Trustees to Discuss Budget on Monday Night
The Huntington School Board will discuss the 2010/11 budget during a public meeting this coming Monday night in the Jack Abrams Intermediate School auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Trustees are inviting district residents to share their reaction to several budget scenarios and the cuts in programs and services that would be needed to meet various tax rate targets.
District executives are grappling with a possible decline of several hundred thousands of dollars in state aid and higher expenses in a variety of areas. Officials are working to trim millions of dollars in spending in order to control the potential property tax increase.
A draft budget will be released sometime during March. Trustees will then conduct a public review of the document and possibly make adjustments to it before adopting a proposed financial plan for 2010/11 and sending it to voters for a final verdict.
Budget managers have been meeting in an effort to prioritize spending and zero in on areas that can be reduced. Every budget code is being scrutinized as officials seek to develop a list of possible cuts. Trustees have expressed a desire to see what the budget would look like if the tax increase is kept to a minimum.
Officials stress that no final budget decisions have been made. Administrators are trying to definitively pin down various expense and revenue figures. Principals and directors have been told there will be reductions across the district as trustees look to hold down spending and taxes.
“These are tough times and everyone feels it,” Superintendent John J. Finello said. “The state is shifting the burden of educating our young people to an even greater degree onto the backs of local property taxpayers. While residents have been very generous in the past, supporting an outstanding program of public education, folks are hurting now. We need to take a fresh look all areas of spending and trim where possible while still maintaining essential programs, services and our infrastructure.”
After trustees discuss budget matters, residents will be invited to step-up to the microphone to offer their thoughts on possible reductions and the direction school board members should take in the weeks ahead.
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