Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plans to slash state aid to schools by 7.3 percent has local districts scrambling—even more than expected.
“We were sort of expecting a little more,” aid—not cuts—said Sharon Springs Central School Business Administrator Tony DiPace.
SSCS lost some $180,000 in state aid under the 2010 state budget; Governor Cuomo’s proposed ’11 budget will double that to $331,877.
“That’s twice the hit I was thinking we’d get,” he said.
One of the smallest districts in Schoharie County, has a $8.1 million budget; Cobleskill-Richmondville, the largest, has budgeted $36 million for spending in ’10-’11.
But the hit there—a cut of about $2.5 million—will be just as hard to swallow, said Superintendent Lynn Macan.
“We have to look at programs and services across the district, figuring out our top priorities,” Ms. Macan said.
“Any faculty, staff, student programs…we have to look at everything to find $2.5 million.”
Other proposed aid reductions include $669,403 for Middleburgh, and $1.4 million in Schoharie.
Like Ms. Macan, SSCS Superintendent Pat Green said they’re already looking everywhere for places to cut.
“But at this point, we’ve all made the ‘easy’ and not so easy cuts,” he said. “Everyone has,
“Classroom size, bus routes, programs…Where else do you go?”
One place is districts’ fund balances—money set aside for a “rainy day.”
Both Mr. DiPace and Ms. Macan, though, pointed out that it’s been raining for a while.
C-R will probably use some of its fund balance to replace lost aid, Ms. Macan said, but “…the problem with that is that when you use it, it’s gone, and the days of regenerating it are gone, too. You can’t fix the problem with fund balance alone.
Mr. DiPace said SSCS’s fund balance is in better shape than most districts’—in part because faculty took a one-year wage freeze last year and staff, the year before.
“We’ll have to go to our fund balance,” he said. “That and small, efficiency cuts—if we can find any more.”
Both SSCS and C-R are keeping an eye on the two percent property tax cap proposed to kick in in 2012.
Ms. Macan said any increase in the district’s property tax increase for ’11 will probably be about two percent as a way to getting used to it.
“We’ll likely act as though the tax cap is in place this year,” she said. “One thing we know is that the community can’t bear a large increase on the tax levy.”
At Sharon, Mr. DiPace said the two percent tax cap would mean $60,000.
SSCS is also keeping its eye on rumors that Governor Cuomo wants districts of at least 1,000 students—an idea floated a couple of years ago that’s resurfaced—mostly as a rumor so far.
C-R is the only district in the county with more than 1,000 students.
Just to find that many students, Mr. DiPace said, SSCS would have to cast a net to take in parts of Cherry Valley, Richfield Springs, and VanHornesville.
“The fact that we do have a fund balance to draw on is a sign of our fiscal responsibility,” Mr. Green said.
We’re doing alright on our own.”
Despite the difficult decisions ahead “on top of the difficult decisions of the last five years,” SSCS remains committed to “the entire school experience,” he added, including sports and extra-curricular activities.