Superintendent proposes 3.5 percent tax levy


By CORY ALLYN


Staff Reporter

 


WEBUTUCK — District Superintendent Richard Johns presented his budget proposal for the 2009-10 school year last Wednesday, March 4, at the Board of Education (BOE) meeting, which was rescheduled from March 2.

"We’ve probably put more work into this budget than any year I can recollect," he said, adding that the problems associated with preparing the budget are probably not all that unique to the Webutuck Central School District.

As of right now, $18,249,563 is the projected budget for the 2008-09 school year, or "what we think will close the books on June 30," according to Johns.

The next number Johns provided was $19,352,431, which he explained was how much next year’s budget would cost if the exact same figures were to be applied to 2009-10 dollars, an increase of $1,102,868.

Combined with a $455,013 reduction in state aid, as proposed by Gov. David Paterson’s executive budget, Johns said the shortfall that Webutuck is looking at before budget discussions even begin is $1,557,881.

Before unveiling what he proposed to cut, cost increases were laid out. Additional money was needed for staff (including the hiring of a part-time speech teacher, a teacher assistant and two teacher aides) and structural improvement to the Millerton Elementary School building. Total costs increased by $107,638, but Johns added that "in every case there’s a cost-saving rationale behind the decision."

All those numbers tally up to a $1,665,519 program difference from last year, without cuts.

Proposed reductions totaled $590,133, and by far the largest savings was in the personnel department ($365,857), where a physical education teacher, librarian, elementary school teacher, janitor and typist would all be cut. Johns explained that all these savings were based on the closing of Amenia Elementary School, which he has included in his budget.

Under his proposal, during the 2009-10 school year, Webutuck Elementary would contain grades one through four, and grades five through 12 would be split between the middle and high schools.

The difference to balance the budget would be as follows: $590,133 in program cuts, $169,500 in economic stimulus funding, $499,847 in levy reduction that will come from the district’s appropriated fund balance, and $406,039 in tax levy, which Johns said would work out to about a 3.5-percent increase.

"Part of [the levy reduction] was due to not spending as much money in this year’s budget as was forecast, and part of it was wise investment of the funds we did have," Johns explained. "Linda Peters [Webutuck’s business administrator] did things to protect our investments."

"The district came together and managed to keep expenses down," Peters elaborated, saying that despite some of the negative costs the district has incurred over the last year, there was "a lot of good news, and we made quite a bit of money with investments."

Johns concluded his proposal by explaining the budget process, saying that his proposal will not change, but that the board can do anything they like with it now.

"I think it’s a credible and conservative budget," he said, adding that two unknowns could provide some breathing room. Webutuck is currently in the middle of a transportation audit, and the results of that audit could result in "potentially significant savings." A presentation on that audit will be made at the March 9 meeting.

Also, some (or all) of the $455,013 reduction in state aid could be covered by the state’s stimulus funds. That has yet to be determined, but Johns said it could make the budget "a little more flexible.

"Those two important factors are question marks, and I couldn’t factor them into the budget," Johns said. "I can’t guarantee this [budget] is preparing for a worst-case scenario. It takes significant action, and it makes significant cuts in personnel, but I’m wary to go any further with cuts."

School board member William McGhee worried that even with the cuts this year, the 2010-11 budget would find the district "back in the same boat." Johns replied that the district was probably looking at "something like 5 percent" for the tax levy in the following year.

The taxpayers in this district don’t have the extra money to pay for that much of a tax increase this year, BOE President Dale Culver said.

Board member Joe Matteo said his concern was the use of fund balances for levy reductions.

"We shouldn’t be using cash reserves to lower the levy," he said. "We need to make solid reductions that will continue cost savings."

As for additional Board of Education discussion, Culver said he and other board members would sit down to take a look at the proposal and would bring their questions to the board meeting scheduled for Monday, March 9, after press deadline.

Culver also said he hoped the issue of building closure would come to a conclusion by the end of Monday’s meeting.

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