Districts 13, 24 adopt proposed 2011-12 budgets

The Boards of Education in Valley Stream Districts 13 and 24 have adopted proposed budgets for the 2011-12 school year. The spending plans will be up for a public vote on May 17.

Over the weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers agreed on state budget. It restores $272 million in aid to schools from Cuomo’s executive budget. The districts are awaiting new state aid projections.

District 13

The proposed $42.5 million spending plan, adopted by the Board of Education on March 22, is a 2.89 percent increase over the current year’s budget. It maintains programs but does reduced some staff positions, which Assistant Superintendent for Business Meredith Brosnan said are mostly enrollment driven. She noted that a large sixth-grade class graduates in June.

Among the staff cuts include three classroom teachers, a gifted and talented teacher, a speech therapist, four noon-hour aides and the reduction of a few other positions from full-time to part-time.

The tax levy would increase by 2.82 percent, if the budget is approved by voters. Brosnan said the average homeowner would see an increase of about $73 in elementary school taxes next year.

The district is being hit with high increases in both its mandated pension and health insurance contributions. Retirement costs will be up nearly $1 million next year, and health costs will be up about $500,000. To deal with these large increases and to maintain programs, District 13 will use $2.1 million from surplus funds for next year’s budget.

“It was a tough choice budget,” said Board of Education President Frank Chiachiere. “It’s never a happy time when you have to cut positions.”

The district was to receive a state aid cut of about $578,000. If some aid is restored, Chiachiere said the board has several options as to what it could do with the money. Those include restoring positions or lowering the tax levy. But, he said, there are seven people who have to make that decision. “I don’t want to say anything until I’ve discussed it with the board,” he said.

District 24

The Board of Education adopted its proposed $27.2 million spending plan on March 23. That is a 2.26 percent increase over the current year’s budget.

Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale said that the budget maintains programs and staffing levels in the district. He said there is little, if nothing, left to cut. “We’ve done reductions each year for the past several years,” he said. “We’re a very lean administration. We only have one assistant superintendent. We don’t have any assistant principals.”

The tax levy would increase 1.1 percent, if the budget is approved by voters. Assistant Superintendent for Business Dan Onorato said that the average homeowner should see a $20 increase in their elementary school tax bill.

Onorato said that any more state aid would likely be used to offset the tax levy. “If we get an increase in state aid,” he said, “then we’ll have to collect less taxes.” The district would lose about $633,000 under Cuomo’s budget proposal.

Some capital projects are included in next year’s budget including some brick work repairs at the William L. Buck School and some handicapped accessibility improvements at Buck and the Robert W. Carbonaro School.