Budget Forum produces thoughtful discussion, contemplation of
district’s future
The 2012-2013 Liberty Central School budget was the topic of a
community forum on Thursday, February 2nd at Liberty High School.
The event brought together more than 80 parents, community
members, students, Board of Education members and school
administrators to talk about the challenges the district will face
next year.
The forum was presented by the Board of Education in
cooperation with Sullivan County BOCES, who provided facilitators
for the event.
Participants, after a brief orientation, were divided
into discussion groups of approximately 10 people. They were given
four questions to work from to brainstorm on ways that the
district could save money without sacrificing student programs and
jobs.
Sullivan County BOCES Superintendent Larry Thomas began
by explaining why the evening was significant, and the role that
BOCES staff would play as facilitators. Liberty Superintendent
Michael B. Vanyo then spoke to the group about the district
budget’s history and the Board of Education’s commitment to
providing a fair and transparent budget process each year.
Liberty’s
Budget History
Vanyo explained that the average tax levy increase during the past
five years has been 1.2 percent, with almost a net zero tax rate
increase in the Town of Liberty, which makes up 82% of the
district.
Keeping the tax levy in check has been a challenge due
to drastic cuts in funding, including $1.2 million in state aid in
2010-2011. This figure was offset by the one-time infusion of
$647,097 in Stimulus funds, bringing the net loss in aid and
revenue for the district to $550,000.
The budget increase for 2010-11 was $935,000, a 2.4
percent increase, and to make up the difference, the district cut
15.6 FTE (full time equivalent) positions, with 8.5 of those being
teachers and staff who took advantage of the retirement incentive
offered by the district.
This year (2011-2012) was even worse with the district
losing $2.6 million in state aid. Although the district did see a
small gain of $541,000 in Federal Jobs Fund money, the net loss in
state aid was $2.1 million. In addition to numerous district-wide
cost saving measures that were implemented to make up for the lost
aid, a reduction of 17.1 FTE positions including administrators,
faculty and staff were made. Over the past two years, 32 FTE
positions have been eliminated.
Moving into the current year, the district faces a
state-imposed tax levy “cap” (click
HERE to learn more) which will limit the amount of money the
district can raise through the tax levy, as well as a decrease in
revenues and increase in costs (as mentioned above). According to
Liberty Business Manager Lorine Lamerand, “the district can expect
a slight increase in revenue under the Governor’s proposal of
approximately $194,000 in state aid,” she explains. “However, this
year revenue from the Federal Jobs Fund has disappeared. In the
2012-13, it is projected that the district will face a net loss in
revenues of $606,000.”
Upon factoring in the rollover or preliminary budget,
with increases, the district must make approximately $955,000 in
reductions to 2012-2013 budget. This figure takes into account the
use of $1 million in fund balance and $512,000 in reserve funds.
“The total amount of money
the district must cut continues to change as the State Comptroller
releases information that will factor into the tax levy limit,"
explains Lamerand.
Using
Fund Balance – a double edged sword
According to Vanyo, the district needs to use as much restraint as
possible when relying on fund balance and reserves. “If we don’t
stop the spending to offset the taxes, the projection is that the
district will be completely out of these funds by 2016. “What
we’ve been trying to do is avoid what is called a funding ‘cliff,’
where the revenues continue to decrease and we continue to rely on
reserves. Once those reserves are gone, then we have even fewer
choices.”
The
Public Speaks – break-out groups brainstorm to determine what the
priorities are
The purpose of the evening was to get the input of the community on
the difficult decisions that the Board of Education will face this
year.
The groups were asked to consider the following:
·
What recommendations do you have for the
district as a way to save money?
·
What items would you be willing to reduce if
needed?
·
What items would you be willing to eliminate if
needed?
·
What are your priorities when it comes to
providing programs in our educational budget?
Answers to these questions were thoughtful and varied, from energy
conservation to merging with other districts. Areas that were of
particular interest and touched on by most groups included
transportation, sharing services with other schools/utilizing
BOCES, county-wide summer school, utilizing technology to make the
district more efficient and driver’s education.
Involvement in the forum for 20 Liberty High School
students was a requirement for their Participation in Government
class. Most gained a deeper understanding of the tough choices
that are made when crafting a school budget. Senior Nicole Rose
explained “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but being able to speak
about my ideas with so many different people was refreshing.” With
plans to attend Sullivan County Community College, Rose said “I’ll
definitely need to pay attention to how money is spent at the
college, and I plan on being more involved in the process.”
Interestingly, the responses to the last question –
“what are the priorities when it comes to providing programs in
our educational budget” – elicited pretty much the same response
from each group: provide a well-rounded educational program
inclusive of rigorous academics including the arts and physical
education. “I think it is great that the district took the time to
put this together,” said one parent. “No matter what happens, it’s
going to be a bad year, but I’d rather be a part of the process
than cry about it after the fact.”
What happens next?
After the responses were read and considered, a question and answer
period with the Board of Education followed. The Board is
collecting all questions and responses and will discuss the
results of the forum at the February 14th meeting (7 p.m., LHS
Library/Media Center). The district is preparing responses to
several questions brought up during the forum and will provide
this information on the website (www.libertyk12.org).
Board President Daniel Parkhurst felt the forum was a good way to
keep the community informed about the budget decisions that he and
the Board of Education will ultimately have to make on their
behalf. “I am grateful for their input, and value the opinions of
our community,” he explained. “They came up with some very good
ideas that will be considered by the Board.”
Although no promises were made, most who attended
agreed that the exercise was beneficial. “As a Liberty alumna, it
was really nice to see people come together and provide input
about something that means so much to them,” said Susan Schmidt,
an event facilitator and Assistant Superintendent for Finance &
Management Services at BOCES. “We are all faced with making
difficult choices due to our fiscal climate and we really have to
work together towards one common goal - educating the future.
My BOCES colleagues and I were happy to volunteer our
time."
The community is invited to all Board of Education
meetings and budget presentations, which begin on Tuesday, March
13th at 7 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. A complete list of
all Board of Education meetings can be found
HERE.
More information about past Liberty budgets, the 2%
tax levy limit and the preliminary budgets for 2012-2013 (when
available) can be found
HERE.
