The court required the state only to come up with a fairer approach to finances, but the commission also suggested some changes it said would make educators more accountable for the money: doing away with tenure for principals and shifting some power to the executive branch from the state Board of Regents.

Eastchester Schools Superintendent Robert Siebert said he was pleased that the commission did not embrace a "Robin Hood" approach that would take money from wealthy suburban districts to increase aid to urban districts. But he said he would wait to see what the Legislature did with the report.

"There are enormous implications for education, both with the current state budget and into the future," Siebert said.

The panel's report was a critical step in the state's answering a mandate from New York's highest court to overhaul school funding. Pataki and the Legislature are to fix the system by July 30. The Court of Appeals ruled last year that the current system failed to guarantee that all students had a chance at a "sound, basic education," as required under the state constitution.

About 200 of the state's 700 districts would get more funding under the commission's proposal. No district would lose funding under the plan, and the extra spending would be phased in over five years. Three-fourths or more of the money would go to New York City schools, the focus of the court order handed down last year.

But with the commission proposing such a wide range on funding increases, and Pataki saying he wasn't ready to pick a firm number, some questioned how useful the report was.

"In general terms, the commission appears to have done little more than compile and rehash the governor's current and previous education proposals," said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan.

Pataki, a Republican, said it would be up to lawmakers to agree on a figure.

"I don't think it should be any one of us saying, 'This is the number.' It should be a collective decision by the policy-makers of the state," Pataki said.

Under the commission's plan, not all the money would come from the state — local districts would have to contribute an undetermined amount.

The plaintiffs in the successful case against the state, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, have called for spending $9.5 billion more. The state now spends more than $14 billion on school aid.

The commission's range on funding increases comes from an analysis by Standard and Poor's of four levels of successful schools, based on test scores and graduation rates. To bring all schools to the highest level, $5.6 billion would be needed. To bring all schools to the lowest level, $2.5 billion would be needed.

The plan would increase funding to fewer schools than the lawsuit plaintiffs propose. The Campaign for Fiscal Equity wants increases for more than 500 districts.

Pataki's commission endorsed the idea of using revenues from video lottery machines to help pay for a spending increase, an idea proposed by Pataki. But the gambling money might not cover it all, said Frank Zarb, chairman of the commission.

"We concluded that that's a good contributor to the overall scheme — we don't know whether that's enough," he said.

Pataki and commission members didn't say where the rest of the money would come from. The governor and legislative leaders have said they don't want to increase taxes this year.

The commission would consolidate the nearly 50 formulas used to fund schools into three main ones for operating aid, instructional materials and extraordinary needs.

Pataki and commission members said money was only part of the story. They said reforms to ensure the money is used effectively are just as important.

"It's possible to add billions and billions to this part of the budget and have it sucked up by the existing architecture and come out the other end worse than when we started," Zarb said.

Some of the proposed reforms are new, and others are recycled. The commission said mayors in big cities should have more control over schools, an idea being tested in New York City that Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone wants adopted in Westchester's largest school district. The commission also recommended eliminating tenure for school principals and administrators and basing raises on performance.

Charles Whelan, president of the Yonkers Council of Administrators, said both issues would face stiff opposition. He said merit pay for principals would be unfair because it's too difficult to judge performance. Basing raises on student test results would penalize administrators in struggling schools and reward those who lead schools that have admission requirements, he said.

"If you get tested to get into a program, then are the scores high because the principal did a good job or because the student body had to pass a test to get there?" Whelan said.

To target failing schools across the state, the commission proposed creating an Educational Accountability Office that would report to the governor and the state Board of Regents, which sets education policy. The state already has a process for identifying and helping low-performing schools, but hundreds more would be targeted by the new office.

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, said she opposed the proposed Office of Educational Accountability.

"Taking power away from the Board of Regents would infuse politics into the process, and that's not good for education," she said.

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