2009-2010 Budget
Budget Review: General Support, O & M, Transportation, Debt Service Transfers & Special Items
Feb. 10, 2009
The 2009-2010 budget development process continued on Feb. 9, with a budget review session where Assistant Superintendent for Business Denise Swezey presented preliminary budget numbers in the areas of general support, operations and maintenance, pupil transportation, debt service transfers and special items. See PowerPoint Presentation from meeting (PDF).
It is in these areas of the budget, Swezey said, that you can see many of the areas where the district has been pro-active in regards to cost-saving measures. These include the energy education program, working with other districts to share resources and services, eliminating some positions through attrition, maximizing state aid and much more.
Please keep in mind that the 2009-2010 budget figures are simply preliminary projections--not final budget numbers.
General Support
In the area of general support, Swezey presented the following numbers.
| Expenditures | Acct. | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| Board of Education | A1010 | $21,925 | $20,220 | $(1,705) |
| District Clerk | A1040 | $4,500 | $4,500 | - |
| District Meeting | A1060 | $3,000 | $3,000 | - |
| Chief School Administrator | A1240 | $213,182 | $225,898 | $12,716 |
| Business Administration | A1310 | $492,423 | $517,955 | $25,532 |
| Auditing | A1320 | $34,000 | $34,250 | $250 |
| Treasurer | A1325 | $3,500 | $2,750 | $(750) |
| Tax Collector | A1330 | $5,500 | $5,500 | - |
| Fiscal Agent Fees | A1380 | $2,000 | $2,000 | - |
| Legal | A1420 | $65,000 | $65,000 | - |
| Central Printing & Mailing | A1670 | $32,054 | $33,329 | $1,275 |
| Central Data Processing | A1680 | $49,438 | $8,500 | $(40,938) |
| $926,522 | $922,902 | |||
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $(3,630) | |||
In the table above, Swezey made note that the lines for Chief School Administrator and Business Administration include the salaries, supplies and everything else associated with both the Superintendent's office and the district's business office. She also noted that the more than $40,000 decrease in the line for central data processing was because a position was eliminated this year due to a retirement. That person's duties have been redistributed to current employees.
| Expenditures | Acct. | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| Unallocated Insurance | A1910 | $167,729 | $169,650 | $1,921 |
| School Association Dues | A1920 | $4,000 | $4,000 | - |
| Assessments School Property | A1950 | $26,000 | $26,000 | - |
| Refund Real Property Taxes | A1964 | $50.000 | $50,000 | - |
| Unclassified | A1989 | $75,000 | $75,000 | - |
| Community Services | ||||
| Census | A8070 | $5,250 | $3,750 | $(1,500) |
| Special Items | ||||
| Transfer to Special Aid | A9901 | $45,000 | $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $372,979 | $378,400 | |||
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $5,421 | |||
When presenting this table, Swezey noted that school districts are responsible for 20 percent of summer programs for special education students, which is what the line for Transfer to Special Aid is for.
Operations & Maintenance
Swezey noted that in the area of operations and maintenance, the district has seen large savings due to the efforts of Energy Educator Jamie Dilbone and Director of Facilities Joe Mayo. For example, Mohonasen recently locked into the lowest natural gas price the district has seen since before hurricane Katrina. Also, because of the district's energy program, faculty and staff members district wide are turning off the lights, their printers and computers when they aren't being used, which has resulted in a large energy savings.
Swezey presented the following numbers in the area of operations and maintenance.
| Expenditures | Acct. | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| Operations of Plant | A1620 | |||
| Salaries | .160 | $929,641 | $936,008 | $6,367 |
| Equipment | .200 | $34,000 | $19,000 | $(15,000) |
| Testing and Inspection | .400 | $22,000 | $20,300 | $(1,700) |
| Fuel Oil | .410 | $400,000 | $250,000 | $(150,000) |
| Electricity | .411 | $775,000 | $650,000 | $(125,000) |
| Telephone | .412 | $55,000 | $45,000 | $(10,000) |
| Supplies | .450 | $88,000 | $78,000 | $(10,000) |
| Uniforms | .456 | $15,000 | $18,000 | $3,000 |
| $2,318,641 | $2,016,308 | |||
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $(302,333) | |||
| Expenditures | Acct. | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| Maintenance of Plant | A1621 | |||
| Salaries | .160 | $231,406 | $216,659 | $(15,747) |
| Equipment | .200 | $66,300 | $28,450 | $(37,850) |
| Travel/Conference | .406 | $3,000 | $2,000 | $(1,000) |
| Maintenance Contracts | .407 | $197,130 | $205,600 | $8,470 |
| Repairs | .408 | $47,000 | $47,000 | - |
| Supplies | .450 | $91,800 | $80,3000 | $(11,500) |
| $637,636 | $580,009 | |||
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $(57,627) | |||
When presenting the above table, Swezey made note of the salary line, saying that the decline is due to some open positions that won't be filled for next year. Also, she noted that the decline in the equipment line is because the district purchased some new maintenance equipment this year and therefore won't need as much next year.
