Assemblyman David Gantt is calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take immediate action on the Rochester City School District’s financial crisis. Gantt says that the state has failed to act while the district floundered for more than 40 years.
In a letter to Cuomo on Monday, Gantt strongly condemned the City School District’s leadership for what he says was deliberate and systematic overspending of at least $30 million in the last fiscal year.
He proposes that a financial control board be established, followed by mayoral control of the district.
The city owns all district school buildings and provides $119 million each year to the budget. Yet Gantt says that the City Council and mayor have no say in finances or operations.
Mayor Lovely Warren had been calling for a state takeover of the district, calling for a referendum on the November ballot on the issue. In September, Warren requested that the state sever financial ties between the city and the district.
New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli opened up an audit into the district’s spending on Friday.
