Oceanside Board of Ed adopts budget

The Oceanside Board of Education unanimously adopted its 2010-11 budget last week, finalizing a proposal that residents will vote on on May 18.

Although residents face an increase in school taxes — mainly due to rising costs, contractual obligations and looming cuts in state aid — district officials said that the spending plan maintains all current programs and services for students.

The board presented a $128.5 million budget at its April 19 meeting, a 1.98 percent increase over the current spending plan. The tax levy would increase 2.29 percent if the proposal is approved by voters.

Superintendent Dr. Herb Brown said he is confident voters will approve the plan, but he added that for the seventh year in a row, the school board and administration have crafted a budget that is below the county average. "Our budget has one of the lowest increases in Nassau County," Brown said. "We've preserved what we have while keeping increases low."

The district has even added some programs: a social worker would be added to the elementary schools next year so that every school would have its own, and there would be a new math program in the elementary schools.

School officials said that the district's biggest challenge in assembling a budget was a drop in revenues — mostly an estimated $1.7 million cut in state aid. While the cut is not yet official — it's included in Gov. David Paterson's proposed budget — the district braced itself for the reduction. If the district receives more money than planned, the budget could change or the money could be set aside to reduce the tax levy next year.

The district used more money from its fund balance — its surplus, "rainy day" funds — to lower the impact on taxpayers. "Having that money available allowed us to keep the budget low and preserve programs, keep class sizes low and not lay anyone off," Brown said. "We tried to be as frugal as we can."

School board Vice President Bob Transom echoed those sentiments, saying that the board carefully examined its "hard costs," such as those for energy, health insurance and pension. "We don't have any movement with pension because it's state-controlled," Transom said. "We're at the lowest end of health contributions, one of the lowest in the state. So I think in Oceanside you get the biggest bang for your tax dollar."

Salaries, most of which are contractual, make up 62 percent of the total budget. Teachers' salaries increased 2 percent, to a total of $50.1 million. But the unexpectedly high number of teacher retirements this year helped offset the increase.

Brown said that the county has not yet informed him of the 2010-11 tax rate. This year, the average Oceanside resident, whose home is assessed at $492,800, is paying just over $6,300 in school taxes.

If the budget were to be voted down and replaced by a contingency spending plan, Brown said, residents would not see huge savings, since contractual obligations such as teachers' salaries cannot be cut. "We'd have to cut over $2 million from the budget," he said. "Because contractual obligations cannot be cut, the board would be forced to cut from those areas where they're allowed, possibly programs."

The district will hold a budget hearing, at which residents can ask questions, on May 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

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