School Board Continues Budget Deliberations
A difficult budget process finally had some good news injected into it as Huntington School Board members learned the district will be receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional state aid above the amount school officials were originally told they could expect when Governor David Paterson issued his spending proposals last December.
The additional state aid has driven the district’s projected tax increase below 3.4 percent prior to the final round of budget meetings. School officials have stressed that revenue and expenditure figures are still in a state of flux and that the projected tax rate is equally fluid at this point.
Yet, the state aid picture has brightened considerably compared to early last winter. “Overall, our general fund aid is slated to increase by $612,574 as compared to what we actually will receive this year,” said David H. Grackin, assistant superintendent for finance and management services.
The additional state aid figure takes into account Huntington’s share of educating school age district residents who are incarcerated and in state run intuitions, such as schools for the blind and deaf. That cost, which is estimated at $171,386, effectively reduces the state aid flowing into the district’s coffers. All New York districts are similarly billed based upon their respective number of young people involved in these programs.
Mr. Grackin is now projecting that the district’s state aid will increase from this year’s total of $11,649,429 to $12,262,003. But, the district expects its miscellaneous revenues to drop more than $250,000 to $1.649 million and expects a drop in the amount of fund balance it will have available to appropriate to $1.35 million or $410,000 less than the current year.
School Board members have put a tight clamp on proposed spending. The budget they are considering would increase expenditures by 1.57 percent to $105,244,259. Trustees are also concerned about the large number of property tax assessment challenges that have been filed and the potential for many of those to be successful. In response to this development, the School Board has reduced the district’s estimated assessed property value by $659,890 to prevent the possibility of an unexpected tax increase on residents.
The additional state aid is largely the result of New York’s share of the federal stimulus package. While trustees have trimmed a number of programs and expenses, they have tried to protect the core of the district’s academic and co-curricular offerings while simultaneously keeping taxes under control and preserving Huntington’s pristine financial health.
Reductions have been made to almost every aspect of district operations, including a projected cut of 21.8 full time equivalent positions. Yet, despite the reductions, Huntington students will still be able to enjoy a first rate program of classes and activities on every grade level, from reading teachers to help elementary grade level students encountering difficulties learning to read to an array of honors and Advanced Placement courses at the high school.
The budget preserves an exceptional program of clubs for students in grades 4-12 and funds more than five dozen athletic teams. There are monies to support dual language and bilingual programs, drama clubs, student councils and newspapers, community service clubs and organizations, honor societies, concerts and recitals, academic fairs and competitions, the science research program and college counseling center, academic intervention services for students needing additional assistance, Regents review sessions and new textbooks, workbooks and library books.
The budget also contains funds for the equipment, tools and supplies needed to keep the district’s buildings and grounds in top notch shape. There are monies for new instructional software and for the marching band program. The budget preserves current elementary grade level class size guidelines and provides for a continuation of the district’s full-day kindergarten program.
“These are challenging economic times for all Americans,” Superintendent John J. Finello said. “Here in Huntington, we are doing our very best to control spending and taxes while at the same time continuing to offer our students an exceptional educational experience.”
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