|
HUNTINGTON
Board Of Ed: Its Gonna Hurt
Administration asked to prepare budget with
3.5 percent tax hike
By Danny Schrafel/dschrafel@longislandernews.com
Okay. On with the good news.
Gallows humor still intact, Huntingtons Assistant Superintendent
for Finance and Management David Grackin summed up the state of the budget
process in Huntington for 2010-2011. And the message resonating through
the meeting was simple, yet stark its going to be painful,
staff levels will likely be impacted and class sizes could also grow as
the district explores a 3.5 percent tax increase for its upcoming budget.
At their March 1 meeting, the school board reviewed four budget scenarios
with 2, 3, 3.5 and 3.95 percent school portion tax increases. If spending
levels roll over from the $104,814,259 2009-2010 budget, taxes would increase
by 6.84 percent, bringing the budget to $110,835,051. With the school
board requesting Superintendent Jay Finello and his staff explore a budget
with a 3.5 percent tax hike, the districts revenue would decrease
by nearly $3 million from the benchmark rollover budget.
These budgets include significant reductions in non-program services,
Finello said in opening remarks. Since it would be difficult to
take further reductions in these areas, we must realize reductions discussed
tonight would primarily apply to programs, and therefore personnel.
Grackin said Huntington is also expected to lose $315,000 in state aid
based on Gov. David Patersons proposed budget cuts to close a looming
$7.4-billion budget hole. The MTA payroll tax gobbles up another $200,000
in district money.
Board Vice President Emily Rogan said the board was looking for a realistic
starting point for budget planning.
As a board member with two kids in the district, I dont want
to live in a community where my schools have nothing, she said.
The highest tax rate
Im not comfortable with. Were
stuck in a tough situation.
In the previous two budgets, Huntington enacted 3.52 and 1.84 percent
increases in 2008-09 and 2009-2010, respectively, while cutting from overtime,
substitute teachers, stipends for extra work, equipment and conferences,
Grackin said. With that funding already gone, staff, educational programming
and other areas officials have tried to avoid cutting are now in the crosshairs.
Last year, staffing levels were untouched after the state tapped into
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, better known as the federal
stimulus package, to avoid proposed cuts to education funding.
Nobody has put their hands up and been willing to take a pay freeze,
trustee John Paci III said. Last year we were bailed out by the
Fed and we did not cut a teacher
this year, its impossible
unless were willing to accept a 6 percent [tax increase].
The board passed on the 2 and 3 percent models, saying they would have
too devastating an impact on the districts programming, and ultimately,
the students.
One of the things you had stated when we had requested a 2 percent
tax rate increase budget, I think your words were, you wont
even recognize the district, school board President Bill Dwyer
said to Finello.
Anything lower than 3.5 percent, its a disaster, Paci
said. At 3.5 percent, its still a disaster, but its
a good starting point.
Residents and board members called for teachers and staff to take pay
freezes, furloughs and further concessions to ease the budgetary pain
in contractually bound expenses, and also considered increasing the distance
a student must live from a school to be eligible for busing services,
but that would not offer immediate relief it would have to be adopted
in a referendum by taxpayers.
We have no mandate relief. We are getting cuts and were not
getting mandate relief, board vice president Emily Rogan said. Were
not getting help in those areas. Were mandated to transport all
kids and theres no relief there.
If the budget fails to pass with voters in May, the districts situation
goes from bad to catastrophic, officials said. Under an austerity budget,
Huntington schools would have to cut hundreds of thousands of dollars
in spending from last years budget to comply.
In 2009, the average number was negative .4 percent, Grackin
said. Weve been using the same model for 10, 11 years and
its the first time the CPI has been less than zero
thats
where the economy is.
Huntington school administrators will present a budget model using a 3.5
percent tax increase at their March 15 meeting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enlarge
This Photo

|
|
|
Trustee Kimberly Brown analyzes budget
models before the Huntington School Board. The board ultimately
asked school administrators to explore a budget with a 3.5 percent
tax increase, which would result in nearly $3 million in spending
cuts.
Long-Islander photo/Danny Schrafel
|
|
|
|
|
|
|