Community Members Question Impact Of Revised School Budget

Community members met with Clarkstown school district administrators on Tuesday to review the proposed 2013-2014 budget. During the meeting at Felix Festa Middle School they asked what the impact would be of the $1.7 million budget cut beyond reducing the tax levy by $2 million.

Teacher Greg Montague wanted to know what the impact would be because of the current two percent property tax cap. He asked if there would be staff and budget cuts in the future.

School Superintendent Dr. J. Thomas Morton said if the tax cap remains in place, it would mean the district had $2 million less as well as two percent of that amount that would not be carried over to future budgets. The proposed budget stands at after the school board voted in March to reduce it by $1.7 million.  The before cuts of bus purchases, a safety and security package and technology labs. The board’s action decreased the tax levy from 4.3 percent to 2.9 percent and cut $2 million in taxes.

“They understood there is a huge downside of removing $2 million from the base,” said Morton.

He went on to say the budget looks good for this year but the future is a big unknown because of the state imposed tax cap.

“The concern is that base money is lost every year plus whatever incremental tax cap there is,” Morton explained. 

Frank Grandel, a member of the Clarkstown Taxpayers organization, said the district was being negligent about replacing deteriorating roofs on the schools. He asked about using district reserve funds. Assistant Superintendent John LaNave said funds were being allocated for other purposes and that up to $11 million would be taken from the district’s $35 million of reserve funds to balance the budget.

“What we’re doing is using our saving account to pay ongoing expenses,” said LaNave.

About $150,000 is allocated yearly for roof repairs and it would cost an estimated $20 million to replace all the roofs, which is equivalent to a half percent increase in the tax levy. He also said the district’s buildings are not ADA compliant and to bring them up to compliance would cost another $6 to $9 million.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves for not being ADA compliant,” LaNave said, but we cannot solve that problem in this budget cycle.

LaNave said the district has different reserve categories and should keep monies aside for the outcome of the Palisades Center property tax appeal filed against the Town of Clarkstown and the school district.

Grandel went on to say that some of the projects undertaken by the district in the past should have supported by fundraisers.  He mentioned specifically the pool and planetarium construction should not have been paid for by taxpayers and the money directed toward building maintenance instead.

“All I’m saying is maybe the hard choices have to start being made today not tomorrow,” said Grandel.