SCOTIA & GLENVILLE
District sees painful cost-cutting ahead
Swartz: ‘Low-hanging fruit’ already taken from budget
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
The Scotia-Glenville Central School District will need to cut $2.3 million from its 2012-13 budget to stay under the state tax levy cap.
Superintendent Susan Swartz on Monday presented her first look at the budget. Maintaining all of the existing programs and personnel would increase spending by nearly $2.9 million — more than 6 percent.
The tax cap calculation would only allow the district to increase spending by $745,000 to have the budget approved by a simple majority of voters. Anything beyond that would require more than 60 percent approval — an option that did not receive any interest from the Board of Education, according to district spokesman Robert Hanlon.
Swartz said it is difficult to try to find any “low-hanging fruit” as the district has already made many cuts. Transportation and building and grounds have been flat for three years — other than contractual increases.
“We have certainly nibbled away at the edges in terms of purchasing and hiring, field trips, staff development, athletics,” she said. “This will be a large cut and certainly more painful than what we’ve experienced in the last few years.”
Under the governor’s proposed budget, Scotia-Glenville would see a small increase in state aid of about $130,000. But it’s $3.1 million less than what the district would have been getting under the original aid formula before the so-called “gap elimination adjustment” state aid cut. Board of Education President Pam Carbone said in a news release that the district’s budget would be more than balanced if the district had those funds.
In addition, the district’s building aid reimbursement was reduced just at the start of payments on its building project.
In the current year, the district lost about fi ve positions, including two retiring elementary principals who were not replaced.
Swartz said she will be looking at what
services are mandated by state education law. Still, she said she
is going to try to preserve things that are special to
Scotia-Glenville.
In 2010-11, the board cut nearly 20 positions; the year before it
cut 5.2 full-time positions.
The board will meet on Feb. 27, March 5, March 12, March 19, March 26 and April 2. All meetings will be held at 7 p.m. in the middle school library. Community forums will also be scheduled.
