Education

School budget workshops underway

Business official Sam Schneider outlines salary items in last Thursday’s budget workshop.

The budget season has begun for the Shelter Island School Board.Holding its first budget workshop of the year last Thursday, theboard started to pin down the 2010-2011 school year costs.

School Board President Rebecca Mundy began the workshop bystating that the proposed budget was “a work in progress, adding,”We have lots of things to consider as the school year goes on.

In years prior to 2009, an appointed citizen advisory committeemet with the board and members of the school administration two orthree times in March to compile the budget. This method drewcriticism from residents who said it lacked transparency.

Last year the board replaced that system with a series ofworkshops, in which board members and citizens are invited topublicly contribute their ideas and criticisms of the proposedbudget.

At Thursday’s workshop, School Superintendent Sharon Cliffordtold the board and the handful of audience members, “We’re lookingto be collaborative, we’re looking for input, and whatever we endup with at the end of the process will absolutely have been acompilation of all the various board members and community memberswho contribute to this process.

District Business Official Sam Schneider outlined the first setof proposed budget items using a PowerPoint presentation, notingthat all of the figures were subject to change.

He began with teacher and administrator salaries, the largestexpense in the school’s budget, which are slated to increase from$3,787,513 to $3,910,413 (a 3 percent increase). The amount spenton employee benefits is expected to rise as well, from $1,990,353to $2,137,591 (7 percent).

The amount allotted to co-curricular activities (includingadvisors and coordinators, chaperones, contractual expenses andmaterials and supplies) has increased, from $94,200 to $99,330 (5percent).

The money spent on substitutes will jump too, from $82,450 to$85,000 (3 percent) – these figures include a permanent substituteteacher at a salary of $27,450 per year. Lastly, the budget fordetention has increased 3 percent, from $3,840 to $3,960.

There were no questions from the audience.

At the next meeting, the board will discuss transportation,inter-scholastic athletics, debt service, the Board of Education,central printing, the district clerk, and auditing, treasurer andlegal matters. This second workshop is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonightin the home and careers room. The third workshop will occur afterthe school break, on February 23, the fourth will be on March 3,and the final workshop is scheduled for March 11.

In a further step to increase the transparency of the budgetprocess, the workshops will be broadcast on Channel 22­- check the “Channel 22 tab on the town website(shelterislandtown.us) to see broadcast times.

To view the PowerPoint slides that were presented during thefirst workshop, visit the school website(sischool.dev6.hamptons.com), click on the Business Officetab and look for “Budget Workshop #1 at the bottom of the page.

The board encourages those with questions to contact Ms.Clifford at 749-0302, extension 408, or by email [email protected]; or Mr. Schneider at 749-0302,extension 537, or by email [email protected].