by Alex Brooks
HFCS Business Manager Pam Hatfield said the budget proposed for next year has not changed much since last month because the District has still not received any State aid runs. School Superintendent Ken Facin explained that the budget is normally done based on state aid estimates derived from the Governor’s proposed budget, released in January. But this year the Governor will not say what he is recommending for state aid until the legislature agrees to his ideas on educational policy, and no information has been released to school districts about what they can expect in state aid. Hatfield said because of the lack of information about the District’s revenue for next year, “everything is at a standstill.”
[private]The Governor’s use of the budget process to pressure the legislature to accept his ideas about education policy, and his hostility to teachers, have not been popular with the voters. A series of polls have been released recently showing voter disapproval of his attitude on public education, and showing that voters trust teachers more than they trust the Governor.
Superintendent Ken Facin was optimistic that the budget logjam would soon get resolved, and that the District will not face a painful crisis when an agreement on state aid is finally reached.
He said, “We’ve seen good movement in the last three days in the Capital.” He said he thinks the Governor is invested in getting an on-time budget, so he expects it to be resolved by the April 1 budget deadline. Facin said, “There’s no way this Governor is going to get away with a budget that has no increase in State aid for schools, in a year when the State has a $5 billion surplus.”
However, the latest version of the District’s proposed budget for next year shows a tax levy increase of 10.29%. The Board has no intention of passing a budget with that kind of tax increase, so if state aid does not increase sufficiently to bring that down under the tax cap, Facin said a special meeting of the School Board would have to be called to discuss budget cuts to bring down the tax levy increase.
Pellet Boiler Delayed
Superintendent Facin said there are some technical problems hooking up the new pellet boiler to the existing heating system. Engineers are studying the problem. Facin said an “engineering peer review” is in progress which should determine how to solve the problem and maximize the efficiency of the system. He said although the District has missed getting the pellet boiler operational for this heating season, he feels it is important not to rush into it until the engineers resolve the technical issues. “We want to get it right,” he said,
Solar Electricity
The District is close to concluding a deal with Borrego Solar of California to have them supply electricity to the District through a 25 year contract called a Power Performance Agreement (PPA). The company will generate electricity using photovoltaic panels at a site in Schohairie County, which will be sold to the District through the PPA at a a price 20% lower than the District is paying now. [/private]