Check below for questions and answers about a variety of budget-related issues:
√
General budget issues – state aid,
lottery aid, taxes, previous reductions, etc.
Governor Cuomo has stated that New York is first in per pupil spending, but 34th in performance? Is that true? What is the return on the investment for Scotia-Glenville taxpayers?
When Governor Cuomo stated in his State of the State address that New York ranks 34th in the nation in education, he was referring to a 2007 U.S. Census report that ranked New York “below average” when it came to the number of adults – including those in their 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. – who have a high school diploma.
That same report ranked New York “above
average” in the number of adults with a bachelor’s degree or
higher.
Within days of Cuomo’s remarks, Education Week released its annual
“Quality Counts” report showing New York’s schools rank number two
in the nation on a comprehensive analysis of policy and
performance. Our schools earned an overall grade of B, second only
to Maryland with a grade of B+. The national average was a C+.
The study looked at family income, parent education, preschool enrollment, proficiency of students on 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade math exams, high school graduation, young adult education, adult educational attainment, annual income and steady employment. It took into consideration the state’s efforts to tie K-12 schooling to college readiness and the world of work.
There are many performance indicators in the Education Week report that show positive trends for our state. For example, the high school graduation rate from public schools in New York is 70.6 percent. The national average is 68.8 percent.
Only two other states – Virginia and Maryland – have larger proportions of students who score a three or above on Advanced Placement exams.
Also, a January 2011 study by Education Week showed that New York's education systems ranked second in the US, behind Maryland.
How do our taxes compare in the area? Are they among of the highest?
Scotia-Glenville's tax rate has been relatively stable over the past several years.
Since the 2006-07 budget, the
Scotia-Glenville school tax rate has risen from $19.21 per $1,000
assessed value that year to the current $20.39 per $1,000. That is
a 6.1 percent tax rate increase over six years or an
average of 1.02 percent per year.
Scotia-Glenville’s diligence has come as the state has frozen or
reduced state aid to schools while health care and pension costs
for its nearly 500 employees have risen steadily.
The school district’s 2006-07 budget stood at $42.01 million; this
year’s budget totals $47.08 million. That is a spending
increase of 12.1 percent over six years or an average of 2.02
percent per year.
As the economy bottomed out over the past few years,
Scotia-Glenville has responded:
▪ In the 2009-10 S-G budget, state aid was frozen, $1.3 million in
proposed expenses and 5.2 full-time positions were cut.
▪ In 2010-11, state aid was cut by $2.3 million. Proposed spending
was cut by $2 million and 19.7 positions eliminated.
▪ In the current 2011-12 budget, budget-to-budget spending was
reduced by nearly $250,000 as state aid was cut by $1.27 million –
$473 for every Scotia-Glenville student.
Changes in the state’s STAR program, however,
have meant that local tax bills have increased more than that
during that period. The state’s changes to the program were
designed to help fill state budget gaps in Albany.
Scotia-Glenville’s tax rate, which had been the highest of the
three school districts located in Glenville (Burnt Hills-Ballston
Lake and Niskayuna are the other two districts), is now the
lowest. That has been done by strict budgeting over the past
several years and the addition of large taxpayers, such as Lowes
and Walmart and several other commercial projects. The future
Target plaza on Route 50 will add another boost to the Glenville
tax base that is located in the Scotia-Glenville school district.
What have been previous cuts/reductions in staffing or programs in past few years?
Over the past two years especially, Scotia-Glenville leaders have tightened spending in the face of rising costs and reduced state aid. In the 2009-10 school budget, there was no increase in state aid. At Scotia-Glenville, $1.3 million in costs were trimmed, including the elimination of 5.2 full-time positions. In the current 2010-11 budget, state aid was cut by $2.3 million. The budget cut spending by $2 million, including 19.7 full-time positions.
The proposed 2011-12 spending plan includes the elimination of 9.5 full-time positions and reduced spending totaling $1.42 million.
What about the new “Tier 5” and proposed "Tier 6" in the state pension system – isn’t that going to save us money?
In 2010, the state Legislature passed a law creating a new tier, Tier 5, in the state pension systems for all public employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2011. This will result in markedly lower costs for public employers in the future, but it will have little impact on Scotia-Glenville’s 2012-13 budget.
