Lancaster presents final 2014-15 school budget proposal to BOE
At Monday evening’s budget work session, the Lancaster Central School District (LCSD) presented its final 2014-15 budget proposal which will be put before the Board of Education (BOE) for their approval on April 22, 2014. There will be a budget public hearing on 5/12/14 and the budget will be voted on by the public on 5/20/14.
The $97.44 million budget increases spending by $2.72 over last year’s $94.72 million budget; a 2.87% increase.
The maximum tax levy increase allowed under the Tax Levy Limit Cap for 2014-15 is 3.53 %. The proposed budget has an estimated tax levy change of 3.42%; a $1.58 million increase in property valuation helped lower the percentage increase.
The estimated increase in tax rate is 2.68%. All programs are preserved.
In the Town of Lancaster the 2014-15 tax rate per $1,000 of property valuation increases by $0.44 (44 cents) from the 2013-14 tax rate per $1,000 of $16.41 to $16.85. A property assessed at $100,000 will see a $44 increase in school taxes; a property assessed at $200,000 will see an increase of $88, and so on.
Taxes will go up in Cheektowaga by $0.71 per thousand dollars of assessment and by $9.00 in Elma.
Budget Analysis
At the last budget work session, March 10th, the district was looking at a budget that would have increased spending by 3.51%; $98.04 million, an increase on 3.51%. Compared to the budgeted revenues, a $2.36 million deficit existed at that time. In order to close the $2.36 million gap the district was looking to make further cuts to department requests and by added revenue. In the interval between budget work sessions the district did make cuts, the NYS Legislature provided more state aid funding and other revenue streams increased which together closed the deficit gap and allowed for a balanced budget.
Closing the Deficit
On the expenditure side, the district cut instructional salaries by $554,752. A large part of that was attributable to cutting three reading teachers who were earlier hired under a grant that no longer exists. $50,000 was cut from contractual expenses.
$604,752 - total savings
On the revenue side, the following increases took place:
$200,000 increase in sales tax
$945,211 increase in state aid (added increase by Legislature to the Governors proposal of $132,449 for a total of $1.077 million
-$51,604 decrease in taxes because of increase in property assessments
$1.093 million - total revenue increase
Use of reserves and appropriated fund balance:
$7.28 Million in reserves– same as March 10th; maximum allowable
$3.765 million in appropriated fund balance – an increase of $665,681 over the amount appropriated on March 10th
$665,681 - total increase in appropriated fund balance revenue
$11,063,884 – total appropriated from reserves and fund balance
Zero budget increase
The district looks at the proposed budget as being a zero increase budget. Although state aid increased by $1.077 million this budget year and totals $29.34 million, it is still less by near $3.0 million than the $32.35 million the district received in the 2009-10 budget year. The district has received approximately $23 million less in state aid over the past five years. In that five-year time frame, the district has spent well over the $23 million state aid shortfall in rainy-day funds to stay within the allowable tax cap requirement.
Budget vote
LCSD Superintendent Michael Vallely was given marching orders to close the $2.36 million existing deficit at the March 10th budget work session by the BOE, and to do so with preserving all programs. The deficit has been eliminated and the budget balanced.
Should the public vote the proposed budget down, a budget that meets tax cap limit, the district will have no choice but to make $1.6 million in cuts – be that programs, staff, sports, etc.
The district should not be made the scapegoat here. They controlled spending. No new staff was hired and had one attended the budget work sessions he or she would have seen first-hand that expenditures were considered only when absolutely necessary or mandated.
The state rides in at the 11th hour; increases state by $1.077 million and say what good boys are we when in fact the district is still receiving $3 million less in state aid that it did five years ago.
Comment
The district announced that it would be presenting budget information to the community through various venues. It well should as too many voters have no idea what goes into putting together a budget, but only look at the bottom line. The BOE has been encouraging residents to attend budget work sessions for years to learn what goes into the budget and express opinions on what kind of education should be provided for the children – what should be in the budget and what should be cut out. Only a handful of the same people attend these budget work session meetings on a regular basis.
Hopefully, the district will be able to convince the public that the proposed budget in reality is a no increase budget considering the continued revenue shortcomings created by GEA. And especially considering Lancaster is putting out a good product while being considered the most cost-effective school district in Western New York.
Don't throw rocks at school board
Hey 4248: Let's hear your plan so others can carve that up. Don't take everything you read In the rag
Buffalo News as gospel. Far from it.
Attend meetings to place what is said in correct context... Don't sell the school board members short. They volunteer their time to pour over details as presented and are not rubber stampers to administration. Please don't disparage them. They give up plenty of time to do what they do. Perhaps you should run this year..There is still time for you to make that difference.
