School Board finalizes $11 million budget
After three months of pouring through numbers, determined to keep educational programs intact while not piercing the state-imposed tax cap, the Shelter Island Board of Education April 22 adopted a $10.99 million budget.
Island voters will have a chance to vote on the proposed budget May 19.
Hitting its goal of putting most of its money behind educational programs, the proposal calls for about 75 percent of the budget, or $8.2 million, to go in that direction. The rest of the budget goes to administrative and capital expenses.
The administrative budget of $1.5 million represents about 14 percent of projected spending while $1.2 million or 11.4 percent is dedicated to capital expenses.
Among the academic plans for the 2015-16 school year are:
• Continuing the multi-age classroom in which pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students are in the same room, providing for peer mentoring and tutoring.
• Building on the humanities and math, science and technology structure that was established for grades six through 12 and provide that structure for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
These efforts result in collaborative teaching with a strong focus on grammar, writing and public speaking, Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik said, as well as coordinating studies across several disciplines.
At the secondary school level, the budget provides funds for continuing the Intel science research program and seven advanced placement classes.
But what most pleased the new superintendent most was convincing Suffolk County Community College to sign off on three courses giving high school students an opportunity to earn up to nine college credits.
Those courses will be on United States government and world history. They will be taught by Shelter Island teachers who are being certified to offer the courses.
Mr. Skuggevik now is waiting responses from other departments within the community college that could expand the opportunity to more disciplines.
The district is looking at $580,486 in state aid and another $70,000 it expects to get from a special member’s bill introduced by Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr.
The proposal comes with two significant caveats:
• If voters turned down the proposal, the district would have to cut its spending plan by $188,400 under a state-imposed contingency plan. The cuts would have to come from categories of capital equipment, materials and supplies, new contractual agreements, travel and conference costs and BOCES expenses.
• No matter what the vote results on the 2015-16 budget are, harder times are ahead for the following year when the district will have little left in its fund balance account to offset taxes, probably forcing Shelter Island to pierce the tax cap to meet expenses for 2016-17.
“It’s an arduous journey we’ve been on,” said Board President Stephen Gessner.
He and colleague Marilynn Pysher are not seeking re-election in May. With only two candidates submitting petitions to run, barring a write-in campaign, it’s anticipated that Kathleen Lynch and Susan Binder will join the board as of July 1.
On May 5, a copy of the budget proposal will be posted on the school website or it can be viewed at the school office.
A final public presentation of the budget proposal will occur on Monday, May 11, at 7 p.m. in the school boardroom. Then on Tuesday, May 19, voting takes place in the school gymnasium between noon and 9 p.m.