Pupil Transportation
The largest increase in the budget for transportation, Swezey explained, is in the area of salaries for drivers and bus aides. This is because in the last support staff contract, the district made an effort to increase the salaries of these employees to that they were more in line with that of area districts.
She also noted that the district is currently considering eliminating the kindergarten-only bus run, a savings that is currently not reflected in the numbers below; and the state High School Athletic Association recently made a decision that cut back on the number of high school sporting events next year, which will also result in a savings that is not reflected in the numbers below.
Swezey presented the following numbers in the area of pupil transportation
| Expenditures | Acct. | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| Pupil Transportation | A5510 | |||
| Salaries - Clerical | .160 | $67,976 | $71,781 | $3,805 |
| Salaries - Drivers/Aides | .170 | $1,282,588 | $1,473,406 | $190,818 |
| Salaries - Trips | .180 | $97,100 | $96,600 | $(500) |
| Equipment | .200 | $38,000 | $7,500 | $(30,500) |
| Other Expense | .400 | $44,100 | $40,700 | $(3,400) |
| Insurance | .419 | $65,758 | $65,758 | - |
| Supplies | .450 | $135,250 | $129,250 | $(6,000) |
| Gasoline | .451 | $42,000 | $42,000 | - |
| Diesel | .459 | $300,000 | $292,500 | $(7,500) |
| $2,072,772 | $2,219,495 | |||
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $146,723 | |||
| Expenditures | Acct. | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| Garage Building | A5530 | |||
| Other Expense | .400 | $2,750 | $2,750 | - |
| Heat | .410 | $15,000 | $15,000 | - |
| Electricity | .411 | $18,000 | $17,000 | $(1,000) |
| Telephone | .412 | $500 | $400 | $(100) |
| $36,250 | $35,150 | |||
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $(1,100) | |||
Every year the district puts a bus referendum up for vote alongside the budget proposal. By doing this the district has been able to continue it's bus replacement program--replacing old buses that are costly to repair and are in danger of not making state DOT inspection, with newer, safer buses. Currently the district has 42 66-passenger buses (including one wheelchair bus), 17 21-passenger buses (including 4 wheelchair buses), and one eight-passenger suburban.
In her presentation, Swezey noted that 20 of these buses are 10 years old or older and most have more than 100,000 miles on them.
In order to continue with the bus replacement program, the district's transportation director is requesting that the district purchase five 66-passenger buses (approximately $92,000 per bus), two 22-passenger wheelchair buses (app. $65,000 per bus) and two eight-passenger suburbans (app. $37,500 per vehicle).
If the board decides to move forward with this plan, voters in May would decide on a roughly $665,000 proposition to purchase these vehicles. Of that amount, 81.5 percent ($541,975) would be paid for in the form of state aid, meaning taxpayers would be responsible for $123,025 - or approximately $24,605 a year. This would have no impact on next year's budget, as debt payments would begin in 2010-11.
Debt Service
Increases in debt service expenses are offset by state aid -- meaning that while the numbers below are recorded as expenses, the same amount is also recorded as a revenue from the state.
Swezey presented the following numbers in the area of debt service.
| Expenditures | Acct. | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| Serial Bonds - Debt Service | A9711 | $2,690,683 | $2,770,598 | $79,915 |
| Serial Bonds - Bus Debt | A9712 | $337,749 | $369,846 | $32,097 |
| $3,028,432 | $3,140,444 | |||
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $112,012 | |||
Summary
To summarize the numbers in the above tables, Swezey presented the following information:
| Expenditures | 2008-09 Budget | 2009-10 Budget | Incr./Decr. |
| General Support | $1,249,251 | $1,247,552 | $(1,699) |
| Community Services | $5,250 | $3,750 | $(1,500) |
| Special Items | $42,000 | $50,000 | $8,000 |
| Operations & Maintenance | $2,956,277 | $2,596,317 | $(359,960) |
| Pupil Transportation | $2,109,022 | $2,254,645 | $145,623 |
| Debt Service | $3,028,432 | $3,140,444 | $112,012 |
| Subtotal Increase/Decrease | $(97,524) | ||
Contingent Budget Cap
If a school district's budget is voted down by residents, districts have the option of putting the same or a modified version of the budget up for a second vote or adopting a contingent budget. If the budget is voted down a second time, districts must adopt a contingent budget. A contingent budget means that all spending (with the exception of a few areas of the budget) are caped at 120 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 4 percent, whichever is less. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI for 2008 is 3.8 percent, therefore the contingent budget cap for 2009-10 is 4 percent.
The next budget review session is currently scheduled for Monday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Farnsworth Technology Center. Topics for discussion will be athletics, co-curricular activities and BOCES.
