By Dan Israeli
The budget seeks $31.6 million in spending for 2008-09, a 3.87 percent increase over the current budget of $30.4 million.
The tax levy will rise 6.9 percent next school year, according to Patrick Manley, the district's assistant superintendent of finance and management. The average home in the district, valued at $484,700, is projected to pay $2,489 in school taxes. Manley said that the tax increase is due to a number of factors, including the district's lower returns on investments this year and rising energy costs.
"For the last three years, we've done fairly well on investments," Manley said. "This year has seen a decline." And, while taxes will increase, he explained, the spending plan is still a fiscally responsible choice for taxpayers, who will vote on the budget May 20, when compared with a contingency budget that would be put in place if the budget were voted down. Contingency would cap the increase in expenditures at 3.36 percent, meaning that some spending items would have to be cut.
"We would have to remove equipment purchases, summer programs, any costs that were not state mandated," said Manley, describing the scenario with a contingency budget. "It's not about trying to threaten the public. The bottom line is, if you vote for the [adopted budget] you are going to get all of these things for only $18 more a year than with a contingency budget."
Superintendent Tom Dolan echoed Manley. "We believe the tax levy increase is artificially inflated by the fact that our district's taxes didn't go down this year," Dolan said. "Therefore the increase appears to be greater. Nonetheless, it remains just five cents more a day over the contingency budget."
The Franklin Square district has never had to operate with a contingency budget, which is adopted automatically if a proposed budget is voted down twice.
The 2008-09 spending plan includes nearly $500,000 in technology spending, highlighted by the addition of 15 electronic white boards to the district's three schools. The technology offers a digital alternative to a blackboard, projecting computer imagery onto a large white screen. The budget also includes 68 new computers, which will further implement the district's Web-based accelerated reader program.
Julie Soffientini, assistant superintendent of curriculum, pointed to the district's state report card, one of the highest scoring in the county, to illustrate the importance of new programs and technology in the budget. "The remarkable thing is that we've been able to get so much bang for the buck, in terms of curriculum," Soffientini said. "Our [report card] scores, which are well above state average, are because of programs we introduced over the years as part of our curriculum initiative."
The district plans to spend $400,000 in general funds on the Washington Street School project, which includes a new roof and athletic fields. The project has a projected total cost of over $2 million, and will also be funded by $600,000 left over from a bond issue in 2001 and a $600,000 state grant obtaine by Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City).
The budget vote will include a referendum that, if approved by voters, would shift $281,000 in the district's repair reserve fund to the capital reserve fund to offset the cost of the Washington Street project. The referendum would add up to $700,000 to the capital reserve fund, with any additional money coming from this year's budget surplus.
The district has been successful in saving money in recent years, evidenced by a five-year trend of smaller overall spending increases. Manley pointed out that since the 2004-05 budget, the spending increase has dropped from 7.2 percent to next year's proposed 3.87 percent.
"I am very proud that we've been able to develop a budget that is fiscally prudent and expands opportunities for our students at the same time," said Dolan. "This is the fifth year in a row we have had a budget-to-budget decrease, and we hope to continue that trend."
Joe Armocida, school board president, said he was pleased to see the spending increase come in under 4 percent. "It's a small increase, and I'm happy that we were able to keep all of our programs and expand technology," Armocida said. "We have been very effective in the way we prepared this budget."
Jerry Monaco, chairman of the Community Budget Advisory Board, commended everyone involved with the budget's groundwork, while noting the importance of community awareness and input. "You don't need money, you need good administrators, staff, board members and parents to make a school district work," Monaco said. "If you don't come down and get involved, you're not going to know how and why your tax dollars are being spent. I encourage everyone to get more involved with what the school district is doing."
Comments about this story? DIsraeli@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 214.
