2009-2010 Budget
District bracing for difficult budget year
Dec. 29, 2008
| “Like many
school leaders around the state, I’m concerned about being able to maintain quality programs while holding the line on taxes.” - Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Spring |
Given the grim economic forecast and promised cuts to state education funding, schools around the state are preparing for a tough budget year.
Governor Paterson recently presented state lawmakers with his budget for 2009-2010, which showed an almost $700 million decline in state education funding. Because of this proposal, Mohonasen is preparing to receive a $1.5 million, or eight percent, decrease in state aid.
“Like many school leaders around the state, I’m concerned about being able to maintain quality programs while holding the line on taxes,” Mohonasen Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Spring said.
Spring added that Mohonasen has always been careful and conservative with taxpayer money, which means the current budget is very lean and there are very few areas where it will be easy to cut costs.
“Every year, when our administrators come together to plan for the next year, we look at what we need and what we can forgo in order to come up with a comprehensive budget that balances the needs of our students with our residents’ ability to pay,” she said. “Our goal every year is to be as efficient as possible while maintaining the momentum we are achieving in our classrooms.”
Because education is a people-intensive business, almost three-quarters of the district’s budget is devoted to the salary and benefits of personnel. School administrators recognize that a reduction in state aid of this scale will most likely mean that Mohonasen will be forced to reduce staffing unless there is some type of plan at the state level to address mandates such as retirement costs, health insurance, special education and/or contractual obligations.
“State aid may be going down, but many of our costs continue to go up,” Spring said. “The only way to make up for increases in health insurance, special education or other areas, will be through local taxes or deep cuts to the many programs we currently offer.”
However, Spring also points out that Mohonasen has taken many steps to find areas to reduce costs. For example, through its energy plan the district has realized an approximately $1 million cost containment on energy. Officials have also limited field trips, looked to make transportation routes more efficient through the use of advanced computer software, and not filled vacant positions unless necessary.
“We’re going to be making some very tough decisions this year—decisions that could affect the future of our district and our students,” Spring said. “For this reason, input from our staff and community will be more important than ever this year.”
The Board of Education will be holding several public meetings, at which members of the Mohonasen community will be able to learn more about the budget process, ask questions and raise concerns.
The first of these public meetings will be on Monday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m.
This process is somewhat different than in the past when the district had a designated budget committee. After careful research and review, as well as consideration of what other districts do, Mohonasen is starting a process where components of the budget are presented at Board of Education meetings. The community is encouraged to attend these meetings and give feedback.
See the Budget Development Timeline for details relating to the Jan. 12 meeting and other opportunities to learn about the budget.
School leaders are also urging residents to voice their concerns about the impact state aid cuts will have on local schools and school taxes.
Residents can contact local legislators as follows:
-
Senate Majority Leader, Dean Skelos
503 State Capitol, Albany, NY 12247
455-3171 -
Senator Hugh Farley
412 LOB, Albany, NY 12247
455-2181 -
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
932 LOB, Albany, NY 12248
455-3791 -
Assemblyman George Amedore
426 LOB, Albany, NY 12248
455-5197
