Updated 03/29/2011

In budget talks, has there ever been any consideration in eliminating the Business Administrator position and adding those responsibilities to the MS/HS Principals job responsibilities.

Business administrators and principals hold different certifications and degrees. A business administrator's background is in business, and principals' backgrounds are education.

 

Updated 03/29/2011

Why weren't all the comments listed from the budget survey?

The comments were read by the superintendent and board members to help them make an informed decision. The ratings were compiled to give the community a sense of how others felt.

 

Updated 03/29/2011

Will sports be cut in the 2011-12 budget? What classes are going to be cut?

At this point, no sports and no classes are being cut.

 

Updated 03/29/2011

Why not cut JV sports instead of Modified sports?

The 2011-12 budget is still being developed, so nothing has been decided as this time about the future of our athletic teams. However, the suggestion on the table to eliminate JV sports would be so that all eligible students could still try out for a sports team.

Ninth-grade students can try out for Modified sports teams and tenth-grade students can try out for Varsity sports teams.

 

Updated 03/29/2011

Can you tell me why FLES is not among the items being considered for cuts in the current budget when the surveys results from both the community and the teachers are in support of this cut?

The Superintendent's recommendation to the board was to eliminate or reduce items that have a minimal impact on students and programs, and to use a higher amount of the reserve fund to supplement the 2011-12 budget. Fortunately, this is possible because the district has been preparing for this financial crisis over the past few years.

 

Updated 03/23/2011

If JV sports are cut, on what team will 9th and 10th graders play?

Ninth-grade students can try out for Modified sports teams and tenth-grade students can try out for Varsity sports teams.

Updated 03/17/2011

Has the district recently thought about selling its school buses, closing the bus garage, and contracting out bus runs to an outside bus company? Would or could this save money?

The district recently applied for a grant to look at central office consolidation possibilities with Schenectady County and the schools of Schalmont, Mohonasen, Scotia-Glenville, Niskayuna, Schenectady and BH-BL.

 

Updated 03/17/2011

Have you thought of cutting the music and drama performances to only one night and one day to save money? This would give people the option of either coming during the day or night. Two night performances are not necessary--it's usually the same people who come both nights.

This has not been considered, but it will be added to our future budget discussions.

 

Updated 03/16/2011

Some districts shut their schools down completely on the weekends, why doesn't Duanesburg do that to save energy and money?

Historically, the board wanted the community to use the buildings. However, we are currently looking into the possibility of charging a building use fee to cover the costs. Additionally, our athletic teams use the buildings on the weekends and evenings, as do the adult education and community programs.

 

Updated 03/16/2011

Have you ever thought of cutting [custodial] overtime out completely to cut costs?

If all over time possibilities were eliminated, the district would have to contract out for such services as snow removal and other grounds maintenance that can't occur during the normal work day. It is less costly to rely on our own staff than it is to contract out for services. Additionally, throughout the year the district hosts a number of evening and weekend events. At the end of these activities, the district needs  someone to clean up and perform a building check to ensure the facilities are safely secured. Also, it is good practice to have the ability to call upon staff in the event of any unforeseen emergencies (i.e., flooding, fire alarm going off, etc.).

 

Updated 03/15/2011

Thank you, Superintendent Christine Crowley and Business Administrator Brenda Kane, for holding the Public Budget Planning Meetings. As follow up questions:
1) Is it true that our state aid was cut because our reserves are so high?
2) Is it also true that generally accepted government auditing standards permit us to use the entire Unrestricted Fund Balance to offset the $800,000 deficit?

1. No, that is not true. Our state aid was cut the same way that every other New York State school districts' aid is cut-- with formulas unrelated to reserves.

2. The Board could use all of the district's reserves to offset the $800,000 deficit, but please remember that once the reserves are gone they are not there to offset future tax increases or unforeseen expenses. Please also remember that next year is expected to be worse than this year for budget cuts.

 

Updated 5/17/2010

I want to order the chicken on vote day but have lost the info. Can you post it?

