Mohonasen officials are focusing on how nearly $1.42 million in budget reductions can be achieved after making more than $6.5 million in budgets cuts over the last three years.
School District Superintendent Kathleen Spring presented 2012-13 budget developments within general support, operations and maintenance, athletics, extra curricular activities, transportation and debt service during the Board of Education meeting on Monday, March 5. The district is aiming to stay within the state mandated tax levy cap, with a 2.3 percent tax levy increase. Factoring in around $510,000 in additional tax revenues and $180,000 in projected state aid, the district is facing a budget gap of nearly $1.42 million.
“There is a lot of people out there that are encouraging us to go above the tax levy cap, but we have been wrestling with that because while we would like to do that to secure a lot more positions in the district and not make as many cuts, but it is a lot more dangerous this year,” Spring.
If voters turn a budget down twice, the district would have to adopt a budget with no tax levy increase, which would require almost $2 million in reductions.
“The date that is selected in June (for a revote) … is not a very good time to hold a vote because a lot of people have kind of decided school is over and they’re not here to come in for a vote,” Spring said. “(A zero percent tax levy increase) would be devastating to us.”
The district is looking to eliminate 22 teachers, four support staff and a recently vacated administration position. Also, six coaching positions could be eliminated, which could nix modified and freshman team levels across indoor and outdoor track, boys and girls basketball, baseball and tennis. Spring said the levels to be reduced would also be based on what surrounding districts are cutting.
Even though the district has cut more than 60 positions over the last three years, Spring said student performance has increased, which could end up paying off for the district.
“We are one of the few schools in the area that were qualified for the performance grant that Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo put out earlier this year and we did apply for that,” she said. “It could be upwards of $600,000 to kind of counter some of the things we are talking about it this budget.”
If the district is awarded the grant, it won’t know how much it is receiving until June or July, which is after the May budget vote.
“If we do get the grant, better late than never, we’ll be able to add back in some of the positions,” Spring said.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Denise Swezey gave an overview of changes to general support, operations and maintenance and transportation budgets. Some of the changes included consolidation of regular bus runs, extending late bus reductions from five days a week to two days a week at each building, maintaining field trip reductions, reducing supplies budgets and performing more maintenance by district staff.
The average class size would also increase across all grade levels, Spring said, with the average K-12 class size going from 23 to 27 students to 25 to 29 students.
“A lot of the cuts have to do with increasing class size versus cutting programs,” Spring said. “We wanted to keep as much program in place as possible for all of our kids.”
Further details on class size increases were presented at the district’s second community budget forum on Wednesday, March 7, after The Spotlight went to press. The next budget presentation will be held on Monday, March 19, during the Board of Education meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the high school’s Farnsworth Technology Center, and will focus on BOCES, special education, employee benefits, guidance and health and nurse services.
