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Mostly Cloudy North Shore Central School District unveils $116M budget
Proposed budget would increase spending by $4M
The interim superintendent of North Shore Schools, Dr. Tom Dolan, presented the district’s preliminary 2022-23 budget proposal to the Board of Education on Feb. 3. The nearly $116 million spending plan, if approved, would increase the district budget by over $4 million compared to the current spending plan.
In his presentation, Dolan recognized the challenge of preserving the North Shore School system in this economically challenging time. A major standout in the potential budget includes a spending increase of over $1 million for instruction, a decision made to maintain the quality of instruction that North Shore provides, according to the administration.
“Schools are a personnel-driven entity. The reason our kids are so well educated, why we’ve received so many awards, is because of the highly skilled professions we hire,” Melissa August, a Glen Head resident who attended the budget presentation, said. “I can’t think of a better place to put our money.”
Dr. Christopher Zublionis, assistant superintendent for instruction, noted that with any budget, the cost of instruction would rise as teachers’ salaries increase from year to year.
“What I didn’t even realize is that 82 percent of the budget is fixed, completely out of the board’s control. It’s labor and benefit and pension costs,” August said.
Other notable funding bumps include an increase in employee benefits, which Zublonis attributed to the rising cost of employee health care, and an increase in the debt service budget upwards of $550,000, a 12.6 percent increase from this year. The debt service line item in the budget is allocated to pay off outstanding debt from the district, of which North Shore had a balance of over $22.6 million at the end of the 2020-21 school year.
“We are operating within the tax cap, and we are really aiming to maintain the programming we have,” Zublionis said. “We are looking to be forward-thinking, and also use some reserves to make contributions to the levy.”
In the coming months, board trustees will review the school budget and examine each section line by line before the May 17 budget vote.
“The board appreciates [the administration’s] efforts in maintaining all programs and offerings, aligning spending with district values, funding three critical new special education positions and using reserves responsibly with an eye on the inevitable LIPA settlement,” Dave Ludmar, the North Shore Board of Education president, said.
North Shore also plans, according to Ludmar, to seek grants and incentives for electric buses now, in advance of statewide mandates for school buses.
“[This] is exactly the kind of long-term, fiscal foresight the residents of this community demand,” Ludmar said. “As with the bus depot built several years ago, this will save money in the long run and provide better rides for our kids and drivers — many of whom are our residents — immediately.”
The projected budget assumes the district would begin to convert up to six diesel buses to electric in the coming school year. North Shore has contracted with McBride Consulting to write grants to secure funding for the charging stations and the electric school buses. The $12,000 allocated in this budget to purchase new buses would be used to supplement the cost of the new buses in a purchase or lease, if approved.
Items that saw less funding from last year’s budget were central administration, which declined .26 percent, about $11,000 and special education, which fell 1.6 percent, or nearly $68,000.
“I support the board and budget because I’ve seen firsthand what a fantastic, well-rounded education my kids are getting,” August said. “I’ve seen how people are moving here in droves because we have a nationally ranked school district. Frankly, they are getting a private school education for a fraction of the cost.”
While many support the proposed budget, not all North Shore residents are as convinced. “North Shore has presented another outrageous budget,” Jerry Romano, longtime North Shore district resident, said. “This community deserves schools as well run as Herricks … It obviously can be done and done well.”
The budget will be discussed at two upcoming Board of Education meetings on Feb. 17 and March 3, at which the public will be able to submit questions and comments about the proposed budget. The budget vote and trustees election will take place Tuesday, May 17.
