Recap of district's second budget work session
At the second budget work session held Tuesday, March 1, Business Administrator Brenda Kane shared with the board and public the first draft of the 2011-12 budget, or the rollover budget.
“A rollover budget is what we use as our starting point,” explains Kane. “It contains the expenses associated with maintaining all of the same programs and staff that are in the current year’s budget, as well as the loss in revenue due to state aid and other factors.”
Similar to last budget season, the district’s 2011-12 rollover budget total of $14,414,785 is actually 1.4% less than the current year’s budget ($14,616,629), yet it carries a 13.2% tax rate increase due in part to a loss of $1,097,276 in state aid. This is a Gap Elimination Adjustment of $1,455,468 (tax impact of 20.6%) that will be partially offset by the Federal Education Jobs Elimination Restoration Fund of $388,866. [DOWNLOAD PDF OF BUDGET & TAX HISTORY AND STATE AID & GRANT HISTORY]
2011-12 Rollover Budget Details
At the work session, Kane explained the budget challenges the district is
facing, such as Governor Cuomo’s proposal to reduce education funding for the
next three years, the increases in pension costs and the increases in health
insurance premiums.
Duanesburg Increases/Concerns:
• Salaries (4% estimate): $285,527
• Teacher Retirement System (8.62-11.5%): $133,443
• Employee Retirement System (11.9-16.3%): $90,586
• Health Insurance (BCBS 30%, MVP 13%, CDPHP 14%): $100,069
• Fuel Oil: $23,125
• BOCES (Sp.Ed., $28,540/Occ. Ed., $58,179): $84,090
• Loss of State Aid: $1,097,276
Decreased Costs/Changes:
Salary and social security related to personnel changes and grant allocations,
Debt Service, Special Education Tuition, and decreased contractual.
[DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE COMPLETE 2011-12 BUDGET PRESENTATION]
[DOWNLOAD EXPENDITURE BY LINE CHART]
Next Steps
The district is seeking to reduce the 2011-12 rollover budget by $800,000 in an
effort bring the tax rate of 13.2% down to 2%. (Every $70,000 reflects an
approximate 1% tax rate change.)
“At this point, we want to collect feedback from the community about any reductions or changes to our programs and services that they can support,” says Superintendent Christine Crowley. “We don’t want to make cuts that our community isn’t willing to stand behind.”
At the Public Budget Meetings on Wednesday, March 2 and Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in the HS Cafeteria, the superintendent will ask the public to weigh in on where they think cuts can be made. They will be asked to use a list of non-mandated programs and services as their guidelines and to rank the necessity of these programs on a scale of 1 to 5.
At previous budget meetings, the public asked for a list of non-mandated programs and services so they would have a better idea of where cuts can be made. Non-mandated items include programs and services such as full-time kindergarten, transportation, some elective classes, and small class sizes, to name just a few.
BUDGET CALENDAR
Wednesday, March 2: Public Budget Planning Meeting, 7-9 p.m., MS/HS Cafeteria, community input is welcomed.
Thursday, March 3: Public Budget Planning Meeting, 7-9 p.m., MS/HS Cafeteria, community input is welcomed.
Tuesday, March 15: Community Budget Forum with a Legislative Perspective from Assemblyman George Amedore, 7:30 p.m., MS/HS Multi-purpose room
Tuesday, April 5: Third Budget Work Session, 7:30 p.m., MS/HS Multi-purpose room, budget expected to be adopted
Tuesday, April 26: Community Budget Presentation of Adopted Budget, 7:30 p.m., MS/HS Multi-purpose room
Tuesday, May 3: Community Budget Presentation of Adopted Budget, 7:30 p.m., MS/HS Multi-purpose room
Tuesday, May 17: District Budget Vote & School Board Elections, 1-9 p.m., Elementary School