Letter To The Editor – BOCES Expenses Went Down

Dear Editor,
Pamphlets circulating in the community by a candidate for the Board of Education indicate a concern over program and service expenditures at the Questar III BOCES for students at Berlin Central. It indicates that the BOCES budget went up by 10% which it did not. Actually, it went down this year. The reason the figure is higher reflects a decision by the Business Office to code four regular budget accounts more appropriately to the BOCES budget because of the relationship with service and expenditure. Those shifts from the regular budget include:
1) $82,000 for the pre-k program which is operated by BOCES in the Berlin Elementary School and eligible for BOCES aid,
2) $78,000 for a Computer Network Systems Administrator, which was moved from the regular budget expense of a private vendor, Adirondack Network service, with no aid to a Network Systems Administrator at BOCES with BOCES aid at $56,100, saving the District $22,500,
3) A shift from the regular budget computer expense of $45,000 with no aid to a BOCES technology account with aid at 61.4%, and
4) $74,500 for Distance Learning, an expenditure covered by a Legislative Grant from Joe Bruno, which will be eligible for BOCES aid.
So, if the BOCES budget is up, it is not because of additional expenditures but because of the savings for the regular budget. The new expenditure plan will bring more BOCES aid to the District. This was all explained in planning budget workshops.
The same person also makes a statement about Cherry Plain surplus. There is no Cherry Plain surplus and, in fact, that project was closed out in the 2006-07 school year. From that point on there has not been any Cherry Plain Bond matter in a budget. The final payment for the CP 2006-07 budget was $456,000 and the District received $342,000 in state building aid, leaving a local cost of $114,000, less than 2% local expense.
He mentions a building plan, but there is none at this time – something I feel we need to work on over the next five years. The proposed modulars are a temporary answer to the District’s declining enrollment. The candidate also mentions purchasing property, but there are no current plans to make such a recommendation to the public.
He mentions unifying the District, which is a desire of the Berlin Board of Education. As Board members and administration, we regret the closing of schools very much. But with such a declining enrollment, the taxpayers of the District cannot afford to keep all the buildings open. The Grafton Elementary School would only have a projected 68 students in grades k-3 next year. Can we afford the expense of a building for such a low number of students? Not when we have a great need for all the students of the District, pre-k-12. In the deliberations for a new spending plan, the Board and administration put all students first in its efforts to deal with a $1.4 million state aid decrease and the costs of preserving the best education program we, all, can afford.
This proposed budget represents a 2.61 increase over the last year’s expenditures with a tax levy at 1.74%. I think that speaks to a very high level of careful fiscal planning and stewardship of the Board.
Yours truly,
Jeff Paine, Berlin Central Board Member