By DOUG La ROCQUE
Capital Region Independent Media
NEW LEBANON–Before considering any tax increase, spending reductions or the use of the fund balance or reserves, the members of the New Lebanon School Board of Education were looking at a budget shortfall of $2,014,597 million. How to best approach that was the topic of the Wednesday, April 2 board meeting.
Four different scenarios were brought to the members by the district’s finance office and superintendent. Some of these included possible reductions in spending that totaled $593,792. These were instructional ($475,650), non-instructional ($63,000), reduction of nature classrooms ($6,500), elimination of field trips ($13,000), reduction of club offerings ($20,000) and JV offerings ($15,550). To the majority of the board, these cuts were not acceptable.
Which package to choose
Proposals for a 7 or 10 percent tax hike would have meant incorporating some or all of these spending reductions. The board chose instead to settle on a proposal that eliminates the cuts, uses money from the fund balance and reserves but still calls for a 15 percent tax increase. One of the concerns here is that it uses such a vast majority of the fund balance, it leaves the total of that balance for the following year’s financial picture in question. A proposal that would have hiked taxes by 24 percent was summarily rejected.
Why the need for such an increase
Blame it in part on New York State. Increased and unfunded mandates in special education, along with an increase in the district’s special needs population, are adding 36 percent to the expenditure line this coming school year. Another New York associated problem is the amount of state aid the district will receive. Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal calls for a 2 percent increase in foundation aid, a number well below the inflation rate for the past year. What the final number will be is uncertain at this point, because the state budget remains in limbo. Significant increases in health, property and casualty insurance are another contributing factor.
Dire warnings
The board admits the 15 percent figure is daunting but asked residents to look at it in actual dollar amounts. Board President Michael Brutsch said it is about the same as multiple cups of coffee purchased at area convenience stores.
Vice President John Kalisz also blamed the district’s financial woes on no tax hikes or even decreases over several previous years. Ms. Brutsch warned another year of a 15 percent hike would most likely be needed to return the district to a solid financial footing.
Mr. Kalisz also said he feared that if the voters do not approve the tax increases it might place the district under such financial stress, the state might look to close it and place students in the Chatham, Berlin or possibly Averill Park school districts. To be clear, no such proposal is currently under consideration.
What’s next
The school board will meet again on April 22 to finalize the spending plan and hold a public hearing on the budget proposal on May 7. The district vote is scheduled for May 20.
There are three seats on the school board for three-year terms on the ballot as well as one other through the 2026 school year.