Contact a junior, Toni Amorosi (895-5350, ext. 401) or Kelly Holt (895-8004) to pre-order Brooks BBQ. You can buy a half chicken for $5.50 and/or ribs for $7. The Class of 2011 will be selling food beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, at the elementary school until sold out.

Updated 5/3/2010

You are adding two part-time lunch monitors to the elementary school--to save money how about assigning teachers to lunch duty as is done in the high school?

Contractually, the elementary teachers get a 30-minute duty-free lunch period. Due to the fact that two aide positions are being cut, the school would no longer be able to cover all of the lunch periods with the existing aides.

Updated 4/22/2010

How will the cyber crime affect the 2010-11 budget?

To reconcile the district's account, a transfer of $497,200 from the reserve fund was performed in December 2009, and was part of the 2009-10 budget. These monies were not incorporated into the 2010-11 budget proposal. All $14,616,629 of the proposed budget will be spent on educating students during the 2010-11 school year. If the money is not restored by NBT Bank, there is a possibility of a long-term effect on the district due to the use and reduction of the reserve fund.

Updated 4/19/2010

Why are you eliminating a custodian and then hiring a part time maintenance person--a higher paying position for the proposed 2010-11 budget? By eliminating a custodian are our schools going to be as clean as they are now? The custodians do more than just clean--they also do all the set-ups and tear-downs for concerts, board meetings, basketball games and all special events. With losing a custodian will the school and especially the bathrooms be as clean as they our now---HEALTH issues are a big concern especially to me as a parent!

Savings would still be achieved by replacing a full-time salaried custodian with a part-time maintenance worker who receives a higher hourly pay without benefits. In an effort to maintain the cleanliness of facilities, the district’s goal is to reassign custodial staff for increased efficiency as well as to utilize the maintenance worker to assist with facilities and building maintenance, including work orders, snowplowing, mowing etc.

Updated 4/19/2010

According to the Proposed 2010-11 Budget, you are reducing budget for transportation--could you define that more as to to exactly what is being cut? We could do without the late bus--the school is not a babysitting place for students.

The tentative budget proposal (the budget has not yet been approved by the board), outlines a 7 percent reduction in supplies for the transportation and operations & maintenance departments. In addition, the tentative budget proposal estimates a lower cost for diesel fuel. Late buses are currently, and will continue to be, available Monday through Thursday for students staying afterschool for extra help and activities.

Updated 4/12/2010

I see there are many comments regarding sports and people saying get rid of modified as these children can play little league. That is not a correct statement as little league ages out at 12 years old. Most students are 13 when they are in 7th grade and that eliminates them from playing any sport if modified is taken away. People complain children are lazy and over weight -- if sports programs are taken away there will be even a larger amount of lazy & over weight children in our community. Cutting sports is not an option in my opinion. If money is an issue why can't there be a fee to play? Parents pay money to have their children play else where-soccer clubs, baseball clubs, hockey clubs, even little league has a fee to play. Rotterdam Baseball is $250.00 to play. Instead of doing away with the program charge a fee to play and have them buy their uniforms. That way the taxes stay down and if your child doesn't play sports there is no expense to you as a tax payer. Parents of athletes know there is a fee to play anywhere else and they are used to that. Ask some of these athletes parents what they pay to have their kids on other teams. It would shock you to hear some of these amounts they pay. (I am one of these parents who pay to have my kid play on other teams- It's not cheap, but it’s life).

The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the 2010-11 budget proposal, which residents will vote on in May, on Tuesday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the high school multi-purpose room. A copy of that proposal, which identifies potential cuts, is available on the district Web site. At this time, that proposal no longer includes any cuts to sports. 

Updated 4/12/2010

I noticed in the proposed budget that the band would be cut. What exactly does part-time band mean? My child has been in band since the 4th grade and is now an 8th grader. We have spent a lot of money on his instruments as well as the books and NYSMA competition. (Not complaining about the money spent as we think it is worth it) but now you are taking that away from him? Also this class is a "Credited" class towards his graduation requirements. How can a credited program be taken away?

