School officials ask bargaining units for salary freeze
The Niskayuna Board of Education did away with some of the most detrimental cuts to students in its draft budget, and a proposed salary freeze would help rescue additional programming.
The nearly 20 Level 4 reductions were discussed line by line during the Niskayuna BOE meeting on Tuesday, March 15, but ultimately it appeared board members would push aside the majority reductions determined to have the greatest impact on students in Superintendent Kevin Baughman’s list of possible reductions. There was also a discussion about the various sports programs offered and where cuts could be made.
Are we saying to the athletic director you pick and choose or are we saying we want modified kids to get that experience and are we going to forego with the freshman and have kids go to JV, said board member Robert Winchester.
Board members questioned what sports the Suburban Council would be supporting in the upcoming season, but while it is still determining that issue Baughman said if theboard waited on the council to decide it would probably be past when the budget is due for adoption. If certain sports were eliminated at the high school level board members worried how it would affect those students, who need some sort of high school participation in order for college scholarships and applications. Without the high school level the students would be cut out from college recognition.
There were also 13 reductions through the remaining three levels of cuts discussed by the board on what they were thinking to drop moving forward. The $6 million budget gap would be narrowed down by around $4.2 million if the board accepted all Level 1 to 3 reductions. If all $5 million of the possible cuts were accepted there would be a 2 percent tax increase.
A few cuts were tossed aside by the board for now, which included reducing the Foreign Language Department from 0.6 full-time equivalent employees to 0.4 FTE for elementary students, reducing the Explorers Program from 2 FTE to 1 FTE and reducing to sections of teaching at Iroquois Middle School. The pool is also proposed to stay open in July too by negotiating an agreement with an outside group to at least make the $3,102 expense neutral. The board also will be marking further decisions on cuts after hearing from the public during the budget forum on Monday, March 21, at the high school at 7 p.m.
Besides the above mentioned cuts, the majority of Level 1 to 3 cuts appear to be intact moving forward, but a possible $1 million could be saved if unions and associations in the district accept a pay freeze.
`The unprecedented reduction in state and federal funding coupled with rising costs threatens the district’s ability to provide programs and services to our children,` said Baughman in a statement. `We need to consider all options to close the budget gap, including the shared sacrifice of a salary freeze. Saving from freezing wages would be used to both save programs and maintain a lower school tax for our community members.`
The groups would have by March 28 to make a decision, so the board could figure in the savings before approving the budget on April 5. As of the night of the board meeting, Baughman said he hasn’t heard a formal response from any of the unions yet. State aid has reduced by $1.4 million and federal aid is reduced by $1.5 million for the district, opening the discussion for the pay freeze.“
