With a new administration at the helm, the Bethlehem Central School District is changing the way it does business.
Superintendent Michael Tebbano, a former assistant superintendent who was named to the post last spring, said the district plans to begin the budget process in January and will hold a series town hall-style meetings to allow residents to ask specific questions about academic programs, district spending and, of course, the all-important tax rate.
Tebbano said there was nothing wrong with how the school previously created its yearly budget, but that he wanted to make the process as transparent as possible while engaging the public at the same time.
`What we’re trying to do is to get the school district involved in the budget process earlier then they have in the past,` Tebbano said. `We want to put out specific information put our programs up front and analyze what they’re all about.`
With a new administration, including himself, a new assistant superintendent and several new principals, Tebbano said, a new approach is a natural and inevitable progression.
`We want to hold open meetings with the public and put everything on the table. We are opening up a lot of opportunity for parents to convey any concerns or questions,` said Tebbano. `We wanted to have an open book in this process. I think some people may have had the perception that we weren’t open enough and may have been hiding some things in the budget, which is completely untrue.`
After the school budget was passed in May, local businessman and active Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce member John Giordano was critical of the school’s budget process after serving for two years on the district’s Citizen Budget Group. Giordano likened the citizen’s group to `choosing whether or not to put in a new gym floor` and said they were left out of more than 85 percent of the school’s budget.
Much of the district’s budget consists of salaries, which are deemed a personnel matter by the school and therefore something the budget group is not privy to.
Tebbano said he has met with Giordano on several occasions and the two have had many `constructive discussions,` but that Giordano’s criticisms had little to do with the new budget process changes.
`This is a new administration, a new era, and we want to show the community that we are dedicated to maintaining a good academic program while being fiscally responsible,` Tebbano said. `The economy is bad right now and because people are focused on the economy, this will be a good opportunity to discuss what we are doing.
`We’re going to be transforming the entire year into a budgetary process,` Tebbano said at the Wednesday, Sept. 17, board of education meeting before the board unanimously adopted his recommendation to create the new public forum meetings.
Tebbano said he expects that Giordano will participate in the public budget forums and Giordano told Spotlight Newspapers earlier in the year that his conversations with the school on his suggestions appeared to be well received.
Giordano said his major complaint was that the citizen’s budget group was not able to listen in on contract discussions and that teacher raises may be out of step with other professionals in the area.
The school has tentatively scheduled budget meetings for Jan. 26, Feb. 2, and Feb. 9 to be held at the district’s main offices, 90 Adams Place, at 7 p.m. However, Tebbano said the school would move the meetings to the high school if there were enough interest in the meetings.
The superintendent also wants topic discussions from the public for the meetings and said residents can e-mail suggestions to him at [email protected].
In the meantime, the district will also be holding various department budget hearing at various board of education meetings leading up to the May 2009 budget vote. A complete list can be found on the school’s Web site.
`With the economy the way it is, we wanted people to understand that we don’t get some kind of pass,` Tebbano said. `My oil bill is more expensive, too.`
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