Elwood Administrators Say They Will Strive for 3.74% Increase

“The only thing that’s certain about this budget is that we’re not going to be happy with it."

That’s how Elwood Trustee Dan Ciccone summed up the sobering budget picture at the Thursday, Feb. 17 Board of Education meeting. 

District administrators had presented a , representing an  8.86% increase over the 2010-2011 budget. That increase is due, in part, to a projected 10.68% decrease in state aid, as well as increases in salaries and retirement benefits.

The administration had also offered numbers on a contingent budget, which would show a spending increase of 1.92%, with a corresponding tax-levy increase of 3.74%.

At Thursday’s meeting, Board President Michael Kaszubski balked at the proposed 13.33% increase, and suggested 10% as a more reasonable figure —one that the public might consider passing —even though it may require measures such as reducing the number of periods in a school day from nine to eight.

In response, Vice President Joseph Fusaro brought up the challenges the district faced last May, when voters initially rejected a 7.21% tax levy increase. A second vote in June with a revised 4.94% levy was approved. Out of 2,955 votes cast, 985 were opposed. He suggested that the administration find a number under 10%. Trustee Patricia Matos said that while she would love to see a 7% budget pass, she didn’t think it was likely.

Scordo told Board members it would be helpful if they could give a range of what they were looking for, rather than a number, adding that the administration could provide a detailed summary of costs such as extracurricular activities, so that they and members of the public could clearly see the effects of cuts to specific areas.

Ciccone took a different approach than Fusaro and Kaszubski. Rather than focusing on specific numbers – which he compared to throwing a dart at a board – and trying to guess at what the public might or might not pass, Ciccone leaned toward Scordo’s “a la carte” approach and asked to see specific areas with specific cuts. Noting that percentages often don’t give a fair representation of what’s at stake, Ciccone suggested that the Board and public take a good, hard, and detailed look at  a budget with a 3.9% levy.  “It looks like an austerity percent and it will get a lot of complaints. Even so, I think the austerity plan needs to be in the next presentation,” he said.

Trustee Andrew Kaplan stressed the difficulty involved in reducing a budget when so many of the costs are mandated. He called it “disgusting” that Governor Andrew Cuomo would put a 2% tax cap before reform, and cited Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s controversial proposal to curb the collective bargaining power of public sector unions — a move which has sparked massive protests in Madison, WI – as real reform.

“My number to you, Mr. Scordo, is the tax cap. I only hope that that delivers from the district an intact education for our children, which means that some people are going to have to make some difficult choices. I have mandates I have to fulfill.”

Scordo concluded the budget discussion by saying that the administration would “try to get to 3.74%”

In the public portion of the meeting, Julia Fried, president of the Elwood Education Endowment, agreed that it would be helpful for the public to be given an understanding of how district programs such as music would be affected by specific budget cuts. She also asked how the district would handle staffing and course selections at John Glenn High School, where she said students are being “rushed” to make choices now for next year.

Scordo responded that the timeline for scheduling had been changed so that students could receive their schedules in June.  “I’ve asked the board to set the high school staff in March with the assumption that the budget will pass. If we need to cut 15 teachers, we’ll know then.”

Julie Badlato, president of the Glenn PTA, expressed disappointment that board members had only spoken in terms of numbers, rather than addressing specific issues. “Be brave enough to go out and ask for our support,” she said. “If the school is going to an eight-period day, let us know now.”

The next Elwood budget workshops will be held March 3 and March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Elwood Middle School library.