Board of Ed Proposes $63 Million School Budget

Next year, the Pelham School District will likely operate with a budget of $63,378,800, which means slashes in staff and athletic programming, Superintendant Dr. Dennis Lauro announced at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting.

The district is bracing itself for one of its most challenging budget seasons to date. It has lost $750,000 in state aid, yet still has to factor rising costs for state-mandated contributions and the threat of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s . After taking such constraints into consideration, Lauro devised a preliminary budget outline, which he shared on Monday night. However, the final details for the 2011-2012 spending will be smoothed out on Saturday when the board convenes for an all-day budget workshop.

“This is the beginning of the process,” reminded Board of Education President Robert Eicher. “Anybody has the opportunity to comment on any line of the budget [on Saturday].”

But some cost-saving strategies have already been determined, like the cutting of 11 school district staff members. However, some of these employees may be able to stay on board if they get paid from federal funds, not taxpayer money.

“I bet we’re going to hear a lot of screaming about the people who have been cut,” Eicher said.

The athletic department won’t be spared from the budget snipping either. Proposed cuts may come in the form of reducing athletic trainers and contract services.

While the community has the opportunity to weigh in on Saturday at the budget workshop, the fact remains that the district is working under abysmal conditions.

“I am really perplexed as to what is coming from Albany,” said Eicher. “We get advice as to what we should be doing, but we don’t hear much about what they’re doing. We haven’t seen any relief on any mandates yet.”

As the board moves forward with drawing up the budget, trustees assured parents that they will seriously consider the suggestions that residents put forth at the on Feb. 12. While it will be nearly impossible to incorporate the large-scale propositions, such as selling the athletic fields, the members may be able to implement more feasible changes, like reducing number of nurses working in the school district.

“Some [suggestions] are long-range in nature and those are not going to get baked into a budget that we’re putting together in May,” Eicher remarked. “There will be some things that can be acted on in this time frame.”