Tier 5 employees will contribute more toward their pension than the Legislature has required for employees in Tiers 1-4. Over time, as older employees age out of the system and Tier 5 employees become more numerous, the higher employee contribution rate paid by Tier 5 employees should gradually reduce the rates that employers must pay.
The Tier 6 proposal has not been approved by the state Legislature but is part of the governor's 2012-13 budget plan. Tier 6 employees would pay more toward their retirements and not be able to retire until age 65, later than the current pension tiers.
Where does the funding for the Scotia-Glenville budget comes from?
NY public school districts have two primary funding sources for their annual operating budget: school taxes and state aid. In the current school year (2011-12), state aid to Scotia-Glenville comes to 15.4 million, down from $16.7 million in the 2010-11 budget. State and federal aid account for 32.8 percent of the overall budget while property taxes cover $25.55 million or 54.3% of the budget.
The amount of state support for
Scotia-Glenville’s annual budget has been declining over the past
several years.
As a result of this trend, groups across the state are talking about
different models -- other ways to fund public education that could
rely less on property taxes and be more fair to citizens on fixed
incomes. Those include using sales and income taxes to fund a
share of schools instead of relying on property taxes.
The remaining shares of annual income comes from a variety of sources, such as interest earnings, student tuitions, fund balance and other revenues, such as from renting classrooms to the Capital Region BOCES.
With all the state lottery games and new casinos in NY, does any of that revenue go to education? Wasn’t the lottery designed to support education?
Yes, state lottery and casino revenue was designed to support education and it does. Lottery revenue goes into the state coffers along with other state fees and state taxes. It is a major component of the revenue that is then distributed to public schools as “state aid.” About a third of the lottery’s annual revenue, or $2 billion a year, goes to support New York state education aid.
How do you inform the public about the budget?
Scotia-Glenville keeps an up-to-date webpage on its website at http://www.scotiaglenvilleschools.org/budget/budget.cfm. Information about the budget development process is also included in the Tartan Report school newsletter. There is an eight-page budget newsletter that specifically details the budget. That is usually mailed in early May.
Each Board of Education meeting in March is dedicated to developing the annual budget and public comment is accepted at all of those meetings.
Specific budget meetings or forums are also usually scheduled. Information about those are publicized on the website, though flyers home with students and in local newspapers, including the Daily Gazette and Scotia-Glenville Spotlight.
A link on the district website allows staff and community members to anonymously ask questions about the budget. Those results are being posted under a Question and Answer link, also located on the school district’s main and budget web pages.
When will final budget decisions be made?
The Board of Education will review the budget every Monday in March at 7 p.m. at the middle school. Plans call for the budget to be adopted by April 3.
Can we see the line-by-line budget?
Yes. Once the Board of Education adopts a budget each year, the line-by-line version is posted on the district’s website and is available in each school building. The 2011-12 line-by-line budget is available by http://www.scotiaglenvilleschools.org/budget/2011-12/SGbudget511.PDF
√ Can we do things differently to save money? Seek concessions, apply for grants, outsource some things, etc.
Have we asked the various bargaining groups for concessions?
Over the past two years, the district has negotiated agreements with its eight labor unions to dramatically reduce health insurance costs. Employees are switching from expensive health maintenance organizations (MVP and CDPHP) to a less expensive but equivalent exclusive provider agreement with CDPHP.
As well, the teachers' union, the largest of the labor unions at Scotia-Glenville, agreed in June 2011 to a two-year agreement that includes a 0 percent cost of living raise in the 2012-13 school year. By law, teachers will stil receive 'step' increases that average 3 percent for teachers with fewer than 23 years' of experience.
What steps has the district taken to lower or contain costs?
The district uses many BOCES services cooperating with other school districts to purchase shared services and generate BOCES state aid. The district purchases health insurance, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, school buses and electricity through groups or consortiums of other school districts. The larger number in the group allows each school to receive the benefits of bulk purchasing. Our district also participates in a bulk common purchase program with many other area school districts and recently announced plans to apply for a joint grant with other districts to study the benefits of sharing business office functions.
Could we use more on-line vs. paper distribution of information? (e.g. calendars, newsletters, etc.)?
Yes. We are exploring more on-line options. School districts are mandated by NYS to annually provide written notices to parents and/or community on numerous topics including pesticides, student privacy, health and immunization, emergency preparedness, etc. which are typically provided through the printed district calendar. We are required to prepare and mail school budget and tax notices. However, parents can access school newsletters, notices and other information on the Edline parent information system.
