No major gap foreseen in proposed RVC school budget

A second budget presentation was given at the Rockville Centre Board of Education meeting on Feb. 25, where the district provided numbers for the proposed 2020-2021 school budget for the first time. This was the second of five budget work sessions that will take place prior to the preliminary budget hearing on April 21.

The total proposed budget for 2020-21 is $122.86 million, which is $2.6 million more than the current year’s budget, or a 2.18 percent increase over the 2019-20 school budget.

“It comes very close to matching what we have come to understand as the tax cap,” Superintendent Dr. William H. Johnson said, explaining that the cap is applied to the tax levy, not to expenditures. “What we’re recommending is that the tax levy increase by about $1.9 million, or 2.01 percent.”

There are a variety of ingredients that comprise that tax cap, Johnson said, the most significant of which is the Consumer Price Index. “The overall impact of that formula is that our tax cap this year is 2.03 percent,” Johnson said.

 Johnson said the second most important piece of the monies used to contribute to the overall expenditure plan of the district comes from the state; the amount of state aid is still “in flux” and will not be determined by the state until April 1. He said they have a meeting planned with state legislators on March 6, but the estimate on the proposed budget reflects a $300,000 increase. 

“Overall, our revenues match the expenditures,” Johnson said.

Dr. Christopher Pellettieri, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, went over the expenditure plan for his department. 

“Curriculum and instruction is the lifeblood of the school district,” Pellettieri said.

His presentation focused on the five main areas of his budget. The largest portion is technology, at a cost of $2.7 million, followed by data processing at $402,250, which includes supplies, managing mobile devices; instructional programs and software at $377,227, textbooks and supplies at $370,656 and professional development at $254,120.

The technology piece includes equipment such as laptops and desktop computers, iPads and cases, hardware, smart monitors, printers, firewall, BOCES fees and Model School Days.

“When we purchase technology, we also purchase technological support,” Pellettieri noted.

Pellettieri said his department purchases about 600 iPads and cases each year, at a cost of around $70,000, and has about 250 laptops and desktops on a five-year replacement cycle. He said there has been a discussion around laptops versus Chromebooks at the high school, and “what might be the best tool for students as they move through our system.”

“We want to make sure we’re giving our students the best tools to prepare them going forward,” Pellettieri said, noting that students tend to use laptops in college. “We want to make sure we’re making educationally sound decisions for our students.”

The STELLAR centers in each school have new smart monitors, with 10-point touch screens, which he said will eventually replace smart boards, either as they break or when setting up a new classroom.

“We’re not going to start taking things down that are working,” he said.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Noreen Leahy went over the pupil personnel services and special education budget.

She said, unlike the curriculum and instruction budget, this piece is “unpredictable.”

“We have to be prepared to respond to students who may need extra support. We’re never sure when these new students may enter with these needs and we have to try to predict that as best we can,” Leahy said. “Much of our budget is prescribed by regulation and determined by the current makeup of the student body, which is susceptible to change.”

The budget Leahy presented does not include salaries, but is the “amount of money she actually manages,” Johnson clarified.

The budget includes some programs that affect all students, Leahy said, regardless of academic needs. This includes the summer program, which costs about $108,000. She said it’s an enrichment program as well as a revenue source for the district.

“It’s a wonderful program and has grown by leaps and bounds,” Leahy said.

About 9 percent, or $421,049, of the pupil personnel services and special education budget is related to health services and supplies, and another large piece is general contracted services for special education, at a cost of $476,000.

The bulk of the pupil personnel services and special education budget, however, is for out of district tuitions for students whose needs cannot be met in the district. This includes BOCES placements at a cost of $1.7 million; private school tuitions, at a cost of $1.38 million; and public school tuitions, at a cost of $171,000.

“Despite our best efforts and intentions, there are some students that require education outside of the district,” Leahy said. “This is the portion of the budget that tends to be the lion’s share of the budget, and the one that is also somewhat unpredictable. We’re not sure at any given year if a student’s needs are so great that they need to be sent out of district, or if a student moves in who is already in outside placement.”

The district will continue its budget discussions on March 4, March 18 and April 2. The preliminary budget hearing will be on April 21, the budget hearing will take place May 6, and the budget vote will be on May 19.