10 teaching positions would be cut–adoption comes by 5-2 vote
The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District Board of Education tonight adopted a $42.5 million budget for the 2011-12 school year.
That’s a 0.8 percent increase from this year’s budget. Under the proposal, the tax levy would increase by 3.4 percent. The budget will go to voters on May 17.
District officials identified $900,000 worth of cuts in the budget, including eight teaching positions (10 if you count retirements that will not be refilled). Clubs, building operating funds and other items are also reduced, and several staff positions will be cut.
The school board adopted the budget in a 5-2 vote, with two members not present.
Dissenting were Michael Robbins and John Vadney, both of whom at a special budget workshop last week insisted there was still fat to be trimmed that could save teachers. At that meeting, the public came out in force to protest the proposed closing of the aquatics center (a $77,000 savings) but Vadney called this proposal an emotional smokescreen deployed by administrators to distract voters from educational issues.
`We voted to keep it open next year, when we never had a motion to close it,` he said.
Robbins and Vadney stated tonight they would like to see a more thorough budget process next year. Board member James Latter, a member of the board’s Finance Committee, said if anything the board simply needs to better disseminate information next time around.
`We did go through individual line items at each of those meetings,` he said.
As of last week it was assumed the tax levy increase would be slightly higher, but the district will use some of the state’s $350,000 aid giveback to help offset it. Some of the money was also used to save a teaching position in the foreign language program.
RCS will still see its state aid reduced by about $650,000 from this year’s level.
`I think with the money coming back we have taken into account both our staff and the taxpayer,` Latter said.
The district will also dip into its reserves to the tune of $200,000. Superintendent for Business Lyn Derway noted that will leave the reserves at $1.4 million.
`These are underfunded according to what our liabilities are,` she said.
The district is operating off of a contingency budget this year, which was adopted after the public voted the original proposal down. District officials tonight said a 2011-12 contingency budget would be larger than the adopted proposal and carry a 5.5 percent tax levy hike.
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