Have you considered other types of power, like solar, as a way of saving energy costs?
Yes. The building project that was defeated by the community in December 2008 included solar panels that would have been installed on the roof of the Sacandaga Elementary School. That effort was feasible because of an expected grant from NYSERDA. The start-up costs for such projects, either solar or wind power, are very high (without some sort of state or federal grant) and the payback period is several years, sometimes exceeding the expected life of the hardware.
Has the district considered outsourcing things like maintenance or custodial to save money?
Scotia-Glenville outsourced the second shift for custodial operations in the 1990s. The experience was a cost-saver at the time but eventually became more expensive. As well, many evening cleaning responsibilities were not being done adequately and would be left for the daytime staff. It is difficult to bring in employees from the outside to complete jobs when they are not familiar with school districts and the school district does not conduct background checks on the employees before hiring them.
Today, all custodial employees – custodians and cleaners – are employed by Scotia-Glenville. The current Local 766 labor contract that represents custodial staff includes a lower rate of pay for evening cleaners.
There was also discussion in the 1990s of outsourcing daytime bus runs. At the time, parents said they would not be comfortable with a non-district employee driving their children to school every day. From that safety perspective, the district never pursued that option.
Several bus routes are outsourced to private companies and transportation for longer-routes, like to Tech Valley High School in Rensselaer County, is shared with other school districts when feasible.
Does Scotia-Glenville apply for grants?
Scotia-Glenville keeps an active eye on grants that it would be eligible to receive. Unfortunately, many grants available are designed for assistance for lower-income school districts. However, grants to fund special education programs and other state and federal grants are more competitive and the district routinely applies for and receives those grants.
Teachers and other staff, such as the GIVE service-learning program, apply for and receive a number of small grants every year.
In August 2009, the school district received a Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant from the federal government. The three-year, $1.4 million grant has been used to purchase physical education equipment across the school district.
Scotia-Glenville and six other Schenectady County school districts and the county are partnering to apply for a $45,000 “Local Government Efficiency Grant” from the NY Department of State. If received, this would be used for a county-wide effort to study ways that districts could potentially save money by sharing business office functions (such as auditing , purchasing, printing and mailing).
Schools and teachers individually apply for many grants during the school year that help to stretch already-reduce supply money while providing new opportunities for students.
When could we look to cooperate more closely with other schools or the towns to buy in bulk, save money, etc.?
For several years, Scotia-Glenville has participated in bulk cooperative purchases with other Schenectady County schools for items such as photocopy paper. The schools and other municipalities will continue to explore sharing equipment and services.
Could you look at ways to decrease health costs?
Virtually all labor unions at Scotia-Glenville, including the largest union representing teachers, have agreed to switch their health insurance offerings from the typical community-based HMOs to an exclusive provider organization, EPO. An EPO is based on the experience of a smaller exclusive group, in this case school employees. They tend to be healthier and have a better health rating experience than the community at large. The lower EPO premiums are a benefit to the employee and school district - both of which pay the corresponding lower premiums.
Can we eliminate overtime to save money?
Overtime payments, which generally occur in the buildings and grounds and transportation departments, are scrutinized every year. Eliminating overtime would be difficult because many activities occur outside of the regular school day that require school district staff.
For the 2011-12 transportation budget, overtime spending has been reduced by $20,000 to a total budget of $220,121 because late-bus runs will be eliminated next year. Drivers are generally paid overtime for driving athletic teams in the evening and for other driving outside of the regular school day.
The buildings and grounds staff has budgeted a total of $15,660 for grounds overtime and $75,000 for custodial and cleaning overtime in the 2011-12 budget. Buildings and grounds staff, for example, would be paid overtime for clearing snow in the early morning hours before school opens.
Overtime is also paid during emergencies, such as repair of heating systems or floods in buildings, and for regular checking on buildings over the weekends.
Have you considered placing ads in the building, on gym walls or on the sides of the buses to help pay for things like sports?
At this time, Education Law prohibits the leasing of space for commercial advertising in public schools. Therefore, the district has not given serious consideration to advertising. The small amount of revenue may not offset the concern among others about the commercialism. However, this issue may need to be revisited in the future if the law changes.
Could we have parents pay for school supplies?
