Lynbrook schools eye 5.42% tax levy increase

According to Dr. Melissa Burak, assistant superintendent of finances, expenditures for the 2010-11 school year increased by 3.4 percent, or roughly $2.3 million. The main increases in expenditures, Burak said, were in central administration costs, which rose by 9 percent. She explained, however, that the mandated Metropolitan Transit Authority payroll tax — which will cost the district $100,000 in 2010-11 — factored into the increase. Special education and facilities costs will decrease by about 5 percent.

Burak also outlined projected state aid for 2010-11. From the 2004-05 school year to the 2008-09 year, Burak said state aid steadily rose from about 9 percent of the total budget to almost 13 percent in 08-09. For the 2010-11 school year, state aid is 10.7 percent of the total budget, which is roughly $1 million less than this year. Burak noted that she also factored in the reimbursement of the MTA's payroll tax into the budget's local revenue — which the district hopes to get by July — even though she isn't sure it will happen.

Two propositions are also up for public vote in May. Proposition Two asks voters to approve spending $1,114,334 from the district's capital reserve fund to replace high school windows, while Proposition Three would use $190,000 from the Technology Replacement Fund to complete Starboard installations in grades K-2, along with other district technology upgrades. Burak added that voter authorization on the use of reserve money does not impact the tax levy.

Some of the savings the district found for next year's budget were in intramural activities, health instruction, athletic supervision and coaching salaries. Overall, those savings totaled $21,884. Burak said that health instruction used to be a contracted service, but now an in-house teacher will assume the duties. The district also lowered the number of supervisors at athletic events, she said, and reduced the number of automatic defibrillator sessions for district coaches. Additional savings were made by reducing town incinerator costs, which helped the save the district another $20,000.

If the budget gets voted down twice, Burak explained the district would go to a contingency budget, which wouldn't have a spending increase over the current year. If that were to happen, the district would have to cut an additional $2,343,307, she said. Burak outlined the possible scenario of reductions under a contingency budget, which included cutting $932,000 from athletics, $572,000 in teacher aides and assistants, as well as excessing another seven teachers.

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