The Dolgeville Board of Education began the 2008-09 budget process with a goal of a tax levy increase of four percent or less.
With an anticipated increase of 2.5 percent or less, should the $15,410,943 budget pass on Tuesday, the board has surpassed that goal.
“I applaud the board of education for not only meeting their goal, but surpassing it,” said Superintendent of Schools Ted Kawryga at Tuesday’s hearing on the budget. “They established a long-range plan and they followed it closely. This projected tax levy increase is just that, a projection. This is as high as it will go. The board does have the option, however, of lowering the increase when actual year end figures and more accurate projections become available in August, which is when the board of education establishes the final tax levy.”
In highlighting some of the spending increases, Kawryga said the 32.74 percent increase, from $433,767 to $465,672, in the special items line item of the administration budget was due to a restructuring of how Herkimer County BOCES bills for its services.
“The BOCES, at the urging of the superintendents, made a fundamental change in how they charge for their services,” the superintendent said. “It used to be a situation where a district would pay one amount at the start of the year and then receive a second bill later in the year saying this much more was needed. That proved to be problematic because some districts did not have the available fund balance to make that payment. Some districts simply could not afford to send another check, so three years ago the BOCES Board of Education made the decision to include these fees and charges in their administrative budget where they belong. This increase in our budget is tied to that change.”
As for the 11.51 percent increase, from $1,570,546 to $1,729,016, in the special education instruction line item of the program budget, Kawryga said the additional money is a result of keeping up with state mandates and remaining ready to provide services to high needs children who may move into the district at any time throughout the school year. As for the 13.83 percent increase in the instructional media line item, the superintendent said the increase is in response to a desire to upgrade the middle and high school library, which has been neglected in years past.
“We hired a new librarian and she has requested more equipment, textbooks and software packages to improve the library,” said Kawryga. “The board felt that it was a good idea to include these purchases in the budget, as the library has not received additional money in some time. The district has saved money when it comes to the library, and now it is time to increase that line item and build the library up.”
The 35.65 percent increase, from $438,420 to $594,717, in the pupil services line item represents a $6,000 upgrade to the filing system in the guidance department and the shift of coaching salaries from one area of the budget to another, to provide more transparency to voters.
“Our board of education has been taking a hard look at what our athletic program costs the district on an annual basis, and as a result of their actions, they decided to move the coaching salaries from one area of the budget to this line item, as this is where they belong,” said Kawryga. “We are not increasing salaries, rather this increase is a reflection of moving that figure from one part of the budget to this line item.”
The increase also includes additional moneys for athletic department equipment purchases, which is an area of need according to the board of education. “The district is at a point where it is time to start replacing equipment,” said Kawryga. “By doing so, the board hopes to establish a replacement schedule to avoid a situation like the game clock we had to replace under an emergency purchase this past school year.”
One area of concern is the 11.67 percent increase, from $808,026 to $879,807, in pupil transportation, as the increase may not be enough.
“We thought we had a pretty good estimate, but it appears as though we were wrong,” the superintendent said. “We did not anticipate that the cost of fuel would jump so rapidly in recent weeks, but that said, if our projections in state aid and spending turn out we should be okay. And if this trend of fast rising fuel costs continues, we will have to tighten our belts in other areas to make the budget work.”
In discussing fund balance, Kawryga said $427,500 was used in the 2007-08 budget, with $277,400 earmarked for use in 2008-09.
“We have $581,300 in available fund balance that can be used to offset a tax increase, $277,400 of which will be used in the 2008-09 budget. Any money leftover from the $427,500 used in the current budget will join the remaining $303,900 for use in future years,” he said.
In discussing the contingency budget, Kawryga said $94,989 would have to be cut from the proposed budget. Spending on non-contingent items such as equipment, buses, pupil services and salary increases for non-contracted employees would be prohibited.
“Equipment not purchased on established maintenance schedules costs taxpayers in the long run,” the superintendent said. “The difference is that emergency purchases do not allow us to look for the best deals, which increases costs. In addition, the district has committed itself to purchasing two buses each year to keep the fleet from aging, which increases maintenance costs. We receive aid for these purchases, aid that pays 90 cents on the dollar, and to go to a contingency budget would put that aid off schedule, which would cost taxpayers in future budgets.”
Another reality of adopting a contingency budget is that the board of education would have to establish charges for outside agencies and groups such as the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, AYSO, Pop Warner and WIC to use the school facilities.
“These realities are why we are hoping to avoid having to adopt a contingency budget at all costs,” said Kawryga.
Anyone with questions pertaining to any aspect of the proposed budget is welcome to call Kawryga at 429-3155, ext. 128, or school business official John McKeown at 429-3155, ext. 124. “We want our taxpayers to be as informed as possible when they head to the voting booths on Tuesday, which is why we welcome anyone with questions to call us,” said Kawryga.
The polls for the May 20 budget vote will be open from 2-8 p.m.