S-G parents already pay for many school supplies. NYS law requires that school districts provide any equipment that is required vs. recommended for a course. Parents, for example, are required to furnish graphing calculators (though some are available for use in school for students who request them) and for some consumables. Elementary children, for example, bring in tissues or paper towels at the beginning of the year for use by their classrooms. Parents currently purchase school supplies, like pencils, pens and paper, at the beginning of the school year.
Could we replace our school administrators with less-expensive retired business executives?
Anyone working in a school district, at least half-time, in an administrative capacity requires NYS Education Law administrative certification. This usually requires a masters degree and an additional 30-45 hours of graduate study including an approved administrative internship.
Why don’t you plan and predict budgeting over multiple years?
Since more than 30 percent of the school district’s budget comes from state aid, it is difficult to plan long-term when state aid is provided in one-year cycles. Internally, there is long-term budgeting occurring to plan for the purchase of textbooks and more expensive repairs and improvements, for example.
Have you considered on-line learning as a way of saving money?
On-line learning provides courses, content and learning opportunities for students that they might not have otherwise due to a lack of staffing or teachers trained in a specific area. This allows students to take more courses since a school schedule no longer prevents a course from “fitting” into a schedule. On-line learning, under pending NYS Education guidelines, requires a certified teacher to observe, or otherwise coordinate the learning. Therefore, this represents an increased cost, but an increased opportunity to expand programming for students.
Last summer, the district offered several students the opportunity to take courses over the internet. These were exclusively for students who had already taken the course but failed the final Regents exam.
Could we look to lower our heat in each room to 65 degrees?
NYS Education Law requires classrooms to be set at a minimum of 66 degrees during the school day. In the evening, temperatures are automatically lowered several degrees to save money and fuel. Temperatures are controlled by a centralized system for all classrooms and spaces in the school district.
Ten years ago, the school district replaced all of its lighting and fixtures in order to save money. The heating systems, windows, etc. in each school were upgraded to make the buildings more energy efficient.
Have we considered merging with another school district or actually creating a countywide school?
NYS Education Law provides financial incentives (extra state aid for a period of years) for school districts with common borders to merge into one under the belief that costs are reduced and program offerings are enhanced.
A study is required and a positive referendum
in both schools is required. The process takes one to three years.
Eventually, tax rates and contracts and board policies and sports
teams are all merged into a single entity.
Several years ago, a merger between Scotia-Glenville and Burnt
Hills-Ballston Lake was studied but never reached the point of a
public referendum in either community.
√ Academic offerings
What is a basic education? What makes one district different from others?
Everyone describes a basic education differently and NYS Education Law does not define it. There are some basic requirements: every student must take English, math, science, social studies and physical education classes in grades 9-11 in order to graduate with a state-required Regents diploma. All grades 7 and 8 students must take English, math, science, social studies, physical education, a language, family and consumer sciences and technology classes.
Each community has been permitted a local choice to add or enrich programming based upon local expectation, values, and ability to afford. Districts with a broader choice of challenging classes, Advanced Placement and Honors, a choice of clubs and activities, and high student achievement, are typically higher-rated and desirable areas for new homebuyers and families. This increases housing values (in usual economic times).
Have you considered dropping a language and replacing with Mandarin Chinese or another language?
Scotia-Glenville now offers French, Spanish and German. Italian has been made available in past years over the Distance Learning Network at the high school. The Board of Education has discussed the three languages that are now offered and whether a change should be made, but no changes have been proposed for the immediate future. Being able to hire instructors to teach the other languages is not always possible or easy.
What steps are we taking to reduce costs for special education programming?
Students who have been classified as learning or emotionally disabled are protected under Federal and NYS Law. There are numerous regulations defining the type, size, and location of a class. Class size is typically smaller, requires more adult-provided services, and decisions are determined by autonomous committees. In recent years, Scotia-Glenville has moved classes for students with learning disabilities and a program for children with autisum back to the S-G schools from outside placements. Those moves have saved thousands of dollars. Typically, sending a student with special education needs to an outside program can cost $30,000 to $100,000, depending on the child’s disability and requirements.
√ Athletics, clubs, extracurricular activities
Can you charge for sports or the equipment to play? How about to participate in clubs?
Not under normal circumstances. NYS Education Law requires equal access to all curricular and co-curricular activities. There are some exceptions permitted, including some club activities, in which parents raise money for the activity or are asked to contribute. In general, charging for sports participation is not permitted.
