Permits the Oswego city school district to create an insurance reserve fund

2025 Regular Session

Oswego City School District gains a formal, insured risk reserve fund to fund losses and claims, improving financial resilience and risk management.

REFERRED TO EDUCATION

Summary of Bill A.11391 (2025-2026, New York)

Purpose and intent

This measure amends the General Municipal Law to allow the Oswego City School District to establish and fund an insurance reserve fund. The aim is to enable the district to set aside resources to pay for losses, claims, actions, or judgments arising from insurable risks, in a manner consistent with other school districts that already have such funds.

Key provisions and changes

Authorizes establishment of an “insurance reserve fund” by the governing board of municipal corporations, including school districts.

Permits expenditures from the reserve fund to cover losses, claims, actions, or judgments for which the district is authorized or required to purchase or maintain insurance.

Specifies that expenditures from the fund may be limited to risks for which insurance is authorized under the Insurance Law (specifically for those risks listed in paragraph three of subsection (a) of section 1113 of the Insurance Law).

Adds Oswego City School District to the list of districts eligible to establish an insurance reserve fund under this framework. Other districts named in the bill include Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, Minisink Valley, Vernon Verona Sherrill, Ithaca, Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda, Bedford, Grand Island, Tonawanda, Middletown Enlarged City, Frontier, Owego Apalachin, Maine-Endwell, Binghamton, Candor, Cleveland Hill, Depew, Iroquois, Liverpool, Auburn Enlarged City, Carmel, Clarence, Fulton, and Canastota.

Clarifies that districts may establish the reserve in compliance with this section and Article 74 of the Education Law, and may make expenditures from the fund consistent with those provisions and Article 74 for insurable risk types identified in the Insurance Law.

Who is affected

Primary: Oswego City School District (authorization to create and fund an insurance reserve).

Other districts listed in the statute are noted as already eligible or previously approved to establish similar reserves; the bill does not automatically create reserves for them but adds Oswego to the eligible group.

Stakeholders include school district fiscal officers, boards of education, and local taxpayers who would be affected by potential funding and use of reserve resources.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Effective date: Immediate upon enactment (the bill states it shall take effect immediately).

Status in the legislative process: Introduced May 15, 2026; referred to the Assembly Committee on Education.

Practical impact and considerations

This bill provides Oswego with a formal statutory mechanism to fund an insurance reserve, potentially improving financial planning for uninsured losses or self-insurance scenarios.

By limiting expenditures to insurance-type risks and aligning with Article 74 of the Education Law, the measure aims to ensure prudent use and appropriate oversight of reserve funds.

The establishment of such a reserve could affect budgeting, risk management strategies, and long-term financial resilience for the Oswego City School District.