School budget hearing on tap Monday night
Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik at an earlier budget session outlined overall plans for a spending plan that would be in line with the state-imposed tax cap. Monday night he’ll focus on the educational component of the budget.
Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik will be reviewing the educational component of the proposed 2015-16 budget at a 7 p.m. meeting Monday night.His initial budget presentation on administrative spending was held in February and he has two more scheduled budget sessions — one on March 23 when he’ll review capital spending plans and another on March 30 when he’ll recap the entire budget proposal.
The Board of Education then has several weeks to consider any suggested changes before it expects to act on the proposal April 22 that will be submitted to voters on May 19.
While full numbers aren’t yet available, Mr. Skuggevik has made it clear that the proposal won’t pierce the 1.6 percent tax cap that the district has. While the state imposed a 2 percent tax cap, that number varies based on past budgets and for Shelter Island, it’s now at 1.6 percent for the next school term.
That doesn’t mean voters won’t see a tax increase, but most of it will result from the town’s $9.9 million budget that was passed with a 5.9 percent increase in spending that will pierce the cap.
Following Monday night’s budget hearing, there’s the Board of Education’s monthly meeting.
On the agenda for that session is a discussion of a retirement incentive agreement between the district and the Shelter Island Faculty Association.
Mr. Skuggevik hopes residents will bring their questions to the meeting, whether it relates to the budget or other school matters. But he also emphasized that he’s always willing to talk to people at his office and they need only call for an appointment.