How about to participate in clubs?
Not normally unless the club elects to go on a trip or other
activity outside of the school. In that case, families are charged
for that activity.
Why not just cut sports, clubs and extracurricular activities?
After-school athletics represents a very small fraction of the total budget. Cutting or eliminating these activities alone would not address any school district’s financial problems but would remove a critical part of a well-rounded education for Scotia-Glenville’s 2,800 students.
The proposed 2011-12 budget includes the elimination of modified (middle school) tennis and lacrosse, both boys and girls. In both cases, there are no or limited competition for those teams with other modified schools teams in the Foothills Scholastic Council. The eight-member Foothills Scholastic Council, which includes S-G as well as districts in Broadalbin-Perth, Gloversville, Johnstown, Queensbury, Glens Falls, South Glens Falls and Hudson Falls, is a group of schools whose teams play each other during sports seasons.
√ Administration costs
Could we consolidate administration? Is it necessary to have a principal for every building?
We are exploring all options to continue to reduce costs. The 2011-12 budget did not replace two retiring administrators – the principals at Glen-Worden and Sacandaga elementary schools. Those positions were be filled by current Scotia-Glenville administrators. State law requires a certified administrator at every school building, though waivers to share administrators between buildings are available under certain circumstances.
Does the superintendent receive any benefits (such as a car) that are different than other administrators?
No. Several years ago, Scotia-Glenville’s superintendent and business administrator used district vehicles to travel while they were at work. In recent years, those employees are now reimbursed for actual mileage costs at the IRS reimbursement rate. The Board of Education amended its cell phone policies last year. Administrators use their personal cell phones but are reimbursed for work-related monthly service charges. The superintendent’s health and retirement benefits are the same as other administrators at Scotia-Glenville.
Why do we have three administrators at the high school?
There is one dean of students, one assistant principal and one principal at the high school, which has a population of nearly 900 and is the largest school at Scotia-Glenville. Each administrator has specific responsibilities, from discipline and scheduling to maintaining safe hallways and keeping order on a minute’s notice. The high school does not have a School Resource Officer, so the administrators often deal with local police and probation agencies on a variety of issues.
√ Teaching and staffing costs and savings – sharing staff, tenure, health insurance, pensions, etc.
Why can’t you just freeze all salaries and benefits?
Scotia-Glenville has eight labor unions that have legally-binding contracts to represent virtually all of the school district’s employees, including administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, aides and monitors, nurses, secretaries, substitute teachers and buildings and grounds/transportation employees. NYS law protects these units from arbitrary, non-negotiated reductions or changes in terms and conditions.
The NYS Legislature in 1982 enacted the Triborough Amendment (PDF), an amendment to the 1967 NYS Taylor Law. This guarantees continuation of benefits and wages, including the annual 'step' salary increases that are included in most teachers' contracts, after a contract has expired if a successor agreement is not in place. Public unions were granted this right in exchange for their giving up the right to strike.
The amendment mandates that an employee would automatically move forward on a salary schedule regardless of the status of negotiations. Labor union members could vote to freeze salary increases, including the automatic step increases, for a given period of time, like a year. The NYS legislature and possibly the governor may have the unilateral authority to freeze all public employee salaries regardless of unit language but local school districts lack this authority.
How much of the total budget is tied to employee salaries and benefits?
Education is a people-intensive business. In the current $47.08 million 2011-12 budget, 53.6 percent of the budget ($25.3 million) is for direct instructional costs while another 25.1 percent ($11.8 million) was spent for the benefits of those employees. Those two parts of the budget account for 78.7 percent and $37 million of the entire school district budget.
Other areas of the budget, such as transportation (4.3 percent), central administration (3.6 percent) and buildings and grounds (7.8 percent) also include employees.
When is the next teachers’ contract negotiation? Who negotiates contracts? Does this happen locally?
The district signed a two-year contract with the Scotia-Glenville Teachers Association that expires on June 30, 2013. The superintendent, business administrator and school attorney sit at the negotiation table with the SGTA representatives during negotiations.
Can you eliminate tenure for teachers and administrators?
NYS Education Law has very prescriptive, regulated and complex language that defines and controls tenure. Local school districts and local bargaining units cannot bargain away tenure.
How do teachers get evaluated and how do we eliminate teachers that aren’t doing a good job?
