East Meadow School District could lose $4.5M in state aid

As members of the East Meadow Board of Education delved into the 2011-12 preliminary school budget proposal last week, they received some grim, yet expected news from Governor Andrew Cuomo. In his executive state budget proposal, state education aid takes a major hit. The possible impact on East Meadow is about $4.5 million less than the current allotment. 

But East Meadow Superintendent Louis DeAngelo delivered somewhat relieving news to the school board at the Feb. 3 work session: the preliminary budget in front of them would not be affected by the governor’s announcement made two days earlier. The superintendent said it is because the district calculated correctly before the governor unveiled his proposal.

“We did estimate exactly what we ended up getting,” DeAngelo said to the board. “We estimated conservatively.”

The state aid reduction, combined with an expected absence of about $4 million in federal funds and the prospect of a property tax caps in future budgets, have not put the district in a bind just yet. The current $178 spending plan, approved by district voters last May, was a 1.7 percent expense increase from the previous year. Budget planners say the proposal for next year incorporates a similar spending increase. 

During the school board meeting, trustees and administrators pointed to skyrocketing costs of mandates like health insurance and pensions as some of the challenges that it must tackle in this budget and future proposals. In the meantime, the district is incorporating careful budgeting procedures with the usage of fund balance reserves compiled in previous administrations. 

“We are a district that is financially solvent,” DeAngelo said. “But that didn’t come without the hard work over the years.”

The superintendent reiterated to the school board that his preliminary budget preserves jobs and programs, and does not increase class sizes. 

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