2011 – 2012 budget adopted

Last night the Board of Education adopted the 2011-2012 budget.  The proposed budget cuts almost $680,000 from the current budget, which is a decrease in spending of 4.75%.  The significant cut was made necessary because the district lost $977,744 in state aid through the “gap elimination adjustment.” 

The budget cut includes three teaching positions at each of the schools and one district-wide music position.   Additional stipends have been eliminated and many stipends are frozen. Mrs. Everson and I have again agreed to a wage concession this year.  There are reductions in the interscholastic athletic program by combining some modified teams and combining teams with neighboring districts.  We will not participate in the BOCES summer school program and have reduced the number of driver education slots from 36 to 24.  For the second time in three years we will reduce the number of late buses for after school activities.  On a positive note, the district continues to save over $300,000 a year thanks to a health benefit concession by administrators and all staff last year.  

Even with the decrease in expenditures, the cuts in state aid the proposed budget reflects an increase in the local tax levy of 3.85%.  While this is slightly higher than our most recent budgets, (’06 -’07 = 3.36%, ’07 – ’08 = 1.56%, ’08 – ’09 = 2.64%, ’10-’11 = 2.68%), the Board of Education believes it takes the difficult financial times all district residents are experiencing into account.

The annual budget brochure is being finalized and will be mailed out to all district residents in the near future.  This brochure will go into much more specific detail about our educational program and budget.  We will also have it posted on-line.

Budget update

At the end of this post, I am attaching an analysis of the aid “restoration” that was part of the New York State budget agreement.   The GEA (gap elimination adjustment) is the amount of money taken away from districts to meet Albany budget woes.  The “restoration” was a way to lessen the impact of that take away.  The chart shows that Morrisville-Eaton received less than 1% back.  An additional piece, not shown in this chart is that the final aid run takes an additional $17,000 away from other aids than were in the governor’s budget.  That is because they were able to use real numbers as opposed to the governor’s projections.  In the end, the difference is about $43,000.  At the last Board meeting the budget proposal was for a 5.01% increase in the local levy.  The Board of Education does not believe our community can support that large of an increase at this time, and is looking to reduce that to no more than 4%.  With the “restoration” we are very close to the target without going beyond the seven staffing cuts which are part of the current budget draft.  The revised budget also includes: a wage concession for myself,  and Mrs. Everson, a freeze in district wide stipends, the elimination of several extra-curricular and support stipends, and the reduction of one late run bus.    The Board of Education will meet this Wednesday night at 7:30 in the high school library to finalize the 2011-2012 school budget. 

 aid explanation

Budget update

At the Board of Education’s direction, the administrative team continues to work on next year’s budget given the cuts in the governor’s aid proposal.  A proposal will be discussed at a budget workshop on the 23^rd.  Based on that workshop, a revised draft budget will be prepared for discussion at the regular meeting on the March 28^th.  Any final changes or parameters will be given to the team so that a final budget proposal will be ready for its approval at a special meeting the week of April 11^th.   At this point, even with significant staffing and program cuts we are working to keep the increase in tax-on-true at a level which can be supported by our community. Without a doubt, we will need to use district reserves to meet our academic and spending goals. 

Service Learning

For the past several years Morrisville-Eaton has raised expectations regarding community service expectations for their students.  The graduation requirement for a diploma with distinction has risen from 40 hours three years ago, to 70 hours this year.  The requirement will continue to increase by 10 hours a year until we reach the century mark.  While most of this time is spent in our local community, 1/2 of the time can be credited to statewide or national volunteerism.  In the link below you will be taken to a  Syracuse Post Standard article which highlights one such effort.  I can personally share that Morrisville-Eaton is  known and highly regarded in St. Bernard Parish Louisiana because our students are such great ambassadors!  I am proud of our kids and our community for these efforts.

http://blog.syracuse.com/neighbors/2011/03/morrisville-eaton_students_travel_to_new_orleans_with_operation_southern_comfort.html

Stepping up to the plate

There have been recent headline trumpeting concessions made by teachers, administrators, and employees of several districts in the region.  I want to take a moment and remind all of our district residents that the entire Morrisville-Eaton staff has been making sacrifices and concessions long before these recent agreements.  Last year, even though it was not a bargaining year, our administrators and both unions agreed to a change in their benefits that saves the district over $330,000 each and every year.  This is close to four times the savings of a one year wage freeze for our district.   This agreement did not get a lot of press coverage, but it has certainly made a huge difference.  Additionally each of our administrators, myself included, has agreed to wage concessions over the past three years.  This has been done without a lot of fanfare because we have been more concerned about the loss in state aid than we were about scoring public relations points.

I am proud of the sacrifices that our entire staff and organization has been making to maintain the commitment to our educational mission.  I raise this reality now because I don’t want Governor Cuomo’s calls for sacrifice, or the media’s focus on what is happening in other districts to hide the fact that here, at Morrisville-Eaton, our employees “stepped up to the plate” long before many others.

 

A few items of note

I actually want to begin this entry with something that has absolutely nothing to do with the budget or merger discussions.  This Friday, March 11th our elementary chorus is going to present it’s bi-annual musical.  This year the students are performing, “Tom Sawyer.”  Even if you do not have students in the elementary building, I would strongly urge you to attend at 7:00 pm at the Edward R. Andrews Building.  Our kids are amazing, and you will see some of the great things they are doing in the midst of all this talk about cuts to schools.

After meeting with the State Education Department, I am encouraged but very guarded about the status of incentive aid that the state offers districts that merge.  I am pleased that there is no discussion of reducing the formula or commitment for the incentive aid that comes with reorganization.  However, I am very guarded by the reality that some of the recent cuts in state aid to districts that have merged in the past five years has actually included some of that incentive aid.  In a real sense the state is giving it to districts with one hand and taking some of it back with the other.  As we move forward with the study it will be critical to determine how much money would really come to our school.  The Board of Education and I will aggressively advocate that the state make a commitment to give the full aid.  If they cannot make that commitment, then it will certainly make the merger option much less attractive when the time comes for a final decision.

Finally I want to emphasize that the study is part of a fact-finding mission that the district is engaged in.  We are no where close to advocating or opposing a merger.  We will be looking at many options in the coming months and years.  I appreciate the willingness of individuals and groups who have invited me to share information and listen to concerns as they relate to budget cuts and the merger study.  I hope we are able to continue to work together on behalf of our children and community during these difficult times.

At the state level

I am in Albany today and tomorrow.  This morning the three southern-tier superintendents and I are meeting with officials at the State Education Department and Senator Valesky’s Office.  We will be asking them the many questions you have shared with us regarding school funding and possible reorganization during these difficult times. 

I will also be meeting with key legislators and their staffs tomorrow regarding fair funding for high needs/rural districts.  Our voices need to be heard, and these face-to-face meetings are critical to share the pain and impact that the current cuts are causing to our children and communities.