In I.P., school officials preserve programs, make tough choices

The Island Park school board unanimously approved its proposed $32.5 million budget — a $1.29 million increase over the current spending plan — on April 20. The proposal preserves programs and services — with the exception of the dean's position — at Hegarty Elementary School and Lincoln Orens Middle School.

The district expects $1.9 million in state education aid in 2010-11, $250,000 less than this year.

Superintendent Dr. Rosemarie Bovino attributed much of the increase to state-mandated costs. Contributions to the teacher retirement system increased 17 percent, to $825,000, and there are increases in the employee retirement system, Social Security and health insurance costs as well as a 72 percent jump in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax, imposed by the state Legislature.

Overall, mandated costs crept up from $4.1 million to $4.4 million. "This continues to bear upon us and is something that we have no control over," Bovino said.

Tuition for Island Park students who attend high school in Long Beach and West Hempstead has increased by more than $188,000, to $5.3 million, a total that includes the cost of educating several Island Park foster children in other districts. This is due in part to an increase in the number of high school students in Island Park — 14 more than were budgeted for this year.

The tax levy will increase 2.83 percent, although homes and businesses will not bear the brunt of that increase; the power plant in Island Park pays 46 percent of the district's tax levy. Precisely how much taxes will go up remains to be seen because the county has not yet revealed the tax rate. This school year, an average Island Park homeowner, with a house assessed at$440,000, is paying about $3,900 in school taxes.

Some 85 percent of the budget is devoted to programs, which will include new initiatives such as an ELA reading series in grades 5 to 7, continued support for the teen center, summer programs and co-teaching in inclusion classes, among others. "The important thing that everyone should know is that we have wonderful program initiatives," Bovino said.

The district's bond rating recently increased to AA+, and as a result, the district was able to refund its bonds at a much lower interest rate, 2.24 percent, instead of 5.21 percent. School officials said the decrease will save taxpayers over half a million dollars in the next 10 years. The budget also includes the allocation of a $600,000 surplus to help reduce the impact of the budget on property taxes, as well as $900,000 from a liability reserve to reduce the tax levy.

School officials said they have taken steps to trim costs where they can, including the purchase of a snow plow, which they said would result in a significant savings to taxpayers over the next several years. This year alone, the district spent over $48,000 to remove snow, and the new vehicle eliminates the cost of having a contractor do the work. Supplies and materials expenses have been cut by 16 percent, in keeping with an initiative to "go green" in the district and use less paper.

To rein in administrative costs, the school board is considering the elimination of the dean's position at the middle school. Board member Steven Foster said he opposes that idea, and asked the board to reconsider it on April 20. Other board members said that it would be a difficult choice, but in these tough economic times, they had to explore all areas that could be cut.

"We're trying to reduce administrative costs," board member Barbara Speight said after the meeting. "... What we tried to do was look at other districts with numbers similar to ours to see what they do . . . The reality is, most schools this size don't have deans."

Officials said that if the budget doesn't pass, they would be forced to cut $305,000 from it. The board can propose a new budget or establish a contingency plan. The latter would mean no increase in spending in 2010-11, essentially making the current budget the operating plan for next school year.

"At the next budget meeting, we're going to discuss what some of those reductions might be," Dr. Bovino said. "We would look at things like after-school clubs; we may have to eliminate our recreation program, our teen center. Every year we spend $30,00 to repair the baseball field. We also have 14 community groups that use the district's facilities on a no-fee basis. Those are the areas that we'd have to look at."

PTA Vice President Patti Ambrosia said she supports the budget and hopes to see it pass. "I have faith in Dr. Bovino, and I'm sure she's making the right decisions," Ambrosia said.