By:Rebecca Shalomoff
Officials at Lawrence Public Schools sliced deeper into the 2001-2002 budget, cutting off funds for after-school activities, field trips and the Lawrence Philharmonic, to offset the impact of the recently-discovered budget shortfall.
Before the results of the district's special election were announced Tuesday, Oct. 30 board members voted for a series of budget cuts proposed by assistant superintendent for curriculum Michelle Lineal, which included:
n $18,000 for after-school club activities. One out of five clubs in each of the elementary schools will be eliminated, in addition to four middle school clubs, including Stage Band, Students Against Bias, School to Career Club and Science Club.
n $73,000 reduction in field trips, which will reduce the total number of trips by half.
n $24,000 savings in supplies and materials for music, art, physical Education and community services departments.
n $20,000 for the Lawrence Philharmonic.
I think the board is taking the proper actions in terms of fiscal responsibility,superintendent Dr. Mark Rosenbaum said. It's disappointing that we are in this position. No one is pleased with the cuts, but we believe we have no choice.
The budget cuts mark continued steps taken by the board in the wake of a budget fiasco discovered by board members in August. The board has been reacting to the discovery that administrators overspent $1.8 million in the 2000-2001 budget and are looking at another $700,000 shortfall for 2001-2002. With the $4 million held in reserves completely depleted emergency money which had covered past over-expenditures the district had no choice but to put the financial burden on taxpayers, raising taxes by 14.16 percent.
In early September, Rosenbaum announced the first major cuts to the budget totaling $265,200, which includes not filling the vacancy for assistant principal at the middle school, not replacing the coordinator of instruction in the curriculum office, reducing teacher participation in Nassau BOCES In-Service training program, canceling district memberships to education organizations, adjusting building allocations, suspending LPS participation in the Columbia Teachers College Reading/Writing Program and cutting back on materials and supplies.
With the latest cuts approved last week, the total savings comes to $400,200.
District officials are also looking into a $61,000 cut in late bus service because on many evenings the buses run without students filling the seats.
These are not going to be easy budget cuts,trustee Dr. David Sussman said. We owe it to the children of the entire community to deliver the best services we can, but at the same time, we have to understand that taxpayers are paying the bill. With inflation running at 3 percent or less, we can't ask our taxpayers to continue to pay unconscionable monies.
Sussman, who chairs the board's budget sub-committee with trustee Frank Parise, said that if the district wants to come up with a 2.5 percent budget increase for next year, they will have to find budget cuts in the range of $5 million.
This is something no one wants to do,board member Kathy Raquet-Barry said. We have to find a way to take a little bit from everywhere.
While deemed a necessity, the recent budget cuts have been difficult for many to accept.
Even board president Frank Argento voted against the cuts to extracurricular activities. He said at the meeting, $18,000 in clubs is not the way to go.
Put back our clubs and activities,eighth-grader Nicole Brenner told board members. What about sports? Why can't team members purchase their own uniforms? What about those, like myself, who aren't athletically inclined? Students shouldn't lose extracurricular activities.
It seems that some of the budget cuts they are suggesting are arbitrary,said Bruce Scher, a North Woodmere resident. I think they are doing it because the community is looking for action and they are performing an action. But why nickel and dime cuts? It's a very helter-skelter approach.
