Bellmore board adopts 2014-15 budget

The Bellmore Board of Education adopted the district’s 2014-15 spending plan at its most recent meeting. Now, the community will vote on the budget, which officials said calls for one of the lowest spending increases in decades.

Administrators in the district, which includes the Charles A. Reinhard Center for Early Childhood Education and Winthrop Avenue and Shore Road elementary schools, drafted a $33.2 million spending plan that was revealed in public workshops throughout March. Bellmore School District officials said the plan adopted by the board at its April 24 meeting did not differ from the draft.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Technology Services Deirdre Gambino explained that the budget draft maintains all instructional programs at current levels. In fact, there is a 2.48 percent increase in the instructional component of the plan. Gambino projects that the capital budget will decrease by nearly 10 percent, largely because the district recently finished making payments on a 1999 bond.

Dr. Joseph Famularo, the district superintendent, noted that the budget-to-budget increase stands at 1.1 percent. “These numbers represent the lowest increase in more than 28 years,” he said during a March workshop. “That’s the furthest back we have records of; we’re still going back and checking.”

Bellmore officials will dip into savings to balance the 2014-15 budget. Bellmore’s tax levy –– the total amount that the district needs to raise in property taxes to meet expenses –– is projected to increase by 1.5 percent. Gambino explained that although this exceeds the maximum allowable levy — which is 1.46 percent — it is within the tax cap because of allowable exclusions. Officials said the increase was allowed because the district made its first payment on an energy performance contract.

Gambino said that $800,000 of a $3.1 million reserve fund would be used in 2014-15. The district will also use more than $3.8 million in additional savings.

The Board of Education has worked hard to develop the 2014-15 budget in recent months, Famularo said. David Reilly, president of the Bellmore Faculty Organization, agreed, expressing his appreciation at the April 24 meeting.

“I wanted to thank the Board of Education for working tirelessly on the school budget,” he said, “especially under the restraints you’re dealing with at this time.”

Residents will vote on the budget at the Shore Road School on May 20. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.