Revised high school budget adopted

Students in the Valley Stream Central High School District will have more classes to choose from next year if voters approve the budget on May 20.

The addition of more elective classes is part of the $108 million spending plan that reverses a multi-year trend of cuts in the district. A Junior Great Books program would be restored for seventh-graders, along with the science research program and SAT prep course for high school students. Superintendent Dr. Bill Heidenreich said additional electives in art, business, technology and family and consumer sciences will mean students will have fewer free periods.

More than 30 teaching positions have been lost in recent years as the district cut costs to cope with the combination of increased mandates and reduced state aid. “As we reduce staff, two things happen,” Heidenreich said. “Class sizes increase and students have fewer opportunities to take electives. When you have kids engaged in learning, other good things happen.”

He added that elective courses are valuable because they help students determine a field they want to study in college. Being able to get into college, he explained, is partly based on SAT scores, which is why the prep course would be brought back.

Part-time teachers will be hired in math, science, social studies, English and foreign language to reduce class sizes, which have ballooned to 30 or more students in some cases. With four buildings in the district, those teachers will be assigned based on where the need is greatest.

The Board of Education had adopted its proposed spending plan in March, which carried a 1.49 percent increase in the tax levy. That would have exceeded the district’s allowable increase of .05 percent, and required a supermajority to pass the budget.

When the state adopted its budget on March 31, it included a provision that would offer homeowners a property tax rebate if certain conditions were met, including living in a school district with a tax-cap-compliant budget.

High school board members reconvened the following day, and directed administrators to put together a new budget. With an additional $750,000 in state aid, they were able to keep most of the spending plan in tact, but some of the proposed program restorations were scaled back.

Board of Education President Elise Antonelli said that while district officials didn’t restore as much as they wanted to, she hopes it is a start. “We always hope that it will be at trend,” she said, “but the reality of our state system is you can really never guarantee anything.”

She noted that with mandated costs such as health insurance and retirement payments on the rise, and unpredictable state aid, it is hard to plan long-term. Heidenreich agreed, noting that districts do not get tax-cap calculations until January each year.

In addition to program enhancements, Heidenreich said there are a few capital projects in the budget, most related to safety. The top item would be new locks on all classroom doors in the four schools.

Overall, the tax levy would rise by about $39,000 if the budget passes. With about 20,000 houses in the district, as well as thousands of businesses, he expects the average tax increase to be very minimal, once those numbers are calculated.