Bellmore maintains low budget increases

Bellmore School District officials said that the first draft of the 2015-16 budget features historically low increases in spending.

Administrators in the district, which includes the Reinhard Center for Early Childhood Education and Winthrop Avenue and Shore Road elementary schools, have drafted a $33.6 million spending plan. The draft, which was revealed to the public in workshops throughout March, calls for a spending increase roughly 1 percent over the current budget.

“These are the lowest increases we’ve had in decades,” said Superintendent Dr. Joseph Famularo. Every portion of the budget incorporates a spending increase of 1 percent or less.

Deirdre Gambino, assistant superintendent for business and technology services, explained that the budget draft does not incorporate any instructional spending cuts, and in fact there is an increase of about 1 percent overall in its instructional component.

The staff development fund in that portion of the budget, however, is expected to increase by more than 50 percent. Famularo said that there are two reasons why the district is planning to spend $25,000 more on staff development in 2015-16. “With all of the new standards and requirements we have, we want to allow for more staff development,” he said. “We’d also like to expand training in technology.”

The other larger increases within the instructional component of the spending plan are in library services (3.34 percent) and computer instruction (9.27 percent). Gambino explained that the district needed to expand the computer portion by more than $55,000 because it is increasing its purchases of support services from Nassau BOCES in 2015-16.

Bellmore’s tax levy –– the total amount the district needs to raise in property taxes to meet expenses –– is projected to increase by 2.27 percent. The tax cap calculation allowed for a maximum levy increase of 2.33 percent, officials said.

To minimize the burden on local taxpayers, the district will utilize reserve funds to offset spending. Gambino said that the draft calls for the use of $750,000 in reserves and $3.65 million in additional savings.

The district presented the budget draft before Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an agreement on the 2015-16 state budget. District officials later learned that the state spending plan eliminates 60 percent of the gap elimination adjustment, the much-maligned cut to school aid that was enacted in 2010, and which Republicans in Albany have been trying to restore ever since. Therefore, Bellmore will receive about $51,000 more in state aid.

The Board of Education is expected to adopt the budget at a meeting on April 21 at the Winthrop Avenue School. The public will vote on the plan on May 19.