Vote ‘yes’ on Long Beach school budget

With school districts facing intense scrutiny — not to mention a slew of federally and state-mandated cost increases — and parents demanding high standards, administrators aiming to create spending plans that maintain educational programs while holding the line on taxes face a daunting challenge.

For the first time in six years, Long Beach school officials have not only drafted a balanced budget, but slightly reduced its size — by 0.15 percent — all while maintaining programs and services. We believe they have done their best for students while limiting the cost to taxpayers in the $135 million spending plan for 2017-18.

For the seventh year in a row, the district has stayed below the maximum allowable tax cap — a challenge in today’s era of tight state restrictions and increasing health care costs, not to mention the huge challenges the district faced after Hurricane Sandy.

District officials opted to dip into reserve funds over the past several years to cover debt associated with Sandy while devising a multi-year plan to create sustainable budgets. Health insurance costs have risen by $3 million over the past five years, one of the main drivers of the budget increases.

This year, school officials created a spending plan that did not depend too much on reserves. The proposed 1.99 percent increase in the tax levy, to $99 million, is attributable to recent capital expenditures, including the purchase of compressed-natural-gas buses. The district has also been planning, and undertaking, facility improvements such as the reconstruction of the damaged high school bulkhead and repairs to the high school roof. School officials estimate that the tax levy would increase the average single-family household’s taxes by $100 next year.

The spending plan maintains all programs for students, including the International Baccalaureate program at the high school as well as programs that were added during the current school year, such as Lego robotics, coding clubs and elementary school yearbook clubs.

The district also recently reached a contract agreement with the Classroom Teachers Association after a two-year impasse, and while we commend administrators for working toward a fair contract, we urge them to do the same with the Long Beach School Employees Association going forward.

A rejection of the proposal would mean the adoption of a contingency budget, which would not significantly reduce taxes for the average homeowner but would likely increase class sizes, force cuts in programs and close school facilities to community groups. On Tuesday, your “yes” vote on the budget is crucial.

Support the Long Beach Public Library budget

Residents will also vote on the Long Beach Public Library’s proposed $3.4 million budget. We believe the library board trustees have put together a responsible budget, which is 1.67 percent larger than the current spending plan. It includes a 1.74 percent tax levy increase, which means Long Beach taxpayers would pay an additional $4 a month per household.

The budget maintains all programs and services, and trustees plan to increase the number of events — including festivals — that the library hosts. The facility is also looking to expand its digital offerings, including databases for patrons to search for information.

When the trustees designed the budget, they kept the best interests of the community in mind, considering feedback from both library staff and patrons. This spending plan deserves the public’s support.