With salary breakage from several anticipated retirements, the district is currently planning to offer the same sections of band next year that are in place now. However, the teacher will be asked to construct the lessons with slightly larger groupings of students. The position will also be reduced to part-time for this elective due to lower enrollment in band this year. Students will still receive credit for this music elective, as they do for other electives in technology, family consumer science, business and art.

Updated 4/2/2010

How many of the proposed cuts to the district could be saved if the teachers did what the rest of us do, pay into their health insurance benefits. We pay $400.00 a month for our insurance!!!!

The district is engaged in contract negotiations, and one of its top priorities is to address the issue of health insurance contributions. In addition the district has been asking employees to consider switching from their existing plans to a PPO plan, which could save the district nearly $240,000. 

Updated 4/2/2010

What is the cost to the district when a teacher's child attends school who doesn't live in the district? Is this an area which can be looked at to save taxpayer dollars? Thank you.

It is difficult to quantify the savings. The actual cost per student varies, depending on his or her needs. The Board of Education would have to revisit this policy, which allows staff members' children to attend the school district tuition-free. Currently, this involves 15 students.

Updated 4/2/2010

What is the cost to the district when a teacher's child attends school who doesn't live in the district? Is this an area which can be looked at to save taxpayer dollars? Thank you.

It is difficult to quantify the savings. The actual cost per student varies, depending on his or her needs. The Board of Education would have to revisit this policy, which allows staff members' children to attend the school district tuition-free. Currently, this involves 15 students.

Updated 4/2/2010

Why can’t we cut back on door to door service for bus pick up? It will save on gas and wear and tear on the buses. Like was done to my children last year.

Over the past five years, the district has been identifying and phasing in central pick-up points as a safety precaution on dangerous roads. This  practice continues to occur as needed.

Updated 4/2/2010

Why is the district considering eliminating JV sports instead of eliminating modified sports? Youth sports programs such as the Duanesburg Youth Basketball Program as well as local Little League and Babe Ruth baseball/softball programs could provide opportunities for 7th and 8th graders to continue playing sports in lieu of school programs that could be cut.

The district's goal in putting together a restructured athletic department is to keep the athletic program intact and be as fair as possible to all students in terms of allowing them an equal opportunity to participate in sports.

Moving from three to two levels of competition will allow students in seventh- through ninth-grade the opportunity to participate in modified sports while tenth- through twelfth-graders would be eligible to compete at the varsity level.

If the district were to eliminate modified sports entirely, it would create a void for seventh and eighth-graders. They could try out for a team, but only after completing the district’s selective classification process and this does not guarantee participation on a team.

Please know that it is painful to have to consider any cuts. If we have to trim the budget, our goal is to do it in a way that is least hurtful to students.

Updated 4/2/2010

In order to get real community input on the budget you should show where all the $ is being spent and tell which items are mandates not just areas where proposed cuts. In these fiscal times schools really need to start thinking outside the box while putting together a budget. The people of Duanesburg need more information in order to evaluate the cuts you proposed.

There is a list of expenditures by line item available online in the  budget section. The district has been exploring some "outside of the box" solutions to reduce costs. For example, staff “give backs,” including a retirement incentive, one-year pay freeze, health insurance concessions and a five-day employee “lag pay,” in which five days of pay would be withheld until the employee’s retirement, have been presented to union groups.

Updated 4/2/2010

Eliminating Jr. Varsity sports is not the solution. I just moved here from California, in order to reduce their budget, they removed all modified sports as there are alternate sporting programs to accommodate that age bracket. Ninth and 10th graders do not have that luxury.

Thank you for your feedback. Please note that two options are currently under consideration in terms of reductions to athletics.

