BCS Board Hears Budget Woes

by Thaddeus Flint
The year 2013 has only just begun and already the Berlin Central School District is working on how it will pay for 2014 and beyond. With future State and Federal aid in doubt, and a large increase in Teacher’s retirement benefits expected, the financial future is uncertain. At Tuesday’s School Board meeting, held at the Stephentown Fire Hall, BCS Business Manager William Burke outlined a five year forecast which, with all things remaining as they are now, he described as “dire.”
[private]Of course Burke predicted financial doom last year right before that budget season, and the Board and Administrators were able to put together a budget that has kept the District financially sound. Burke, though, likes to look at the worst possible of outcomes so the worst possible of outcomes can be avoided. At the moment he is prophesying a budget shortfall of $582,349 for the 2013-2014 year. If everything played out as he hopes it does not, this would subsequently increase to $1.79 million by 2015-2106.
One of Burke’s biggest worries is an increase in teacher pension costs. Right now pensions cost the District around $745,000. For next year he is leaning closer to $969,000, an increase of over 30%.
Board Member and legislative liaison Katie Fiske added her recent findings to that gloominess. “I personally think school districts will face more unfunded mandates,” she said. It would seem that the State of New York is going to expect better results in education and at the same time the State of New York is not going to pay for it.
What To Do?
The tax levy will almost certainly go up again. Last year it went up 1.98%, and next year Burke is predicting another 2% increase. In theory the District could have gone above the 2% tax cap, which is never really 2%. By not raising taxes to the maximum last year there was supposed to be some left over for this year. But that might not happen as the State is again playing around with the definition of 2%. “They seemed to have changed the rules,” said Burke.
To hedge out some of that uncertainty Burke proposed a plan that could save the District some $93,000 over the next six years. A Capitol Project from 2004 still has $578,000 which remains to be paid. By using some of the unappropriated fund balance, the bonds could be paid off this year and six years’ of interest saved.
At the moment the fund balance sitting in the bank is about $1.2 million. That amount is actually too much. “We are out of compliance with State Ed.,” said Board Member John Nash. The maximum allowed value is 4% of the following year’s budget so for BSCD the correct amount would be closer to $680,000. This is pretty close to the amount that would be left were the Board to accept Burke’s plan.
Board Member Frank Zwack advocated paying off the bonds and saving the 3.67%. “You aren’t getting that in the bank sitting there,” he said of the fund balance. The other Board members agreed. Only the District’s Superintendent, Dr. Stephen Young, seemed to be hesitant about the idea. “We are going to need some additional funds next year,” he said. There will actually be some more funds for next year coming as State aid for the 2004 project will continue at $111,000 a year whether the or not the bond is paid off early. Young wanted more time to prepare a presentation that would outline his needs for the next year. “I think its rash to vote tonight,” he added.
Board Member Gina Goodermote was sympathetic to Young, “we don’t want to cut you off at the knees,” she said. Board Member Bev Stewart was also first inclined to wait until the next meeting. “I’m all for paying off the debt,” she said, “but I want to see all the options.”
Nash, however, was content to vote immediately. His feeling was that the District was spending enough on the programs it has now. He wants to see what the results are from all that spent money. “I for one want to see some return on investment,” he said. “We don’t have the data to show these plans are working, something that shows me we are really, really getting our money’s worth.”
“It takes more than one year,” Young responded. “We don’t want to abandon programs we have started until at least after two years. Three, four, five, eight, ten years down the line, that’s when you are going to see change…it’s a long road ahead of us.”
A long road can be an expensive road. “This is immediate savings,” said Nash. “I trust his [Burke’s} recommendation.” And apparently so did the rest of the Board. A vote was taken, and all were in favor, with the exception of Board Member Alan Webster Jr. who was absent, of paying the bond off early.
Money For School Security
New York State is expected to increase funding to schools in at least one area – security. Governor Cuomo recently signed off on aid for school video security systems. These systems probably would not have prevented the Newtown shooting, but the District has made it a priority to re-think its own security policies in the wake of that tragedy. Young stated that “a lot of activity has been happening” in regard to safety since the beginning of the year. A preparedness drill was conducted with the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Special Operations Team at the empty Grafton Elementary School on January 4. Law enforcement “has been very supportive,” said Young. And students will soon have to get used to armed deputies and troopers walking the halls. “We have invited them into the buildings,” said Young.
Obesity
The U.S. Department of Education estimates the chances of dying in a school shooting at around 1 in 1,000,000. Someone is more likely to be blown up by fireworks, stung to death by bees or eaten by dogs. In that light, turning schools into fortresses might seem like overkill. However, the District is also at work fighting the greatest threat to children today – obesity. One in six Americans will die of heart disease, and obesity, especially from a young age, is a major cause. The fact that one out of every three children in New York State is considered obese cannot be ignored.
The District, for the first time in 20 years, has gone back to operating its own food services. Karen Andriano was brought in from the Averill Park District to head the change, get the program up and running and make sure the students are eating right. State and Federal regulations on school food services are drastically changing. Salt and processed food are being cut. Once the kinks are worked out, Andriano hopes to source more of the Districts food products from local farms, including Berlin’s Best, Eckhardt’s and Yonder Farms. According to Burke, the in-house service is showing a small profit. “I’m very pleased,” said Nash.
Colors
When the discussion went back to the colors of school athletic uniforms, not everyone was so happy. “There are some people who are never going to be happy, no matter what you do,” said Stewart. The Board seems to have grown tired of hearing about how some uniforms might not have had enough green and gold in them to properly show school spirit.
Board President Jim Willis proposed a resolution that all future uniform purchases must include at least 51% green and gold. But the rest of the Board felt the whole thing had been blown out of hand. “It shouldn’t even have come to this level,” said Goodermote. “I think we spent way too much time on this already,” said Nash. “Send it back to the students and the Athletic Department,” said Zwack.
And last but not least, there was a vote on the Capitol Project bond authorization. It failed to pass again. Stewart and Nash voted No, and a two-thirds majority was not achieved. But you already knew that.[/private]