School board floats $135 million budget

The Board of Education adopted the proposed $135 million budget for the 2016-17 school year at last week’s board meeting, a 2.7 percent increase over the current spending plan, which residents will vote for or against on May 17.

The draft budget, which includes a 1.68 percent rise in the tax levy — the total amount the district needs to raise through property taxes — has gone up mainly due to increased costs in special education contractual services and health insurance, according to school officials.

About $19.4 million of the proposed spending plan has been earmarked for special education programs, a 16.85 percent increase from this year’s spending of $16.6 million in that category. That includes the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) program, which currently costs the district between $77,000 and $167,000 per student, depending on the specific services required for each child.

The Long Beach School District’s chief operating officer, Michael DeVito, said that the variety of these students’ needs explains fluctuations in special education spending each year, and next year’s projections are significantly higher than they have been in the past.

Though the proposed budget calls for spending $3.5 million more than the current year, the district is slated to receive more than $22.7 million in state education aid next year, DeVito said, a 13.13 percent increase over this year’s predicted aid of about $20.1 million. He added that the district is not cutting any programs and is maintaining services.

“I would like to thank Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky for his efforts on behalf of the Long Beach School District to secure the additional funding,” Superintendent David Weiss said in a statement. “Our district consistently strives to not only sustain — but to enhance — our offerings for students while, at the same time, being mindful of the cost impact to the community.”

Along with the budget vote, residents will be able to vote in the school board election, as Board of Education President Roy Lester is running to retain his seat. Perry Bodnar, who has been a science teacher at the high school for 30 years, is currently Lester’s only challenger for trustee, and any other candidates wishing to run must enter the race by April 27.

Lester, a Long Beach High graduate and lifelong resident of the barrier island, has been involved with the school board since 1999, and was elected as the body’s president last July for the third time. Though Bodnar is retiring after a three-decade tenure with the district in June, he said he is not ready to give up working with the community and the children, and wants to use his experience to effect change in Long Beach schools.