What’s the magic number?

The Valley Stream Central High School District may lose about $2.5 million in state aid and Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein suggested a few scenarios on how to close the gap in the upcoming 2010-11 budget.

Bernstein said at the Feb. 2 Board of Education meeting that special education costs will increase next year by more than $800,000 and certain employees are due contractual raises. With those increased expenses factored in and all other non-essential expenditures frozen, he presented a continuation budget scenario to the board, which would increase spending by only 2 percent, but would have a 4.8 percent tax levy increase.

“Our best efforts for a continuation budget that is modest still produces a 5 percent tax levy increase,” Bernstein said.

The 2009-10 budget is $99.86 million with $75.1 million coming from property taxes. Under Bernstein’s proposed 2010-11 continuation budget of $102.1 million — which contains $2.5 million less in state aid — the district would need to collect $78.7 million in property taxes from the community to cover the shortfall.

The district is receiving about $18.7 million in state aid this year, and with Gov. David Paterson’s proposed statewide state aid cuts totaling $1.1 billion, the district is set to get $16.2 million in state aid for the 2010-11 school year.

Bernstein also presented a preliminary budget with a 3 percent tax levy increase. That scenario only increased the budget by .8 percent, but staffing and class sizes could be affected, he said. Bernstein noted that under that scenario, he would have to look at every staff position, including administration and civil service jobs, and possibly make cuts. “We want to minimize the affect on kids,” he said.

Board Trustee Ken Cummings said that aiming for a 3 percent tax levy increase is the most responsible route for the district. “I don’t think our community can support anything more than a 3 percent tax levy increase,” Cummings said.

Trustee Bill Stris agreed with Cummings. “With the information that we have, I think this is the prudent way to go,” Stris said.

Under the direction of the board, Bernstein said he will aim for a budget with a 3 percent tax levy increase. With that in mind though, Bernstein said he will consider increasing class sizes to 27 or 28, which could eliminate five or six teacher positions. He added that though he doesn’t want to cut programs, he is not averse to considering it to balance the budget. Other items Bernstein said he would suggest to the board for review is the district’s sports no-cut policy, the summer recreation program and the adult eduction program that is subsidized by the district. “I’d rather go to higher class sizes than cut electives,” he said.

Bernstein said that he will present a budget with a 3 percent tax levy increase, along with a list of proposed cuts to the board on March 2 and hopes the board adopts it by April 6. He noted that budget scenarios could change if state aid is fully restored in the upcoming months.