Going from three to two levels of competition (modified 7-9 and varsity 10-12) would allow every student in grades 7-12 who wants to participate in sports the opportunity to do so. The elimination of modified sports entirely would create a void for seventh and eighth graders in our schools. Duanesburg is not the only school district looking at reductions in athletics. That’s because all NYS schools are facing the prospect of major losses in state aid. A different team structure, similar to what Duanesburg is proposing, is currently under consideration by three other school districts in the Western Athletic Conference.

Please know that our goal in making cuts is to do the least harm possible to our students.

Updated 4/2/2010

Zero percent, cut what you have to but in this economy, cut cut cut. As you know our seniors are getting zero increase in social security. So if zero is good for them, you should not INCREASE their burden. Nor the parents of the children that attend DCS, they need to feed, clothe, and keep a roof over their heads, think about them!!! ZERO!!!!

So far, the board has identified $429,000 in possible cuts, which carries an estimated tax rate increase of 7 percent. The board does not plan to go out with a tax rate this high and hopes to find additional savings through staff concessions and/or the use of the district’s fund balance.

However, to get to a zero percent tax increase would require making a total of $944,000 in cuts. This would involved making even more significant, and potentially devastating, cuts to staffing, programs and services and or severely diminishing the district’s fund balance.

Many other residents have expressed that they do not want any cuts or do not like the items under consideration to be cut. This is the problem the district faces in that individuals disagree about whether cuts are too deep, not deep enough or misaligned with their priorities. Please be assured that the board is listening to all of your concerns in an effort to craft a budget that balances all of these competing interests and priorities.

Updated 4/2/2010

Why does Duanesburg have 2 Principals? Schoharie has 1 principal that covers middle/high school. hmmm so why does Duanesburg have 2? Are the principals qualified? Why not start cutting administration rather than take away from the students. What about having administration pay for their OWN Health Insurance, a lot of business in NYS did away with paying for health insurance why not DCS? What about a freeze on administration salaries? $71,000 for a music teacher (including benefits) that's disgusting. Eliminate the librarian's and use the Library on Quaker Street, busing students there would not cost as much as their salary for a year! Eliminate the bus garage dispatcher we need her for what? Why not consolidate bus routes like you have done in the past year? Why get rid of cross country and keep Golfing? Isn't cross country healthier for the students? What about eliminating a secretary in the office and utilizing students as clerical help make this a Business internship, instead of having kids in 2 or more study halls a day!

All three of the school district’s principals are highly qualified and hold established positions that are vital for each school’s success. The middle school principal is also the director of physical education for which he oversees the physical education and athletic departments on top of his regular responsibilities. In addition to having a junior/high school principal, Schoharie employs an assistant principal.

School leadership is second only to teacher quality in its impact on student achievement. Therefore, schools need effective, adequate, well-trained leaders to implement programs for our children, to ensure their success beyond the walls of the school building. Principals, like other organization leaders, set the tone for high achievement in their schools. They are responsible for instructional leadership and supervision, curriculum and staff development, student discipline, staff personnel services and so much more.

All of the district office staff and administrators who are eligible and use health insurance voluntarily switched to a preferred provider organization (PPO), which provides considerable savings to the district.

Thank you for your creative suggestions. The school librarian and the library itself are integral parts of the school district. The librarian is a certified teacher who provides students with learning contexts, processes and skills as well as opportunities for wide reading, personal growth and fulfillment; collaborates with teachers with the support they need to develop information-literate students; provides resources to meet curriculum needs; provides the services and technologies needed to gain maximum access to information; and support the district’s wide range of information needs. Students currently have direct access to their school libraries, as opposed to the Quaker Street branch, which would require transporting students and teachers to and from the buildings on a regular basis. Time spent on the bus would reduce valuable learning/class time and consume resources such as fuel and driver time. However, the district is considering sharing one librarian between its school buildings in an effort to reduce costs. In terms of the local library, the district could not expect their librarian provide such a high level of support and service to our students. In addition, public libraries do not require NYS teaching credentials. 

Students frequently volunteer to help with clerical work as needed in the district and school offices. However, it would not be feasible to replace a professional 12-month school employee, who is privileged to confidential and sensitive information, with a middle/high school student with limited availability.

