Huntington Sets Budget
Meetings and Topics
Huntington School District executives are ready to begin developing a draft budget plan to fund operations in the 2011/12 school year. The district is facing the loss of several million dollars in federal stimulus funding as well as large increase in state retirement costs and insurance expenses.
After receiving the draft plan, trustees will make final decisions during the course of five public meetings, culminating on April 11 when they will adopt a plan and send it to local residents for an up-and-down vote on Tuesday, May 17.
The district is also casting a wary eye toward state aid in light of New York's $9 billion deficit. "We really don't know what the result of the state's deficit reduction plan will be on our state aid," Superintendent John J. Finello said. Another wildcard is the district's assessed property value, which declined by hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past year.
Trustees will review each line of the budget at a series of budget meetings. Each of the sessions will begin at 7:30 p.m. and be held in the Jack Abrams School auditorium on Lowndes Avenue in Huntington Station. The public is welcome to attend and will be given an opportunity to address trustees.
The meetings will focus on specific budget topics according to the following schedule:
March 7
• General overview of the budget process to date;
• Function areas dealing with central administration and general support;
• Debt service and inter-fund transfers;
• Capital projects.
March 14
• Curriculum and instruction;
• Special education and pupil personnel;
• Co-curricular activities and interscholastic athletics.
March 28
• Staffing;
• Transportation;
• Employee benefits.
April 4
• General discussion as needed on various topics.
April 11
• Revenues;
• Recap of the budget;
• Budget adoption by trustees
Once it is released, a copy of the draft budget will be posted on the district's website at www.hufsd.edu and will also be available in the district's business office and in each of the seven school buildings.