District leaders began the process of addressing the district’s $6 million budget gap on Tuesday, Feb. 5, as the administration presented potential budget reduction scenarios to be considered over the coming weeks.

No decisions were made at the meeting. Instead, district leaders began the process of evaluating all options to close the gap and present a balanced budget for community consideration at the polls in May. The gap is the result of increasing costs and a decline in state aid to Niskayuna for the fourth consecutive year.

The budget reductions were presented in three scenarios: those that are likely to happen; the potential to close a building; and reductions that are less likely to happen – which include items that are beyond the district’s immediate control and further program reductions. Link to reductions [PDF] | February 5 meeting presentation document [PDF]

It would take an 11.8 percent tax levy increase for next year to maintain all current district programs and services. By comparison, if the $1.4 million in reductions identified as “likely to happen” are made, the tax levy increase would be a projected 8.93%.

“We face some significant fiscal constraints, which have their roots in continued state aid losses and a broken educational funding system in New York in general,” Superintendent Susan Kay Salvaggio said. “As district leaders, we don’t want to reduce or eliminate opportunities for our students. Yet, we must face the reality that our resources are limited. Without a doubt, we are looking at some combination of reductions and a tax increase. The task that we face, as district leaders and a community, is to find the right balance for our district in some pretty tough circumstances.”

“We will put forward the very best educational program possible, given all of the factors,” Salvaggio added. “This is the beginning of a long process.”

The $6 million gap does not account for any tax levy increase. Niskayuna officials currently estimate the district’s tax levy threshold under the state’s tax levy cap legislation would represent a 3.25 percent increase. An increase above the 3.25 percent threshold level would require the support of a supermajority of voters in May for budget passage.

About the potential to close a building

The prospect of closing a school was first raised in last year’s Middle School Review final report, and was later the subject of two community meetings this past fall. Reluctantly, Board members agreed in December that the possibility of closing a school at any level – elementary or middle school – should be evaluated in the context of the other potential budget reductions.

District leaders estimate that closing an elementary school would save about $456,700 and closing Van Antwerp Middle School would save about $967,500. The district only has the option to do one or the other.

“It is important that our community understands that no decisions have been made to close a building, or to close a particular building at the elementary level,” Salvaggio said.

If Van Antwerp Middle School is closed, sixth grade students would attend one of the five K-6 elementary schools. If an ES is closed, students in grades 6,7,8 would continue to attend Iroquois and VA as usual.

More information about the potential to close a building will be presented and questions will be answered during the budget process, beginning with a community budget forum scheduled for Feb. 13.

Reductions that are ‘less likely to happen’

The “reductions that are less likely to happen” are labeled as such because they are either beyond the district’s immediate control or represent a deeper level of impact to student programs.

For example, the ability to contract with an outside company to provide bus drivers is dependent upon contract negotiations and the collective bargaining process. Additionally, the purchase of the Hillside Avenue bus garage, which would provide $125,000 in savings for 2013-14 and ongoing cost containment, is contingent upon community approval in a March 14 vote.

Program reductions in the “less likely to happen” scenario include a return to full-day kindergarten, reducing high school and middle school club offerings, and eliminating modified sports.

“In total, the reduction lists show that we have fewer options and more difficult choices this year,” Salvaggio said. “We started this process earlier than ever this year so that our community understands what is at stake as we consider questions of spending, taxes, and ultimately how we can make the best decisions from among options that range from bad to worse.”

Learn how to advocate for your schools at Niskayuna High School on February 11

The presentation at the Board meeting began with an overview of the district’s five-year budget projections, which showed significant gaps between expenditures and revenue continuing in each year.

“This is the result of continued cost increases combined with serious structural deficiencies in the way New York State provides school aid,” Salvaggio said. “Years of reductions in aid to schools across New York, including our own, have left us in a difficult position. The only way to reverse course from the trend of lost opportunities for students is meaningful change at the state level.”

The process of helping citizens – parents, taxpayers, students, teachers and staff members, and school leaders – learn how to advocate for this change with elected officials continues with a regional “Call to Action!” at Niskayuna High School on Monday, February 11. The event is part two of the unprecedented regional effort, “Your Public Schools in Fiscal Peril – Running out of Time and Options,” which kicked off at Columbia High School on Jan. 31 and brought more than 1,200 stakeholders from 47 districts across the region together.

The featured speakers at Niskayuna High School on February 11 will be Robert Lowry and Kyle Belokopitsky from New York State Council of School Superintendents. They will offer effective “how-to” strategies and techniques to reach out to elected officials and advocate for educational change. The event will begin at 7 p.m., and is scheduled to run 90 minutes.

If you would like to attend, please contact Cindy Gagnon in the Superintendent’s Office to RSVP at cgagnon@niskayunaschools.org or 377-4666 x50706.