Orchard Park School Board Meeting 2/3/09

[opfrontdoor]

I attended the OP School board meeting last night, Tuesday, 2/3/09.

Here's a link to the Buffalo News article about the meeting, written by Barbara O'Brien. It does a fair job in reporting most of the 2009-10 budget discussion.

http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/569247.html

A .pdf of the article is also attached.

In a follow-up to the meeting, I have sent the following e-mail to Ms. O'Brien and the other 2 newspaper reporters that were in attendance - Mr. Robert Goller of the Orchard Park Press, and Mr. Chris Gordon of the Orchard Park Bee (a publication also known to some as the "Opey Aunt Bee").

I had a few questions, and asked for their insight.

___________________________________________

Subject: OP School Board Meeting

Hello Ms. O'Brien, Mr. Goller, and Mr. Gordon -

I attended the School Board meeting last night (Tues 2/3/09), and have a few questions regarding the school budget discussion. I know you folks take great notes, and I would appreciate your help and insight very much.

1) Mrs. Thomas (the Superintendent) made the statement that, with regard to the preliminary $2.975M in budget cuts, "no area was un-researched."

Is it just me, or did we NOT here the acronym "OPTA" (Orchard Park Teachers Association) mentioned once the whole evening? You may recall that there were a lot of acronyms tossed around during the meeting, but not that one.

Are you curious (like me) whether the OPTA's contractual costs to district taxpayers are "un-researchable?" Does that mean "untouchable?" Is mention or discussion of this subject taboo?

2) Are you curious (like me) as to why the "staff-neutral" budget of $79,956,000 has a "budget-to-budget" spending increase of 8.3% (or $6.6M)?

Further, do you find it odd (like me) that with $2.975M in "painful cuts" (and a resulting budget of $76,990,000), that there is still a "budget to budget" spending increase of $4.82%? Mr. Petrus (the Assistant Superintendent for Business) announced that $2.5M of that increase was "fully-funded debt service."

What makes up the rest? Could any of that increase be related to the OPTA labor contact?

3) Mr. Petrus mentioned that the $2.5M "debt service" was "fully-funded" by State building aid and "reserves," and will "not impact" on our 2009-10 taxes.

OK. But didn't we (OP School District taxpayers) put that money into the district's "reserves" with past property tax increases to begin with?

Are you curious (like me) how much of this "debt service" is being paid with those property tax "reserves"? Are we "refunding" these "reserves" with our property taxes in 2009-10?

4) Mr. Petrus provided the Board with documents he described as a "line-by-line" detail of the preliminary budget, a detail of the proposed budget cuts, and a "summary" which he publicly discussed. He also said (twice) that the documents were "confidential."

Are you curious (like me) as to why such public documents containing important information about the people's business (and literally held in their hands) are "confidential?"

Are any of you planning to respectfully ask Mr. Petrus, or Mrs. Thomas, or the School Board for a copy of those documents, or perhaps do a FOIL request for them?.... Or shall I?

5) Are you curious (like me) as to what such a worst-case "budget to budget" 8.74% tax increase really means?

If Mr. Petrus is referring to an 8.74% increase in the tax rate levy (per $1000 AV) vs. 2008-2009, assuming all variables remain stagnant (available property to tax, property value assessments, and equalization rates), the rate for Town of OP taxpayers in the district will increase from $26.0684 (in 2008-09) to a whopping $28.35 - an increase of $2.28 per $1000 AV.

On my modest property's assessment (including Basic STAR exemption) of $89,300, that calculates a 2009-10 tax bill of $2,532 - an increase of $204.00 from the $2,328 tax bill of 2008-09.

However, with the "STAR rebate checks" proposed to be eliminated by the State, my actual school property taxes will increase from $2,099 (in 2008-09, $2,328 minus my 2008 STAR Rebate check of $229) to $2,532 - an actual tax increase of $433.00, or 20.6%.

Just imagine if the Basic and Enhanced "STAR" exemption program (also funded by taxpayers) goes away all together.

For additional perspective, the tax rate levy per $1000 AV for Town of OP resident taxpayers in 2001-02 was $22.772814. The proposed 2009-10 tax rate of $28.35 would represent a 24.5% cumulative tax rate increase in those 9 years.

And more perspective - the total OP school district tax levy increased from (in rounded figures) $31.7M in 2001-02 to $43.1M in 2008-09, an increase of $11.4M - a cumulative 36% increase in those 8 years. The levy will increase in 2009-10 yet again - perhaps "big time."

Would you, as a taxpayer (like me) find any of this acceptable?

6) And finally, on a broader scale, are you folks curious (like me) as to how the "federal-stimulus-pork" bailout (also to be absorbed by taxpayers) that our State, our School Board, our district administrators, and certainly the OPTA are hoping and praying for will solve any of the root causes of our present and future annual school budget woes?

Or, even broader, is it because "it's for the children" that anything goes?

Thanks for your time. 'Looking forward to your insight.

Sincerely, and Best Regards,

A Parent and Endangered School District Taxpayer
Orchard Park, NY

[Dougles]

And more perspective - the total OP school district tax levy increased from (in rounded figures) $31.7M in 2001-02 to $43.1M in 2008-09, an increase of $11.4M - a cumulative 36% increase in those 8 years. The levy will increase in 2009-10 yet again - perhaps "big time."

You should also make note that STATE aid was increased 50% from 03-04 to 08-09, but you still paid and additional 36% in YOUR LOCAL AID!

Otherwise VERY nice, i hope you hear a responce and post it here! It's about time these school and UNIONS learn how do deal PROPERLY with less!