By Anthony Rifilato
School officials said they are worried about Gov. George Pataki's recent proposal to slash school aid by $1.2 billion in an attempt to close the state's huge deficit, putting school districts in the precarious position of balancing their budgets with potential property tax increases, program cuts and layoffs.
Baldwin stands to lose $1.8 million in state aid, down to $15.2 million for the 2003-04 school year, a 10.78 percent drop from last year.
"We are worried about the money and what will happen," said Deputy Superintendent Dr. Lee Chapman.
Because of the governor's proposal, which ultimately has to be approved by the state Legislature, schools are configuring their preliminary budgets anticipating a shortfall.
Chapman said he has drafted a preliminary budget to start discussions this week, which includes a 5 percent increase from last year's $77.8 million budget. "We have everything in there we think is necessary," he said. But Chapman also said he anticipates that the preliminary budget will be cut and trimmed by the board. "There will be a lot more deletions because of a lack of state aid," he said.
Though Chapman said no decisions had been made about the need to eliminate programs or raise property taxes, the board is expected to address the issues in phases at the meetings.
The first meeting, which entailed discussions about staffing, capital improvements and buildings and grounds, was held on Wednesday.
"We are still looking at projected staffing and how many people we need to run programs," said Chapman, adding that the district wants to avoid layoffs.
The second meeting, to be held on March 19, will address instructional programs, which Chapman said could be greatly impacted by the cuts. The third meeting, on March 26, will cover revenue.
Pataki's proposal comes as schools are required to meet higher state-mandated standards, which has provoked an outcry from school officials across the state, who say they are forced to do more with less money. Baldwin has increased its staff over the past few years to meet the standards and keep class sizes small.
While the district contends with the state cuts, its task has been made more difficult when it comes to property taxes. Because of the recent property reassessment in Nassau County, the county no longer employs the method of estimating a tax increase per $100 of assessed value. Now, the increases will be based on one percent of the full market value, a system Chapman said needs further explaining by the county. "We have to explain it to our taxpayers," he said. Baldwin also is considered a "high tax-low wealth" district, and the schools depend more on state aid than more affluent districts.
Aside from school aid slashes, the district faces increased retirement contributions as well as skyrocketing fuel prices and health-insurance costs. There also have been changes to building aid, with projects now paid for by the state over a 15- to 30-year period as opposed to a substantial sum paid out during the following school year. Sources said capital projects in the district would probably be scaled back, and the school board will gauge the community's receptiveness to using municipal bonds as an alternative.
