Update: Developing the
2010-11 school budget
Board of Education reviews potential reductions
to close budget gap created by loss of state aid
and rising costs Posted: March 12, 2010
During the March 8 meeting, Board of Education
members closely reviewed two lists of tiered
reductions designed to close a budget gap
largely created by the $2.1 million loss—a
nearly 14 percent decrease—in state aid proposed
in Governor Paterson’s Executive budget. The
reduced state aid alone—prior to any reductions
in spending by the district—could result in a
tax levy increase of 4.52 percent.
“We are mindful that the weak economy continues
to impact our families and taxpayers and
recognize that reductions in spending are
necessary to present a budget that demonstrates
fiscal responsibility to our community,”
Superintendent of Schools Kevin Baughman says.
“At the same time, our mission is to provide a
world-class education for students, which will
require our best collective efforts as we
address the revenue shortfall now and in coming
years.”
During the Feb. 22 school board meeting,
Baughman presented an overview of projected
expenditures and revenues for the 2010-11 school
year. He then introduced a list of first-tier
reductions totaling just under $2 million. On
March 1, a second tier of reductions totaling a
little more than $400,000 was presented to the
board.
View Tier I and Tier II list of potential
reductions as of March 15
The $2.39 million in reductions identified for
consideration this year include instructional
and non-instructional staff positions. According
to Baughman, the potential cuts go much deeper
than last year’s $1.4 million in budget
reductions, which included two and a half
administrator positions.
“When reducing expenditures by millions of
dollars, there is no way to avoid making very
difficult decisions,” Baughman says. “While our
priority has been to reduce expenditures outside
the classroom, many of the potential reductions
we are considering either directly or indirectly
impact our students, making none of this easy.”
Administrators recently learned the district
will receive an additional $600,000 in building
aid because of an emergency project to connect
Glencliff Elementary School to a new sewer line
in Rexford. Last summer, district officials
allocated money from the unreserved fund balance
to cover the cost of converting from the
building’s existing septic system to the
municipal sewer line, installed by the Town of
Clifton Park. The project will complete in June,
making the district eligible to receive the
state aid in the 2010-11 school year.
Baughman says that while this additional revenue
will help lessen the extent of tier two
reductions, it does not pre-empt the need to
reduce spending.
During the March 8 meeting, Baughman also
initiated a preliminary discussion of
contingency budget—that would require additional
reductions of nearly $2.1 million—and the
potential impact that would have on the
district’s academic program and services. He
presented a list of third tier cuts—totaling
approximately $2.5 million—some of which could
become necessary under a contingency budget
scenario. The tier 3 list, Baughman emphasized,
was developed to provide options that could be
considered to further reduce spending as
required by the state’s contingency budget
rules.
Up
next: The superintendent will present
his recommended budget during the March 15 Board
of Education meeting. Board members will review
and evaluate the proposed plan during the
remaining two meetings in March with a possible
budget adoption slated for March 31 or April 7.
The public is welcome and encouraged to attend
these meetings, held at 7 p.m. in the district
office at 1239 Van Antwerp Road. (View
the schedule)
