Brewster School Budget Adds Jobs, Has 1.43% Tax Levy Hike
By Tom Auchterlonie
The proposed 2014-15 Brewster school budget is a break from two major trends. It calls for a net increase in jobs and no layoffs, while also having a tax levy hike that is lower than in recent history.
The major contrasts were noted at Tuesday’s school board meeting when the budget was presented. Overall, it includes an increase of the tax levy, which is the total amount of tax revenue, of 1.43 percent. The number is within a tax cap that limits the levy increase to the lesser of two percent or the inflation rate. Total spending would rise by 2.09 percent, with the proposed budget at $87,796,795.
What are not known, however, are the tax rates, which represent what taxpayers owe. Jim Reese, the district’s interim business manager, compared the tax levy to a pie, with a rate likened to how the pie is distributed. In Reese’s analogy, assessment differences can impact how much of the pie a taxpayer gets. Estimates for the rates, which different among the district’s towns, are not available but will be before the budget vote in May, according to school board President Stephen Jambor.
On the cost side, the vast majority of the budget stems from salaries and benefits, according to a chart presented. A large cost driver is connected to two pension funds, with a jump that is well into the 6-digit range.
The budget includes a net increase of 2.4 jobs, a departure from the prior trend of staff reductions. Interim Superintendent Timothy Conway called the budget a “welcome change from recent past budgets” due to the lack of layoffs. It will include an increase of 3.9 teaching jobs and 1.5 in support staffing.
There will be some non-layoff job cuts, however. These will include a loss of three bus driver jobs and a music teaching position due to retirements, along with the reduction of 0.2 of a high school physics teaching position because the person involved will have one less period.
The staff increases include more support in special education, including a behavior analyst and 0.4 worth of a teaching position at Henry H. Wells Middle School. The boost to special education spending – it is proposed to go up by around $100,000 – would come while the district adds an extra kindergarten class as several new students who can receive support enter. An objective is to have as many special education children education in the district as possible, with lower transportation and program costs cited as a reason.
ESL support for students learning English is also a significant part of the job increases, with the budget including 0.8 worth of a teaching position and 0.5 worth of an aide who would work on the intake process.
The proposed increases for ESL staff come as the district is receiving new students in the middle of the year who need support. Valerie Henning-Piedmonte, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction & assessment, stated the numbers since September. They include 34 new students at JFK Elementary School, six at C.V. Starr Intermediate School, six at the middle school and 32 at the high school. Most of the elementary kids were born in this country and some came with education that was interrupted, according to Henning-Piedmonte. Most of the C.V. Starr students are from Guatemala and some had education with curricula that were not rigorous enough. This was also the case with the middle school children. Henning-Piedmonte also thought that the “most staggering number” is at the high school. She also noted that high school students were coming in “very far behind” in education.
ESL is a mandatory program, Henning-Piedmonte explained. It also takes about six to seven years for students to get another language, she told the board
Despite the relatively stable fiscal picture, major costs from the state level are still being talked about. During the presentation, a photo of a 3-headed monster, which was originally used in the Carmel school district, was presented. The monster represents the tax cap, unfunded/underfunded mandates and the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). The latter, which involved a cut in state aid to school districts several years ago, was repeatedly blasted during the meeting, including by a passionate Jambor. Since the 2010-11 school year, the district has not received $9,587,660 worth of aid due to the GEA, according to data shown.
The budget received favorable remarks from board members who spoke. Jambor, for example, praised staff and noted the services available for students.
There will be another budget discussion at the board’s April 8 meeting and the board will adopt a budget on April 22. A hearing on the budget will be held on May 13 and voters will decide on it on May 20. Voters will also be asked to decide on a proposition for spending $499,864 on purchasing four buses.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.