ALBANY - New Yorkers interested in how their schools are performing will have plenty of information easily available online - but not until after they vote Tuesday on school budgets and board members.

State education department officials say the latest school “report cards” - which pull together data on how well schools perform and spend tax dollars - won't be available on its Web site before the voting because of problems with a computer software change.

Schools, however, are still required to provide the information when asked and should make it available at polling places, according to the department.

And some districts include the report cards on their Web sites, while others offer selected excerpts on their sites and in newsletters.

“We had planned to post the report cards on the Web earlier this year, but we have switched to a new software system, and we ran into technology problems,” said department spokesman Tom Dunn.

The school report cards include test scores, data on taxing and spending, and comparisons of schools based on enrollments and socio-economic conditions.

“The beauty of the state report cards is that they are an independent source and it's not being spun in the best way possible as it usually is in the school district newsletters,” said B. Jason Brooks of the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, a conservative think tank. “In order for people to make an educated decision, they really should have this material.”

Tuesday's balloting in most of the state's 700 school districts outside New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers will be watched closely in Albany.

Republican state senators who worked to provide a record $1.8 billion increase in state aid to schools this year said Tuesday they were upset so many districts still increased spending above the rate of inflation. The Legislature and Gov. Eliot Spitzer have also targeted high property taxes - led by local school taxes - as a major obstacle to reviving the state's economy and provided $1.3 billion in tax relief to address the problem.

The state Business Council's annual School Tax Watch reports that despite the state aid increase, the local property tax levy will increase an average 4 percent statewide.

That would be down from a 6 percent increase a year ago, according to the business group. State aid is now about $19 billion a year.

Between state and local sources, per-pupil spending will increase an average 6 percent to $18,035, according to the council. That's about twice the inflation rate.

Just 74 of the more than 600 school districts analyzed proposed spending increases at or below inflation, said council spokesman Matthew Maguire.

The education department reports the average local tax levy will increase by 3.9 percent, compared with a 6.1 percent increase a year ago.

Dunn said that even without the report cards, there is information to help voters and parents assess their schools on the state's education Web site at (http://www.nysed.gov). That includes most of the latest and key information compiled in the report cards, including the graduation rates, math and English test results for middle schools, a list of schools that have failed to make “adequate yearly progress,” schools on the “in need of improvement” list, schools under review for possible closing because of poor performance, the percentage of classes taught by “highly qualified teachers,” and schools that need state intervention because of poor performance in instructing special education students.