BCS Between A Rock And A Hard Place

by Phillip Zema
Because of various economic factors, Berlin Central is currently stuck between a rock and a hard place. State aid cuts, increased expenses and declining tax revenues have created challenges for the District. Berlin is not alone, as most area schools face identical predicaments. A number of solutions may work, but each has problems. Consolidation, staff cuts, tax hikes and all the rest will anger many. The District, however, has taken measures to cut costs, but with a likely $1.4 million state aid cut, these steps may be insufficient. Furthermore, underage substance abuse is a growing problem throughout the District, and local residents are concerned.
Three local residents spoke during the School Board meeting’s public session. Heinz Noeding expressed concern over Berlin’s current economic situation. State aid cuts, growing expenses (e.g. renovation projects, retirement fees, rising health insurance costs) and declining enrollment deepen the District’s need to develop financial solutions. Moreover, while in recent years enrollment has decreased by 15%, transportation costs and BOCES expenses have nearly doubled. Noeding was concerned that the District’s Board and administration was not prepared to meet these challenges. He implored the Board to consider these problems when it creates its 2010-2011 budget. Noeding added that “taxpayers…should reject any proposed budget which does not incorporate this financial reality.”
TRACs
Andrew Zlotnick spoke about the purpose of TRACs (Together Reducing Alcohol and drugs in our Communities), and he informed the Board about the group’s future events. TRACs is a community-based group that strives to reduce high risk behaviors such as “alcohol, tobacco and other drug use” especially among youths. Zlotnick encouraged the Board to join TRACs and to attend its next meeting, which is on March 9 at 5:30 pm. It will be held at the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Church, and representatives from the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department and NYS Police will be speaking. Zlotnick said that TRACs’ next challenge is to create a letter that outlines the laws relevant to substance abuse. Ideally, the letter would be signed by public officials, law enforcers, school officials and other community representatives. It would then be distributed to the general public.
Stephentown School Building
Stephentown Supervisor Larry Eckhardt inquired about what the District is intending to do with the Stephentown school building. The Stephentown Youth Commission is intending to hold its 2010 summer youth program on the school’s premises; yet it needs to know whether it can use the school’s basketball court, playground and classrooms. The school is an invaluable asset to the Town, and Eckhardt asked the Board to keep Stephentown’s Town council informed.
Nutrikids
A representative from Nutrikids, a school cafeteria company associated with BOCES, also spoke at the meeting. He claimed that switching to Nutrikids would benefit the District in many respects. The school would likely save on food costs and would get back 61 cents per every dollar it spends on food services. Cafeteria workers would be provided with an efficient touch-screen menu. This screen would be reliable, easily accessible and remove the stigma associated with free or reduced lunches. The Nutrikids system, via internet, also enables parents to see what their children purchase, and it accommodates online payments. Although appreciating Nutrikids’ merits, Board Member Thomas Morelli wanted to research other cafeteria companies. He claimed that doing so would enable the District to make a well-informed decision. The issue was tabled until the Board’s next meeting.
Superintendent Charlotte Gregory talked about how the District is transitioning from the old educational system to the new. The school must find innovative ways to weather the current economic turmoil. Not only are there state aid cuts, but enrollment is declining and expenses are increasing throughout the state. Schools are closing, and jobs are being lost. Within the next year, over a thousand area teaching jobs might disappear, she said. Berlin is, without drastically increasing its budget, striving to overcome these economic obstacles. This is the main reason the District has planned to close Grafton Elementary School.
Berlin will likely lose over $1.4m in state aid. Even by closing Stephentown Elementary, the school is still short by roughly $1m. But by closing Grafton Elementary, Gregory said the District could save an additional $431,847 per year. She maintained that even if the District adds two modular school buildings at Berlin Elementary School, such savings would still result. The two buildings would create four additional classrooms. (Originally, the school claimed they needed six rooms, but for financial reasons, it was decided that four classrooms might be sufficient.) Furthermore, in the past year, the school has saved roughly $50k on transportation and utility costs. To avoid a substantial tax levy, however, the District is investigating other ways to reduce costs.
The discussion on consolidation and classroom construction was tabled, but the Board emphasized the importance of finding a long-term solution. With the state $8 billion in debt, the financial crisis may not end soon. Moreover, the area’s income wealth has drastically plummeted. Short-term solutions, therefore, will not be of much help. For such solutions merely postpone the inevitable. Finally, within the next month, the District is intending to create a rough draft of its budget – a draft that recognizes these problems yet serves the collective best interest of its students.