Budget presentation on April 12 to focus on revenues
final budget workshop in series of three focuses on revenues;
BOE's approval of 2011-12 budget
The Liberty Central School District began a series of budget workshops on Tuesday, March 8th with the
Non-Instructional Budget being presented to the Board of Education. The
workshops will continue on Tuesday, March 22nd with the
Instructional Budget presentation and end on Tuesday, April 12th
with the Revenue presentation. All workshops will take place at the
library/media center at Liberty High School and will begin at 7 p.m.
Liberty is facing a reduction of $1.3 million in state aid and lost
revenue compared to last year’s budget. The budget workshops give
the Board of Education and the public an opportunity to review the
changes that are being made and understand the impact that the
state’s fiscal crisis will have on the district.
The reduction of state aid has no correlation to the building
project, which is in the final stages at the elementary school and
at the punch-list stage at the high school.
In the past three years, state aid has remained flat while fixed
expenses continue to rise. Fixed expenses include the teacher
retirement system, employee retirement system, health insurance,
contractual expenses and rising utility costs.
“The goal is to continue to find a balance and look for alternative
ways to provide services for students that are more cost-effective
in areas where reductions must be made,” explains Superintendent
Michael B. Vanyo.
One way the district is attempting to provide alternate services is
by coordinating with other districts in Sullivan County to develop a
plan of action in which certain services can be shared. This began
with the creation of a common school calendar for all eight
districts in Sullivan County and has moved on to the development of
a common start time. Distance learning can also provide additional
opportunities for students interested in taking college-level,
advanced placement classes and electives that Liberty can’t provide.
The governor’s proposal, however will also force Liberty to make
some difficult decisions. “Unfortunately, we will need to make
reductions, as will nearly every district in the state,” says
Superintendent Vanyo. “We will look to eliminate positions through
attrition wherever possible, and reductions will be based on a
seniority list, as per state law.”
The district will attempt to preserve as many positions as possible,
and will offer a retirement incentive, which it has offered for the
past two years. This incentive will only be considered if a minimum
of five teachers and/or administrators choose to participate.
Per the Governor’s suggestion to all school districts in the state
to utilize reserve funds, Liberty will apply a portion of its fund
balance to cover lost revenue and will close some reserve funds in
order to offset the tax levy increase. The district has determined a
long-range plan in which there would be enough fund balance and
reserve funds to last for five years, at the current pace of use.
“In this time of fiscal crisis we are faced with some very hard
choices and difficult decisions. We are preparing to present
Liberty’s 2011-12 budget in three parts, and we will continue to
refine projections in the coming weeks,” says Superintendent Vanyo.
“As always, we welcome the community to attend our Board of
Education meetings throughout the budget process.”