The state of New York has developed a new evaluation system, the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) that will be effective for all teachers during the 2012-13 school year. Sixty percent of the evaluation will be based on observation and other local measures while 20 percent will be based on students' standardized test scores. The remaining 20 percent will be local test scores, as agreed to by the state Department of Education, or on the state test scores.
New teachers are placed on probation for the first three years (or two years if they’ve received tenure at another school district) and must be granted tenure at the end of that process in order to continue employment with the school district. New teachers are also provided with experienced mentor teachers who help them and provide information about procedures, guidance with lesson plans, etc.
Scotia-Glenville teachers are observed by a supervisor three times a year if they are on probation (first two or three years) and if they are on steps 7 and 12.
There is a process, called a 3020-a proceeding, for discharging an ineffective teacher who has tenure, but it is a very long and expensive process. The state APPR includes a streamlined ability to remove teachers deemed to be ineffective and also allows an appeal process by the teacher in question.
Could library media specialists be shared between buildings?
There is no restriction on the assignment of librarian media specialists to buildings. Elementary schools are not required to have a library media specialist. In the difficult economic times of the 1990s, Scotia-Glenville’s elementary library media specialists traveled between buildings.
Today’s librarian media specialist serves an expanded role in technology, information management and promoting research skill development in students. The 2011-12 budget added responsibilities to the elementary library media specialists. They will be working with students in grades 3-5 to provide the current OPAL gifted and talented program.
Do our employees pay for health insurance?
Yes. Each employee who elects to receive health insurance through the school district pays part of the premium, for either a single or family policy, and the school district pays the rest. For example, teachers pay 13% of the premium for a family insurance policy and the school district pays the other 87%. Several of the labor unions at Scotia-Glenville have agreed to switch their health insurance offerings from the typical community-based HMOs to an exclusive provider organization, EPO. An EPO is based on the experience of a smaller exclusive group, in this case school employees. They tend to be healthier and have a better health rating experience than the community at large. The lower EPO premiums are a benefit to the employee and school district - both of which pay the corresponding lower premiums.
How does the pension system(s) work and how do we get control of rising pension costs?
The pension system is divided into two different programs: Employee Retirement System (ERS) and Teachers Retirement System (TRS). ERS is managed by the NYS Comptroller’s office regarding rate setting and oversight. The TRS has its own independent governing board that sets rates. The pension systems, unlike many states, are “fully funded”. That is, they have collected and carry reserves that would meet all current and future liabilities for current staff on payroll.
School districts are paying an increasing share toward the pensions of their employees. The amount paid locally is determined by the long-term health of the pension systems.
Sometimes employer contribution rates can fall dramatically, but right now the stock market crash of 2008 and the continuing poor performance of the market are still driving employer contribution rates higher.
For instance, over the past 25 years, the mandatory TRS employer contribution rate has been as high as 18.8% (in 1986-87) and as low as 0.36% (in 2001-02 and 2002-03).
For the 2011-12 school year, school districts are required to pay 16.3 percent of salaries of employees enrolled in the Employee Retirement System. The 2010-11 rate was 11.9 percent of salaries.
For the Teacher Retirement System, the employee contributions is 11.1 percent of salaries for the 2011-12 school year. The rate was 8.6 percent for the 2010-11 school year.
Can you eliminate all travel and conference expense?
This area has been scrutinized over the past several years and reductions have been made. We may still need to send certain staff to a training that is state required, mandated or that would provide long term cost-savings if staff attend. Additionally, the district has teachers who are required to travel between buildings in the district. They receive mileage reimbursement for that travel.
Why do some teachers have to travel? This seems to cost money and loss of teaching time?
Teachers, in subjects such as art, music and technology education, are shared between the high school and middle school, which are located minutes away from each other on the same campus. Some elementary music teachers also teach for a a period at the middle school. Travelling teachers are often more efficient because a teacher is moved to where she/he is required, rather than hiring more teachers than are necessary.
Why do we need a nurse in every building full time – couldn’t they just travel to where they are needed?
A nurse is not mandated in every school building full-time. However, many more medically-fragile children now require medication to be administered during the school day than in years past. A nurse in every school makes sense. The proposed 2011-12 budget eliminated a part-time float nurse position. The district will still be left with six nurses for six school buildings and one float nurse who is shared throughout the district. If a nurse were absent, the float nurse may substitute for her or a substitute would be brought in for the day. The current nurse substitute list has just three names on it, so substitute nurses are not always available.
