RVC school administrators worried over impact of Cuomo's spending plan

Robert Bartels, Rockville Centre schools’ assistant superintendent for business, expressed concern over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s widely-reported suggestion last week that school districts make up for cuts in state aid by using their unrestricted reserve funds. Under the executive budget the governor proposed on Feb. 1, Rockville Centre schools would stand to lose 15.5 percent of anticipated state aid, roughly $1.2 million, in 2011-12. Bartels said he worries that the governor’s plans show a lack of understanding about how budgets should be financed and about the limitations school districts face, and that they could ultimately threaten instruction and other programs like athletics and music in district schools.

“That money is for a rainy day — unanticipated expenses — and this is a known loss of revenue,” Bartels said of the idea that the district should use its funds to make up for the loss of state aid. “It is not good financial practice to use one-time reserves to fund an ongoing revenue shortfall. The state isn’t telling us we’re going to get the million back. So what happens next year when reserves are depleted, state aid is not restored and there’s a tax cap in place? We’re worried about the years [going forward] with a tax cap in place.”

The Rockville Centre school district has traditionally kept some undesignated reserves of a little less than 4 percent of its budget ($93 million in the current year) — or roughly $3 million, but that money is used for unanticipated expenses or revenue shortfalls. It is also used to ensure that the district can apply $2.8 million toward the tax levy in the upcoming year, to keep it as low as possible.

“My feeling is that the governor does not understand how budgets are financed… and it shows he does not understand long term financial planning,” Bartels added. “It’s not his money… he’s playing with everybody else’s money. He wants to force the issue [of a tax cap] but it seems he doesn’t care about what the impact will be on instruction.

“The ongoing issue is that people do not understand budgets, finances and what [school districts] can do to raise money,” Bartels said. “Every other government entity has multiple ways to raise money, but the only way [school districts] can raise money is through small local programs, state aid and property taxes. If state aid is cut, we will be forced to cut expenses, which is bound to impact instruction and/or other programs like athletics and music.”