N. Hartford school board conducts budget workshop

By ELIZABETH COOPER

Observer-Dispatch

Posted Mar 13, 2010 @ 03:18 PM

Last update Mar 14, 2010 @ 12:21 AM

NEW HARTFORD —

The New Hartford Board of Education conducted its first budget workshop Saturday morning, but still had little idea of how the state’s precarious budget situation would affect its plans.

The proposed $46.6 million budget for the 2010-11 school year likely will have to absorb a $1.3 million reduction on state aid from last year’s amount.

Additionally, the total budget has increased by more than $500,000, budget documents show.

If the additional expenses are to be passed along to taxpayers, it could require a roughly 6 percent increase to the tax levy.

Superintendent Robert Nole said he and the school board would do everything in their power to prevent a tax hike.

“We will perform a comprehensive review of the revenue side of our budget,” Nole said. “We are sensitive to the economic uncertainty our local residents face.”

As currently written, the proposed budget maintains all existing programs and class sizes.
The state budget is due Thursday, April 1, and until then school, officials won’t know for certain how much funding they have to work with.

“I think every taxpayer in New York state is concerned about what direction New York state will take on spending,” school board President James Davis said. “We are in a wait-and-see mode.”

State Foundation Aid, which is meant to be applied to operating expenses, is set to drop from almost $6.9 million to almost $5.8 million, district figures show. The $5.8 million is about what the district received in 2002, Nole said.

Another $200,000 in state aid may also be cut from other state funding sources.

Nole said the he has been speaking with the district’s state-level representatives to determine whether there are other ways the district can save money.

Reducing the number of reports due to the state could help, as those are costly and time consuming, Nole said. Also, decreasing other state mandates on schools could help, he said.
Last year, the district was able to prevent any tax increase.

Once the state budget is complete, the school board can craft the final budget.
District residents will vote on the end product Tuesday, May 18.