Tarrytowns School Budget in Good Shape So Far

The budget proposed thus far for the Tarrytowns public schools is balanced and within the tax cap levy, but good luck to the future superintendent.

Retiring Superintendent Dr. Howard Smith is leaving the new administrator with a system in good shape and not bleeding from cuts and staff loss, but this could all change in coming years due to the same mandated costs both villages say are crippling them.

At the prior board meeting, Smith presented an overview of the budget that has been getting discussed in great detail with the public at Saturday sessions. Progress has been good enough, school board President B. Joseph Lillis told last night's meeting, that a final Saturday session April 6 has been scrubbed. Instead, barring some unexpected development, it's now on to adoption on April 23, a hearing May 9 and the public’s verdict, May 21’s budget vote. “If anything comes up,” Lillis told board members Thursday, “we’ll carve out time to deal with it.”

The budget work used to begin with spending and then go to revenue but in the last two cycles Smith said they've had to a "180" and flip the process.

The percentage of the budget supported by property taxes is relatively low. TUFSD ranks 34th among the 46 Westchester and Putnam county districts. The property tax dollars per pupil is likewise low in rank at 35th.

“We tend to spend less per pupil on average than other districts in the region,” Smith said. On all measures of the scale (from overall costs to administration, transportation, sports and employee benefits) TUFSD ranks on the low end among regional districts.

This with a population notably growing: The school lists fewer employees than 12 years ago when Smith began his tenure, but 26 percent more students.

• 2001-2002: Students, 2,278 Employees: 465
• 2012-2013: Students, 2,875 Employees: 457

Per pupil costs have gone done in recent years, from $24,018 in 2009-2010 to $22,791 in 2011-2012. “All necessary in response to this fiscal challenge we face,” Smith said.

Smith anticipates the population growth trend to continue more next year, though he does expect it to level off in the “not so distant future.”

The district was assuming in their preliminary budget talks carryover funds from last year of a third of a million dollars. But now they have learned that the state’s “interpretation” of carryover funds is different. By the state’s definition, we do not have the extra funds we thought we did.

However, to offset that adjustment, there was the “big win” this year of more state aid, to the tune of over $100,000 more than we budgeted at an almost a one-million dollar increase (11.13 percent) from last year. “The increase in state aid really helped us balance the budget,” Smith said.

Like any entity making a budget these days, the school system is feeling stampeded by health insurance and retirement fund mandates they have no control over, but the district seems to have managed this wisely by setting up a reserve fund last year. Retirement costs alone went up 20.7 percent in one year, up about $1.5M.

In summary, the budget comes in at $68,766,229, at a 2.9 percent budget increase from last year, and falling within the tax cap levy.

The tax levy increase is 1.73 percent, with Tarrytown’s estimated tax rate increase at 1.54 percent and Sleepy Hollow’s at 0.04 percent, increases which Smith calls “pretty modest.”

(The variations between villages are based on changes in equalization rates for the towns of Greenburgh and Mt. Pleasant. Rates will change between now and August due to the impact of ongoing tax certiorari settlements on total property valuation in the villages.)

Smith sees the feat of balancing the budget a matter of luck, state aid, and foresight. “We were fortunate to identify some very significant chunks of savings to offset the rising retirement and health care costs. Otherwise we would have been having a very different conversation.”

Proposed Staff Additions:

• ESL teacher – primary grades
• Additional TA for Academic Intervention Services at WI
• 3^rd grade teacher – class size guidelines
• 4^th grade teacher – class size guidelines
• 6^th grade ELA teacher - class size guidelines
• .5 Social Studies/Sp. Ed. – high school
• Special Ed teacher – middle/high school
• Winter Cheerleading

Cost: $645,415

Proposed Staffing Cuts:

• Grade 2 Classroom Teacher – Morse (class size guidelines)
• Social Worker – high school (remaining two social workers reallocated)
• General Fund support for Pre-K Program

Savings: $597,972

The budget however does not include capital equipment needs, which it hasn’t for many years. These include proposals for: one bus, one van, classroom furnishings, music instruments, digital media lab computers, PE studio/wrestling room mat. Almost 50 percent of these needs can be met by the state, but the remainder comes from cobbling together savings elsewhere. Some items (bus, van) require voter authorization during the annual budget/school board vote on May 21. This year, with only a few snowfalls, there are savings from less snow removal and overtime that can be applied.

Overall, with a budget balanced without layoffs and what Smith describes as “modest tax increases,” he hopes the people will get behind it. If they don’t, a contingency budget would have to bring down the tax hike to this year’s tax levy level, requiring spending cuts. “It’s not something we’d want to have to do,” Smith said.

Looking ahead to the following year, 2014-2015, is less rosy, with totals of predicted revenue and expenditures showing a deficit of $1,340,247. “Next year could be a challenge,” Smith said.

Balancing the budget as they have so far, “can’t be done every year,” Smith said. “Things fell in our favor this year. I don’t want my successor to be the messenger: There’s a systemic imbalance in our budget and every budget in the state of New York. Within the tax cap you cannot make it add up and continue doing business as usual.”

On that note, Smith urged people to get involved with “any advocacy you can do to promote a change in the tax cap formula, things we don’t have local control over.”

Smith offered this advice to Clouet: “consider the tax cap override next year.”

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