Could you consider parent volunteers to replace teaching assistants, teacher aides or monitors?
The district encourages parents and community members to volunteer in our schools and many do, especially in school libraries and some assistant coaching positions. Teaching Assistants (TA) are certified by the NYS Education Department and provide educational services to children with learning disabilities per a federal Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which requires the services of a TA. School volunteers could provide other non-instructional duties, but the district needs to be sure that positions are staffed every day. A successful volunteer program requires committed people who will show up regularly and consistently.
In the district office, can you combine or eliminate unneeded positions?
That is done, when possible. The
superintendent’s secretary retired in the fall of 2010. Since that time, the
position has been filled by a temporary service. The 2011-12
budget proposes continuing with the temporary service, which will
result in a $20,000 savings. The temporary employee is not paid
benefits by the school district.
The school district has more than 500 employees, including 240
teachers. When staffing is reduced, regardless of area, the amount
of work does not decline. It is generally redistributed to other
employees, as will happen in the coming school year by not
replacing two administrators.
√ Food service costs
Do taxpayers pay for the school lunch food service?
No costs for the lunch program come out of the general fund budget. At Scotia-Glenville, Chartwells has a contract to operate the breakfast and lunch programs. It is a self-supporting program. School lunch prices - which stand at $1.65 for students in elementary school and $1.85 for students at the middle and high schools - are among the lowest in the Capital Region.
√ School
buildings – class size, heating, parking, etc.
Can’t class sizes be increased?
There are no regulations limiting class size. Scotia-Glenville has operated under a series of guidelines for class sizes for several years. Elementary classes typically have 20-26 students. This year, because of a small grade 6, one grade 6 was eliminated with class sizes remaining in the mid-20s. That position will need to be replaced in the 2012-13 school year because of a larger grade 5 class this year. the single grade 5 section at Lincoln had 29 students, so a classroom aide was added to help. High school classes in grades 9 and 10 are in the same range with elective and honors classes having fewer students.
Beginning in the 2011-12 budget, all classes (except for special education) will have a minimum class size of 15.
Why does it seem that sometimes buildings are too hot and windows are open?
The heating systems are now controlled through a computer energy management system. This complex system manages and monitors heat in zones district wide. When a door or window is temporarily open, the system calls for more heat and the area gets warm quickly. We are continuing to calibrate this system.
As well, the high school's aged steam heating system was replaced last summer with a more efficient hot water system. Rooms at the high school have had heating issues this year as the system adjusts and operators learn the fine points of a hot water system, which heats differently than steam.
Do you charge for student parking?
Yes. Students may park on the high school campus at an annual fee of $1. They must complete a form that is available in the main office and receive a sticker from Mr. Kastberg in the technology department.
√ Transportation issues
Can we eliminate busing for non-public students?
No. Required by NYS Ed. Law – up to 15 miles must transport. The district cannot discriminate between public and private schools. Special education placements are exempt from that mileage limit. During the 2011-12 school year, the district transports more than 2,200 students to 46 schools, including parochial, BOCES and private schools.
How full are the buses in the morning and afternoon? Could we use smaller buses to save money?
Most observations of the amount of students on buses occurs when buses are en route and all stops have not been completed. Or, the buses have dropped off their students and are either preparing for their second runs or are returning to the bus garage. State law requires school districts to provide a seat on a bus for every student who is eligible and who falls within the pick-up zones – even if a parent tells us that his or her child will be given a ride every day or if the student drives to school. The district uses a computerized bus routing and scheduling program to maximize the efficiency of routes and minimize the costs.
Could we consider extending the distance for bus transportation to save money?
NYS Education Law requires mandatory bus transportation for children in grades K-6 who live at least two miles from school and students in grades 7-12 who live at least 3 miles from school. Scotia-Glenville has traditionally bused children within those distances and who live along major roads, such as Route 50, Sacandaga Road and Route 5. A majority of students at Lincoln Elementary School walk to school and about one-third at Sacadaga Elementary School walk to school. As well, students who live in the village of Scotia close to the high school and middle school walk to school every day.
This regulation was established well over 50 years ago. Children walking these distances today would create significant safety and security issues due to the volume of traffic and increased exposure of children to strangers, etc. There would be some cost reduction in extending the walking zones around selected schools but the district would need to weigh the advantages against the risks of student safety.
