District Sorts Out State Aid Figures
It's taken many months and the exact figures are still not finalized, but officials have a better idea now of just how much state aid will be flowing into the Huntington School District's coffers this year.
The State Education Department recently released state aid figures for 2010/11. The aid is based upon the budget passed by state legislators last June. The numbers have been kept under wraps for two months and were only announced in the aftermath of U.S. Department of Education's selection of New York for funding through the competitive Race to the Top program.
While the district is still unsure how it will benefit financially from the statewide infusion of $700 million in Race to the Top monies, it has learned it will be receiving much more state aid than was estimated last spring.
"The approved budget yields $357,376 more than what we had projected in the budget process," said David H. Grackin, assistant superintendent for finance and management services.
While the new aid is being welcomed, Mr. Grackin said "the state is also reserving the right to reduce our aid by one percent," which would amount to about $133,000. Such a reduction could occur if the state's finances further erode.
Huntington will also be benefitting from hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal stimulus monies sent to the district through the State Education Dept. That funding, appropriated as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, will disappear at of July 1, 2011.
Huntington will also be receiving $682,071 from the recently approved Education Jobs Restoration bill. The district hasn't been provided with specific information on how the funds can be utilized. "There probably will be significant restrictions on how this money is used just as there are with ARRA funding," Mr. Grackin said.
District executives are waiting to get final figures from the Town of Huntington on the district's assessed valuation for the 2010/11 tax year. The town notified the district late last spring that the assessed value of property in the district would be declining. Three months ago the decline was pegged at $146,851. A declining tax base puts upward pressure on tax rates.