District 24 board wants to keep programs

The District 24 Board of Education is considering a budget plan that would raises taxes about $36 next year for the average homeowner.

Under the proposal, spending would rise 1.75 percent and the tax levy would go up 1.4 percent.

No reductions are planned. “We’re not cutting any programs at this stage,” Assistant Superintendent Dan Onorato said. “We’re trying to keep things so the children will not be negatively affected.”

District 24 is set to lose about $500,000 in state aid next year, if Gov. David Paterson’s budget proposal is accepted. However, to make up for this loss and keep the tax increase low, the district is expected to use about $2 million from its surplus funds.

An audit of the district late last year by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed that there was more money in the unreserved fund balance than allowed by law. Assistant Superintendent Dan Onorato said that using the $2 million will benefit taxpayers while still maintaining a healthy reserve fund for the future. He said it is possible that state aid could be cut again the following year, so it would not be wise to deplete the fund balance.

The tentative $26.6 million budget would be an increase of $457,000 over this year. Onorato said a majority of the increase is due to rising health insurance, retirement and energy costs.

Board of Education President Carole Meaney said the board did not set a target figure for how much the budget or taxes should increase, but that it was important to keep educational programs in tact. “We think this proposal is a fair one,” she said of the tentative budget plans.

The board will likely adopt its budget April 14.