By Nick Buglione
A $6-million shortfall in state funding, coupled with a roughly $9-million increase in expenditures, has forced the district to raise property taxes by $7.4 million and cut expenses by $5.9 million under the new budget. Meanwhile, the district also plans to use $2.1 million of its nearly $10-million reserve funds to help subsidize programs and spending.
"In August, the state proposed a spending plan that was stripped down by the Legislature with the understanding they would come back in September to address supplemental spending, plans focused primarily on state aid to schools," said East Meadow School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Dillon. "Needless to say, Sept. 11 short-circuited everything, and the Legislature did not restore the funds we hoped they would restore."
In total, the budget will increase 2.5 percent in 2002-2003, raising it from the current $116 million to about $119 million. Though state allocations are not yet in place, the district expects to receive the same amount of aid as it did last year, roughly $25 million.
The $6-million shortfall in funding was caused by the state's elimination of reimbursements on district spending toward BOCES, capital projects and other programs, said Dillon.
Increases in salary contracts, Social Security costs, insurance premiums and assessments from retirement systems compounded the district's problem, adding almost $9 million in expenses in the coming year.
Combining the loss of revenue and increased expenditures, the East Meadow School District had to make up a $15-million gap, prompting them to reduce expenses by $5.9 million and call for a property-tax increase of well over 9 percent. Having already tapped into its reserves last year, the district is "reluctantly" also drawing $2.1 million from its rainy day funds to help subsidize the budget.
In total, revenue from taxes will bring in $84 million, up from the almost $77 million last year.
"This is a problem visited upon us by the State of New York," said Dillon. "We are very dependent on state aid."
With a planned increase of $6.93 per every $100 of assessed value, homeowners with houses assessed at $6,000 will pay $4,600 in school taxes under the 2002-2003 budget.
In addition, the district will let go between 55 and 60 teachers, while significantly cutting programs such as music, computers, athletics and intramurals.
"Cuts in instructional staff depend upon what happens through natural attrition with people leaving the district, either through retirement or moving," said Dillon, explaining that district officials hope they will have to lay off fewer teachers than initially anticipated.
Two librarians, one guidance counselor, two social workers, four administrative staff members and 15 intervention specialists will also lose their jobs.
The looming instructional staff cuts translate into an increase in class sizes, as students will have to be pooled together to compensate for the loss of teachers.
Projections indicate that classes in grades one through five will increase from 20 to about 23 students next year, while kindergarten will be somewhere in the 19 to 22 student range, up from the current average of 16. On the secondary level, honors and Regents courses could hold anywhere from 20 to 30 students. Despite the increases, district officials said all class sizes fall within board of education guidelines.
According to Dillon, teacher layoffs were most significant because that is the area that has expanded the most over the past few years. More than 70 instructional staff members have been hired in the last three years, he said.
Parents, however, have strongly emphasized in recent weeks that the bulk of the cuts should be made to administrative and non-instructional positions rather than teachers.
Though district officials said they are seeking outside funding to finance these programs, the pre-kindergarten and elementary summer school programs will also be eliminated in the 2002-2003 budget.
If the state includes extra education funding in its budget, the district would be able to either replenish the reserves it has exhausted or lower the property-tax levy. They would not be able to re-hire teachers who have been laid off, Dillon said.
While it was not yet been put down on paper, the 2002-2003 budget also calls for district employee salary increases, which includes central administration, said Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Administration Leon Campo. Some parents have been critical of the administration for taking a pay increase, considering the district's financial situation.
Campo noted that the district is still working out the raises, but they will release the numbers as soon as all increases are in place.
"All individuals within the district are going to receive an increase," he said. "If anything, some of our jobs are harder now than a year ago." Right now, Dillon and Campo earn about $152,000 and $130,000 a year respectively.
Faced with an impending double whammy, increased taxes along with significant cutbacks, hundreds of concerned community members packed the two recent public budget presentation hearings to voice their anger, particularly over teacher firings.
"We want to know why East Meadow is the only district being affected like this, because nobody else is getting it like we are," said Eileen Steinberg, co-president of the Woodland Middle School PTA who has one child attending Woodland and another in Barnum Woods Elementary School.
Steinberg, along with other parents, maintain other local districts are raising their taxes but are not cutting back on staff and programs as much. In some instances parents claim districts are even hiring teachers.
"We had to fight to get these jobs and we see how much the kids need good teachers in these schools," said one East Meadow High School teacher who is being let go and asked not to be identified further. "The fact that they've waited so long to let us know makes looking for another job even harder."
Still, Campo said this is a problem that is not unique to East Meadow, citing a New York State School Board Association survey that indicates 70 percent of New York school districts are planning to eliminate instructional positions owing to inadequate state funding.
What's more is East Meadow's budget problems will probably not improve much in the future. "Next year is going to be just as bad," said Campo, noting that expenses will only get higher while state aid will continue to lag.
Further criticism has been directed at the district's plan to move its central offices out of East Meadow High School and into the Salisbury facility. BOCES will be moving out of this summer. The move is being made so the office space at the high school can be converted into extra classrooms to accommodate growing enrollment.
Yet, when BOCES moves out of the Salisbury building, the district will lose about $500,000 in rent revenue. Some members of the community believe the district would be better served by selling the building to generate extra revenue, or keeping the renters and consolidating the space central administration is now using.
With BOCES eager to purchase its own offices, Dillon said the district was going to lose its rent revenue sooner or later. He added that the state is cutting back on building aid, making the move less expensive than constructing more classrooms at East Meadow High School. There is $200,000 from the 2000 bond issue to pay for the move, which should take place over the summer.
Community members are also furious over their apparent lack of input into the proposed 2002-2003 budget.
"We were approached with this after it was already a done deal," said Steinberg. "This isn't the first time this has happened."
Although the board of education does appoint a financial advisory committee composed of community members, Dillon did say he planned on making more time for public comment earlier in the drafting process next year.
"We'll put a meeting together, probably in February or March, so we can gather more input from the community," he said.
Charging they are placing too much blame on state officials, local residents have accused the district of mismanaging its funds.
"The paid administration is sending a signal to the community that the reason why we're in this mess is because of our state officials," said Richard Bivone, vice president of the Council of East Meadow Civic Organizations. "The bottom line is they are getting paid to make sound decisions and advise the school board as to when and how to spend the money."
Bivone added civic leaders are setting up a meeting with district officials to discuss the budget. Many, including Bivone, believe an audit by the State Department of Education is in order.
However, Dillon said every year an independent firm that is licensed by the state audits the district and sends its findings to the Department of Education for review.
While district officials hope residents pass the proposed budget when they vote on May 21, parents don't share in their optimism.
"They aren't passing this budget; I don't care if I have to stand [at the polls] with a sign," said Kathy Volpe, vice president of the Parkway Elementary School PTA.
In the event the budget doesn't pass, the board has the option of once again putting it before the community for a vote or putting in place a contingent budget.
"The law on contingency budgets states that we have to put forth a budget that will meet the minimum education requirements and standards," Campo said. The contingency budget would essentially be the same as the proposed one, only with extra cuts to equipment and student supplies, he said.
If the budget is passed, it will take effect on July 1.