The district does not employ a bus garage dispatcher. We do have a head bus driver who is responsible for coordinating the district’s bus routes and identifying shared services. Learn more...

Please refer to sports questions on this page to answer your sports-related question.

Updated 3/29/2010

In prior years the salaries for all administrators was clearly shown. In the 2009-2010 budget proposal there are either missing or in such an obscure location I can not find them. I feel that the salaries WE pay for the district Superintendant, Business Administator, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds, Transportation Supervisor, hs principaL, ms principal,and es principal should be public knowledge as is has been in the past, as recently as the 2008-2009 budget. Also when you look at transportation it says supervisor is 8356 What does that mean??

A draft of the 2010-11 expenditures listed by line item, including salaries, is available online and presented in the same manner as it has been in the past. There is a link to it from the 2010-11 budget planning section, but it has also been moved to the homepage of the budget section for easier reference.

The $8,356 line item reflects a portion of the business administrator’s salary. Among the business administrator duties are to supervise the transportation department. Accordingly a portion of her salary is funded out of the transportation budget.

Updated 3/29/2010

One concern is about the budget items under consideration for cuts. I was puzzled by the listing of cross country and cheerleading. Why these sports? Taken together they would especially hard hit the female athletes, who are entitled to have equal opportunities to participate in athletics. Also, we have had tremendous success here in cross-country in recent years and Duanesburg has a long history of participation in this sport. Why target a successful program? Cross country requires no equipment purchases by the school. It is also a healthy activity that students can take with them that is part of an overall healthy lifestyle. Running is an activity we should be encouraging in our students and the cross country program has done an excellent job at that. It is a cut that would hurt our students and community. Please reconsider this item.

The district is currently considering various options in terms of cuts to athletics. One option is to cut cheerleading and cross country from the budget. The other option is to eliminate all junior varsity sports, but restore cross country and cheerleading.

Option: Eliminate cheerleading and cross country. Savings: $11,500
Cross country, which is offered to both male and female students, was identified for reduction, in part, because it comes into compliance with Title IX. Students would still have an opportunity to run in the spring during track and field. Cheerleading is not a recognizable sport by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, and is not included in the district’s count of Title IX sports. It was identified for reduction, in part, due to low participation. There were not enough students participating this year to field a junior varsity team.

Option: Eliminate all junior varsity sports, but restore cross country and cheerleading. Savings: $20,000
If junior varsity sports were eliminated, cross country and cheerleading would be restored. Currently, Duanesburg students participate in sports at three different levels—typically modified for grades 7-8, junior varsity for grades 9-10 and varsity for grades 11-12. Under this option, the district would restructure its athletic program by reducing participation to two levels—modified for grades 7-9 and varsity for grades 10-12.

No final decisions have been made at this time.

Updated 3/29/2010

In reference to the possible cuts, why would yearbook NOT be cut, especially if it is one of the more expensive clubs? There are more students who participate on JV teams then there are students on the yearbook.

All students districtwide are able to reap the benefits of the yearbook club’s efforts through a professional-looking, published memento available for purchase at the end of the school year. If the yearbook club were eliminated, there would no longer be a yearbook.

Updated 3/29/2010

Why is the incentive for retirement only offered to teachers? All of the district employees are in the teachers union. Some of us have been here for well over twenty years. Why are we punished with pay lags and salary freezes and not even considered when a bonus to retire is offered? Same union, same rule?
 

The district is offering a one-time retirement incentive to eligible teachers in an effort to cut costs. Depending on the number of teachers who accept the incentive, the district could realize savings of more than $200,000 this year alone. Veteran teachers at the top of the pay scale would be replaced with newer teachers at a lower salary. The retirement incentive was also evaluated for non-teachers. However, it was determined that the salary breakage—the amount of savings realized by hiring a newer staff member at a lower salary upon a veteran staff member’s retirement—would not provide enough savings to warrant offering an incentive.

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