By Andrew Hackmack
The figures were released at a Board of Education budget workshop on Feb. 11.
Meredith Brosnan, the district's assistant superintendent for business, said that the increase would translate into a 3.94 percent hike in the tax levy, the total amount of taxes to be collected. Brosnan said that although Gov. David Paterson's proposed 4 percent tax cap never became law, district officials still decided to respect that figure.
Brosnan said that for an average homeowner, that would mean a school tax increase of 2.36 percent, or about $74.
Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison said the tax levy could be reduced if the district receives money from the federal stimulus package.
Lison noted that the proposed budget increase is the district's lowest in many years, and falls well below the contingency budget figure of 4 percent. A district must adopt a contingency spending plan if its budget fails to pass twice.
Paterson's proposed state budget would cut aid to the district by more than a half-million dollars. Brosnan said that because of the expected loss of revenue, the district will have to tighten its belt next year. "We looked at everything," she said, in preparing the 2009-10 spending plan.
Only essential equipment and supplies will be purchased next year, Brosnan explained. Additionally, travel and conference expenses will be reduced across the board, including for the Board of Education, administrators and teachers. She said that the district will look to do more in-house staff development programs instead.
Brosnan said that two fewer teachers will be needed next year because of shifts in enrollment. Overall, she said, the tentative budget maintains all of the district's current programs.
Lison said that the English Language Arts and math academies, which help students prepare for statewide tests, will be eliminated. Under the new teachers' contract, she said, faculty members are required to stay after school one afternoon a week to provide extra help, so the work can be made up that way.
Lison also said that next year's technology budget would be reduced by $100,000 because the district has completed most of its computer replacements in recent years. Only 10 will be purchased next year.
Some capital projects are included in the budget. There will be partial roof replacements at the Howell Road and Willow Road schools, and some bathroom partitions will be replaced at Howell, Willow and the James A. Dever School. The district will also fund the first phase of the blacktop replacement for the Wheeler Avenue School.
Brosnan said that the district would budget for an increase in fuel costs. She noted that district officials do not expect prices to remain as low as they are now, but neither are they expected to reach last year's highs. As for contractual costs, teachers will receive a 3 1/2 percent raise next year.
District officials have been working on the 2009-10 budget for several months. Brosnan said the focus has been on devising a spending plan that works for both students and taxpayers. "There is funding for everything," she said. "We're doing what's essential. Where possible, we're scaling back."
Board member Frank Chiachiere described the tentative budget as "bare bones."
Brosnan said that administrators and board members are conscious of the fact that in District 13, homeowners assume more than 90 percent of the tax burden because of the lack of commercial property.
Lison said that the board members were happy with the 1.39 percent budget increase, and that will be the figure on the agenda when the proposed spending plan is adopted at the end of March. "They were in agreement that it's the best possible budget to go forward," she said.
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
