by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls Central School Board of Education meeting had a much larger than usual audience this week because a first look at next year’s budget was on the agenda, and Superintendent Ken Facin has already said that the District is going to have to cut down the number of people it employs.
The budget presented by Business Manager Pam Hatfield showed a 3% increase in both revenue and expense over the current year’s budget, which is an increase in spending of $610,000, from $20,648,000 to $21,258,000. Projected State Aid in this budget was $664,000 less than the current year’s budget. The figure for the local tax levy presented in the budget was over a million dollars more than the current year, an increase of 12.3%, but it appeared from comments made during the budget presentation that no one had any intention of presenting a final budget with a tax levy increase that high.
District Superintendent Ken Facin said his recommendation to the Board is that they should cut this budget down until there is no tax levy increase at all. He said last year that the District offered a budget with a 3% tax levy increase and it passed by just 4 votes. He said the message was very clear then, and it has been reinforced by many things people have said to him since, to the effect that the property taxpayers of the District can’t pay any more. “I get it,” said Facin, and he urged the Board to aim for a 0% tax levy increase. To get there, the Board will have to cut a million dollars out of the budget.
The only way to get savings of that magnitude, said Facin, is to shrink the number of people working for the District. He said working with the HFTA and the support staff union, the District has offered some retirement incentives, which expire on March 1. He hopes in this way to shrink staff through attrition, by not replacing people who are retiring and thereby keep layoffs to a minimum. He said by the time of the Budget Workshop on March 3, the school administration should have a pretty good idea of how many retirements there will be and whether the District will have to lay off some of its employees.
Facin mentioned that the District’s health insurance premiums will rise by 12%, which is an increased cost of almost $400,000. Health insurance alone is now 20% of the District’s total operating budget, at about $4 million annually.
On the other hand, Transportation and BOCES services were both budgeted significantly lower for the upcoming year. Business Manager Pam Hatfield said her analysis of the transportation changes made this year shows that the new system results in an overall reduction in cost of $82,000 annually, not including changes in the price of fuel. With the lower cost of fuel, she was able to budget $135,000 less for transportation for next year.
BOCES services are budgeted about $200,000 less in next year’s budget than they were this year. Facin said this is because less special needs students are placed in programs outside the District. Facin said studies have shown it is better for the kids to be educated in their home district when appropriate arrangements can be made for them there, and it is also more cost-effective.
Changes In The High School Program
High School Principal Steven Leunig gave a presentation on his plans for the High School Program for next year. He said enrollment is projected to be up by 18 students for next year
The required course load for students will be increased from 5.0 to 5.5 (not including gym), which will cut down on the number of study halls in the students’ schedules and offer more learning opportunities.
Other highlights of program changes for next year included increased elective offerings, additional courses with HVCC college credit, elimination of the French language program, addition of full-year Spanish in the seventh grade, additional reading and writing assistance for middle school students who need extra help, addition of SMART Board technology in the classrooms, and additional extracurricular and club activities for the students.
Tax Certiorari Fund
The Board established a fourth Tax Certiorari fund and put $46,000 in it after four companies in the District challenged their real estate assessments in court. If the challenges are successful, the District can be required to give back taxes collected in previous years when the assessment was too high. The Tax Certiorari fund allows the District to be prepared if that happens.
Other Matters
The Board turned over the unpaid tax bills to the County. Eighty-six per cent of the taxes have been collected, which is about the same as in previous years. The other 14% will be paid to the District by the County in April, along with the 2% penalty, and the County will be responsible for collecting the unpaid tax.
A contract for the District’s telephone and internet services for next year was awarded to Cornerstone Telephone Co, and one for web hosting services was awarded to School Center.
The Board of Education will hold a Budget Workshop on March 3 in the High School Library at 6 pm and will hold its regular meeting on March 17, also in the library, at 7 pm.