nysenate.gov
Contact Senator Valesky online by clicking here.
Senator Valesky on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SenValesky
Twitter: @SenDaveValesky

Assemblyman Al Stirpe
127th District Office
7293 Buckley Rd.,
Ste 201
North Syracuse, NY 13212
Phone: (315) 452-1115
Email: StirpeA@nyassembly.gov
Assemblyman Al Stirpe on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AssemblymanAlStirpe/
Twitter: @stirpeal

Assemblywoman Pamela J. Hunter
128th District Office
711 East Genesee St.,
2nd Floor
Syracuse, NY 13210-1540
Phone: (315) 449-9536
Email: HunterP@nyassembly.gov


Final cost report questions and answers document
April 19, 2018 letter to the community
April 26, 2018 letter to the community