Education

School budget slated for further cuts

JULIE LANE PHOTO Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik orchestrating the finishing touches on the school district budget Monday night. He’ll be discussing possible cuts with Board members at hearings on April 8, 13 and, if needed, April 15.
JULIE LANE PHOTO
Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik explaining the finishing touches on the school district budget Monday night. He’ll be discussing possible cuts with Board members at hearings on April 8, 13 and, if needed, April 15.

With the current proposed budget for the 2015-16 school year standing at about $11.3 million, the Board of Education will meet at least twice before the April 22 date when they must adopt a proposal to be submitted to voters in May.

Hearings to date have outlined the various parts of the budget — administrative, educational and capital spending. But now it’s time for the Board to ponder whether there are cuts that can be made without compromising educational programs.

Numbers revealed Monday night showed a revenue expectation of about $10.3 million, but Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik noted that doesn’t take into account more money that’s expected from New York State.

Figures on state aid are expected to be released some time this week. In the current school year, state aid amounted to $589,222 and Mr. Skuggevik has budgeted $590,000 for the next term. But he told the BOE that Governor Andrew Cuomo had signed on for an increase of $1.9 billion more to school spending than he had sought in his own original proposal.

How much of that money will reach Shelter Island isn’t known. It could be another $100,000 to $150,000 between state aid and an anticipated members’ allocation that Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) has requested for the district. In the current school year, Mr. Thiele brought $60,000 to the district and is hoping to top that with $70,000 for next year, Mr. Skuggevik said.

A budget gap between revenues and expenditures that would still remain would be filled by an approximate $650,000 injection of money from the district’s fund balance.

The good news is that would bring Shelter Island’s fund balance down to about $650,000, in line with what the state allows a district to maintain. The other side of the coin is that this would likely be the last year that the district would have a sufficient amount in its fund balance to plug a gap in a future budget.

As Mr. Skuggevik told the BOE at previous budget hearings this year, that’s likely to mean the district will have to pierce the state-imposed 2 percent tax cap by the time it begins budgeting for 2016-17.

Focusing on the current budget proposal, Board President Stephen Gessner noted that Mr. Skuggevik is not requesting a raise for next year in order to keep spending tight. His salary will remain at $180,000 for the 2015-16 school year.

Three changes in staffing are planned:
• An English as a Second Language teacher will have the job extended from four to five days to meet a new state mandate.
• Social Worker Jennifer Olsen will cut back her hours at the school from the equivalent of 3.5 days to three days, but the hours will be spread over four days. The change is being made in line with Ms. Olsen taking on a part-time job as the town’s social worker, providing services to Island families.
• An additional two hours per day are being added for a cafeteria worker to ease the load, the superintendent said. It was a request made for the current year that got slashed from the budget.

Board members will review the proposal’s details and will be meet on Wednesday, April 8, and Monday April 13, at 7 p.m. to suggest changes to the plan. If needed, the BOE will meet again on April 15 at 7 p.m.

At the April 22 meeting, the BOE must adopt a proposal to be submitted to voters on May 19.