Island Park will use state funds to save money

Island Park schools will use fewer reserve funds in next year’s budget thanks to extra money from the state. The district announced the change to its budget at a board of education meeting on April 19.

When the school district first proposed its budget, it expected $2.32 million in state aid. When the state ratified its budget on April 1, the aid to Island Park was $2.41 million, an increase of $87,922.

The district decided to use that additional money to pay for next year’s $38.78 million budget, reducing the use of fund balance. Those funds decreased from $3.69 million in the original budget to $3.60 million in the revised budget.

“After some consideration on how to apply that extra $87,000, a decision was made to reduce our reliance on fund balance,” said School Business Official Marie Donnelly. “We don’t want to put our all our eggs in one basket and rely on fund balance and reserves to support our budget. So if we can reduce our reliance on that with something like state aid… it helps us out moving forward.” She added that the budget was otherwise unchanged — it was just a reallocation of how it will be funded.

Resident Richard Schurin questioned the use of the extra state funds, saying that the district should use the money for district needs or another program. “I don’t like my tax dollars sitting in the district’s bank accounts, earning interest, not being used,” he said. “I have better use for my own money.”

Board member Jack Vobis said that the budget, while smaller than the current year, meets immediate needs, creates new programs and hires teachers. He said that using the extra state funds now was like to using a tax refund to go on vacation now, instead of saving the money for a new roof in the future.

“Unfortunately over the past few years we’ve been using more and more money from fund balance to offset taxes in order to keep them stable for the community,” said Superintendent Rosmarie Bovino. “That’s part of what we’re trying to do now, is to reduce the reliance on that fund balance.”

Al Chase, the former interim School Business Official said that, in the past, the district used the fund balance and reserve funds used to avoid breaking the state cap on the tax levy. “So now what the board is deciding to do is to pull back and reduce that fund balance allocation because, you know what, that pot is not endless,” he said. “There’s not a pot of money that every year for the next 20 years you’re going to be able to pull $4.2 million out.”

A budget hearing will be held on May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Conference Center across from Hegarty School. The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled May 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Orens Middle School.

Residents will vote on the budget on May 17.