arrow icon 2009-10 Budget

Mohonasen continues to be proactive and efficient in 2009-10 budget

Cuts go hand-in-hand with cost containment

It’s been said that challenging times bring new opportunities. This has never been more true at Mohonasen where officials have looked to find even more efficiencies in spending, maintain proven academic programs and trim the budget in a way that will have a minimal impact on students and staff—while at the same time raising the tax levy by less than one percent. Some of the ways this has been done include:

Elimination of positions
Total Savings: $545,000
All vacant positions are reviewed before they are filled to determine if the position is essential or if the tasks can be re-distributed. Through this process, some positions have either been eliminated or cut from full-time to part-time.

For example, a full-time human resources administrative position will not be filled for the 2009-10 school year, saving the district more than $100,000. The district also eliminated various teaching and support staff positions district wide.

Many of these reductions in teaching and support positions are possible because of declining enrollment over the last five years. This has allowed the district to eliminate faculty positions while still maintaining acceptable class sizes.

Additionally, several new positions—including kindergarten teachers for full-day kindergarten, academic intervention services teachers and counselors—are being funded through federal grants, rather than through the general fund budget.

Overall, a total of 12.1 positions were eliminated for next year, which, when combined with positions funded by the grants, will result in a $545,000 savings to the district.

Efficiencies in special education programs
Total Savings: $321,017
Officials continually review the needs of special education students, including those students served in the district. Sometimes in-house programs are created because they better serve students and may save the district money. District officials also make sure that each special education student is tracked to ensure the district is receiving the maximum state aid possible.

Because of these efforts and the graduation of a few students, Mohonasen has been able to decrease its BOCES budget for special education costs by $165,050 and other non-BOCES special education costs by $155,967 for the upcoming year. Of course, these costs can fluctuate based on student needs and new students coming into the district.

Operations and maintenance
Total Savings: $347,460
A variety of efficiencies and cost-saving efforts in the district’s operations and maintenance department are resulting in big savings for the district.
For example, Mohonasen is saving $150,000 on fuel oil for next year and $125,000 on electricity. These savings are mainly due to the district’s energy education program as well as collaborative contracts with other districts. Thousands more are being saved in the areas of supplies and equipment.

Overall, the costs of operating and maintaining Mohonasen’s facilities are down by almost 20 percent for 2009-10.

Decrease in athletic costs/supplies
Total Savings: $11,998
The athletics department budget will be reduced by almost $12,000 next year. These savings came primarily from two areas.

First, the budget for supplies and uniforms was able to be cut because coaches are doing a better job of keeping track of uniforms and making sure they are all returned at the end of each season.

Second, there will be a slight reduction in the number of athletic contests during the regular seasons next year. This change was mandated statewide by the state public high school athletics association.

Other budget reductions include:

  • Equipment purchases at the high school: $40,155

  • Textbook purchases at the middle school and high school: $39,089

  • Computer hardware and software: $111,757

  • Equipment for transportation: $33,000

  • Board of Education expenses: $2,000

  • BOCES printing costs: $3,850

  • Central data processing: $14,154

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