PEEKSKILL, N.Y. -- The city school district has begun its 2012-2013 school year budget planning, and school officials are already anticipating having to do more with less.
Assistant Superintendent for Business and Administrative Services Gregory Sullivan gave the school board members an update on where the district stood going into the budget process. Assuming a rollover budget with no additional expenses of about $76.2 million (a $4.2 million, or 5.8 percent tax increase) and projected district revenue of $72.6 million, the district is looking at approximately $3.5 million shortfall. Sullivan noted that the numbers were early projections and could change.
The budget process now includes dealing with the 2 percent tax levy cap passed in Albany last year.
"It's likely going to be in effect for five or six years," Sullivan told board members.
Approval of a budget at or below the cap still requires a simple majority vote from residents, but in order to exceed that cap it would take a supermajority vote of 60 percent from voters.
Governor Andrew Cuomo's state aid budget includes decreases for many education programs and expenses used by the district totaling $670,297.
Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and special services to the district will drop by $104,230 and high cost and excess cost funding will drop by $342,496. Private excess cost state aid is expected to decrease by $112,334. Transportation aid is expected to drop by $107,129 and the software, library and textbook funding is expected to drop by $3,429.
However, the district will see a 3.48 percent increase in state aid for the district's general fund, from $819,417 to $970,950.
Superintendent of Schools James Willis said that other districts, even wealthier districts, will receive the same amount of aid as Peekskill, which he said doesnt make sense.
"If they just stayed flat and the state didn't take any money away they would be fine, but that money should be trickling into the low wealth districts," Willis said. "They shouldn't be getting an increase of the same percentage or in some cases more. The lower income districts need more money."
School district revenues are expected to increase slightly from $39.7 million to $41.2 million, mostly due to payment in lieu of taxes (P.I.L.O.T.) programs and tax relief reimbursement.
The aid cuts combined with the tax cap will force districts like Peekskill to make up the difference elsewhere according to Willis.
"We already know in the budget planning committee that in three years our fund balance is going to be wiped out totally and we stand a risk of going into the negative," Willis said.
Willis added that he hopes to create a balanced budget without having to lose staff, and that he would be looking at ways to cut costs.
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