By Mike Schnitzel
The proposal that was revealed at the Board of Education¹s work session Feb. 6 totals just under $92 million, an increase of $5.18 million over this year¹s $86.78 million budget.
Valley Stream homeowners would see an average increase of 5.99 percent on the high school portion of their tax bills. The new tax rate has not yet been calculated because new assessment data will not be released by the county until around April 1, Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said.
The budget hike would meet important needs in the school district, including employee salary and benefit increases, the new state requirement that schools provide students with calculators for math courses, the updating of textbooks and the implementation of the district¹s technology program, Bernstein said.
In order, to implement the first phase of the technology program, about $1 million would be appropriated from the capital reserve fund that was approved by voters last May. The money would be used to upgrade the district¹s technology infrastructure, including the schools¹ servers, computer security systems and software. In all, a total of $1.6 million would be appropriated from the $2.7 million that has accumulated in the capital reserve fund, which is used for infrastructure improvements and does not impact the general budget. The district also plans to replace the tennis courts at Central High School and update the electrical systems at North and South high schools.
According to Bill Heidenreich, assistant superintendent for personnel and administration, the administration is looking to add three new faculty positions. Heidenreich said that the new positions would be added in order to balance class sizes and provide needed additional sections of Academic Intervention Services, which the state mandates that schools provide for students who do not meet proficiency requirements on state tests.
³Some students we did not anticipate to be in need of Academic Intervention Services were, necessitating the need for additional faculty,² Heidenreich explained. Because student enrollment patterns have remained relatively stable, the administration anticipated that there would not be a need for a substantial increase in faculty, he said at the work session. Heidenreich estimates that the cost of the three positions will be about $210,000, including salaries and benefits.
Administration officials have recommended the appropriation of $3.3 million from the current budget to help offset the tax levy. That figure is based on the amount of money that will be left when the district¹s accounts close on June 30, according to Bernstein.
³What we do is look at the current balance that we started the current school year with in July,² Bernstein said. ³Then we look at additional revenues this year beyond those that were expected, and budget funds we thought we would need which were not needed.² This helps to prevent a spike in taxes from one year to the next, Bernstein said. Last year the district appropriated $2.6 million to help offset the tax levy.
Under Gov. Eliot Spitzer¹s proposed state budget, the district expects about $14.5 million in state aid next year, an increase of about 3.5 percent over this year¹s total of about $14 million.
In order to help cut costs, the district is considering the elimination of its automotive program at Central High School, a move officials say would save several hundred thousand dollars. Of the 40 students currently enrolled in the program, only 20 would be able to utilize BOCES automotive facilities, because only students interested in majoring in the program can attend.
According to Ron Smith, assistant superintendent for finance, it would cost $479,000 to bring the auto shop building up to code, as well as an additional $50,000 to $75,000 to build ramps and enlarge the restroom in order for the shop to comply with the American with Disabilities Act. Dr. Thomas Troisi, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that it costs $170,000 per year to operate the automotive program, including salaries and equipment.
Despite the cost of the program, some board members remained concerned about cutting it, noting that in addition to students who take the class as an elective, residents enrolled in the adult education program would also be ineligible to use BOCES automotive facilities. Board members agreed that the matter should be discussed further before any decision is made.
The next budget review session will be held on March 6 in the board room of the district administrative building, at 1 Kent Road in Valley Stream. The budget will be adopted at the next business meeting of the board on March 13, in the cafeteria at Memorial Junior High School.
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
