By Liz McBreen
Presently, the board does not know exactly how they will deal with the severe cuts in state aid. It has not yet been decided if certain programs or services will be cut completely, or if funding will be decreased for a wide range of programs. Another concern is whether or not students enrolled in the Sewanhaka district will be able to take part in the BOCES program.
The difficulty of balancing the school budget lies in not knowing whether the state will allocate more funds to each district than the initial numbers released last week report.
"If we do not have a budget from the state or final numbers on aid, we are forced to make guesses, and things can change after the budget has been voted on," said one of the board members.
As the process continues, the board members will go through the budget on a line-by-line basis and vote whether to keep or do away with each expense. If an item receives five or more votes, it will be written into the budget.
Once the board has decided what will be included, the principal of each high school will be given a dollar amount broken down into three categories: Equipment, Contractual and Supplies. "It is up to each principal to use the money according to their own discretion and based on the input of their staff," said Dr. George Goldstein. All financial decisions made by individual high schools will then go through Central Administration for final approval.
The Alva T. Stanforth property on Hempstead Turnpike was also discussed. Two weeks ago, the board passed a motion to demolish the existing building that is on the land, and build athletic fields. The total cost will be about $5.5 million.
According to Aubrey Phillips, a member of the Sewanhaka School Board, the board has to decide between two options to fund the project. Either a bond will be floated for the amount, and the money will be used solely towards the ATS property, or other capital improvements will be added so that the entire district will benefit from the bond.
Goldstein stated that approximately $2.5 million will go toward demolishing the abandoned Junior High School, and the other $3 million will be used to refurbish the existing fields and build new ones.
Members of the board who annually project the number of students who will be enrolled in the district schools annually, have calculated projected numbers for the next ten years. Based on these figures, the district decided that the Hempstead Turnpike property would not be needed to accommodate students, and so the decision was made to destroy the building. These projected numbers have been 99.5% accurate in the past. Right now, the future of land lies with residents who will vote on the bond in May.
