2010-2011 Budget
Board of Education considering $2.5 million in budget cuts
March 9, 2010
At the March 8 Board of Education meeting, Mohonasen Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Spring outlined more than $2.5 million in potential budget cuts for the upcoming school year. The cuts, she said, are necessary because of expected cuts to state aid.
See Dr. Spring’s PowerPoint presentation from the meeting (PDF).
This past January, Governor David Paterson proposed a more than $1 billion cut to education funding statewide – in addition to already flat state aid for a second year. This would result in an approximately $1.9 million reduction in state aid.
However, Dr. Spring outlined, this cut combined with the flat state aid, actually leaves a $3.2 million gap between revenues and expenses in the district’s budget.
To fill this gap, administrators and the board are considering cutting 17.1 positions at all district schools (this includes elementary, middle and high school teachers, administrators, special education, English as a second language and support staff positions), as well as approximately $630,000 in cuts in other areas (equipment, BOCES services, conferences, athletics, etc.).
If these cuts are approved by the Board of Education, the budget-to-budget increase would be about .08 percent or $341,676, and the tax levy increase would be approximately 2.5 percent or $537,823.
Dr. Spring pointed out that because Mohonasen administrators have always budgeted very efficiently, there is not much “padding” in the budget, meaning there is very little to cut out of the budget that will not directly impact programs and services for students. She also pointed out that heading into the budget development process, only three percent of the district’s budget was discretionary (not mandated, contractual, regulatory, safety related, etc.).
One result of these proposed cuts would be a increase in class sizes, particularly at the elementary level where classes sizes would most likely rise by about 2-4 students per class. For example, kindergarten classes would go from 18 students in 10 classes, to about 20 students in nine classes.
A public budget meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 15 at 6 p.m. in the high school’s Farnsworth Technology Center (LGI) to further discuss these proposed budget cuts. All members of the Mohonasen community are encouraged to attend this meeting.
Anyone with questions about the 2010-2011 proposed budget should call the district’s business office at 356-8210 or visit www.mohonasen.org/budget.
Land purchase, bus proposition, contingency budget, board election and more
Other budget information presented at the March 8 meeting includes:
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District officials are currently considering a land purchase proposition that would be voted on by district voters on the same day as the 2010-2011 budget – May 18, 2010. The land, which is adjacent to the high school/middle school campus, would be purchased using capital reserve funds. This capital reserve was established by district voters on May 15, 2001 and currently contains $2.5 million. This money can only be used for capital project or the purchase of land. If the land is purchased, in the future it would be part of a larger capital improvement project. At this time, district officials are considering a capital project to go before voters in the fall.
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This year, the Schenectady County Board of Elections has introduced new voting machines, which will be used at Mohonasen for the first time this May. The machines are Digital Image Scanners, which read a paper ballot that is completed by the voter.
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If the proposed budget is not approved by voters in May, district officials would most likely adopt a contingency budget, meaning that an additional $282,031 would have to be cut from the budget.
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On May 18, voters will also vote on two Board of Education seats. Candidates run “at large” for three-year terms. Anyone wishing to run for the board needs to pick up a petition at the district offices. Petitions are due back to the district by April 19 at 5 p.m. and they require 35 signatures.
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Every year, district officials typically put a bus proposition up alongside the district’s budget for voter approval. By doing this, officials can follow a replacement plan for district buses. For next year, officials are considering a proposition to purchase seven buses, three of which would be wheelchair compatible. At this time, the estimated cost of this to Mohonasen taxpayers would be approximately $74,760 over the course of five years. These debt service payments would begin in the 2011-12 school year.
