District 24 budget maintains, enhances

People move to Valley Stream for its good schools, explained District 24 Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale during his budget presentation to the Board of Education and public last week.

The board officially adopted the proposed $27.76 million budget on March 28, a 1.97 percent increase in spending over the current year.

The budget proposal maintains the programs that Fale said makes the small elementary school district great. He highlighted band and orchestra, Spanish, keyboarding, emotional literacy and outdoor education, among other programs. Fale also said that while many districts are reducing kindergarten to a half day to save money, District 24 leaders won’t even consider that possibility. “Full-day kindergarten is a vital part of our instructional program,” he said.

Not only is the district maintaining programs, it’s also looking to make some enhancements. The proposed budget includes the addition of a part-time art teacher for kindergarten and special education students.

Assistant Superintendent Dan Onorato said that kindergarten classes now only receive art instruction once every four weeks, and it’s even less for special education classes. He said he wants those students to get art instruction as frequently as others — once every six days.

The budget also includes the addition of a full-time curriculum director. Currently, Robert W. Carbonaro School Principal Dr. Lisa Conte holds the position on a part-time basis. District 24 officials say that because of all the new mandates, including the teacher evaluations and Common Core Learning Standards, it is necessary to have a full-time curriculum leader.

Overall, the budget would rise by about $537,000 next year if it is approved by voters in May. Onorato said that much of the increase is the result of rising health insurance and pension costs. The increase would have been greater, he said, if not for the hard freeze on teacher salaries next year. Additionally, Onorato explained, two teachers are retiring and will likely be replaced by teachers much lower on the pay scale.

The tax levy will rise by 1.5 percent to $19.1 million next year. District 24’s allowable tax levy increase, under the new tax-cap law, is 1.99 percent, meaning the budget only needs a simple majority to pass.

State aid will increase by about $94,000 next year. Initially, district officials thought they were going to be getting an aid reduction, as the executive budget proposal would have cut state support by $32,000. “The governor’s proposal was a decrease,” Onorato said. “We’re pleased with the new figures.”

Board of Education President Frank Nuara said that Fale and Onorato were directed to come up with a budget plan that maintained programs while meeting the new tax-cap requirement. They succeeded, he said.

“I think it’s an excellent plan, maintaining all of our services and still keeping our budget increase less than 2 percent,” Nuara said. “We were fortunate in this district we didn’t have to cut any staff or cut any programs. Other districts are cutting quite a few teachers.”

Nuara said it is always a challenge to plan a budget in an age of diminishing resources. And there are more challenges ahead, he said. Specifically, he noted a plan that could require school districts to pay refunds on successful tax challenges. Nassau County pays back that money now. According to Nuara, if that plan goes through, it could cost District 24 hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. “We saw the numbers for this district,” he said. “It could be devastating.”