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Schools

Elwood Budget Talks Continue

Superintendent Peter Scordo told members of the audience at the March 26 budget workshop that the administration and the Board have not settled on a contingency budget

“There is a lot of misinformation out there.”

That’s how Superintendent Peter Scordo summed up the budget debate in Elwood, which has heated up over the past few weeks.  In the fourth budget workshop, held on Saturday, March 26 at the Elwood Middle School, Scordo stressed that he, as well as the Board of Ed, have not settled on a contingency budget.

“That is so untrue,” he said, adding that the administration’s presentation of both a business-as-usual budget with a 13.33% tax levy versus a  budget with a more reasonable 3.74% tax increase were “designed solely for us to have a conversation.” That draconian budget, while more palatable to residents, would mean staff cuts and the elimination of sports, music, arts, full-day Kindergarten and Science Research.

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Board members echoed Scordo’s sentiments about the importance of the programs that could be cut. Trustee Dan Ciccone compared them to the dressing on a salad. “There is an expectation on the taxpayer’s part that they’re paying for the dressing,” he said.

“I’m just as passionate about sports and music,” Scordo replied, but stressed that the administration has an obligation to educate students as well, and repeated his concerns over the increased class size that would result if teachers were to be cut. “We’ve got our back against the wall. How are we going to put up a 14% increase when everyone else is putting up 3%?”

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Ciccone added, “What I’m hearing from this community is that programmatic opportunity supercedes class size.”  Members of the audience applauded.

Board of Ed Expenses

The “Board of Education” section of the budget reflects a reduction of $5,000, from $46,000 to $41,000 for 2011-2012. Trustee Andrew Kaplan asked for clarification, noting that it might sound a “little creepy” to members of the public that there are costs associated with the BOE.  Assistant Superintendent for Business Bill Pastore explained that most of those costs pertain to running elections and providing materials for Board meetings.

Scordo also emphasized that all five members of the Board are elected by the public, and do not receive any financial remuneration for serving. “Not one penny goes to any individual.”

A Look at Buildings and Grounds

Pastore presented a very detailed look at the responsibilities of the custodial staff, which stands to see cuts to overtime and the loss of an employee if the contingency budget were adopted.  He pointed to a study of Suffolk County school districts which shows that the average square foot per night covered by a custodian is approximately 21,500. In comparison, the custodial staff at Boyd Intermediate, Elwood Middle School, and John Glenn High School cover an average of roughly 34,000 square feet.

Richard Rouse, Assistant Plant Facilities Administrator,  listed a number of responsibilities that the custodial staff handles either during the day or on weekends and at night, including snow removal, painting, assistance at athletic and co-curricular activities, maintenance of heating, plumbing, and electrical systems, and preparing the buildings for use in September.  “I’m proud to work with them, “ Rouse said, making note of the particularly difficult winter in which custodians were out at 4 AM shoveling the walkways while others slept. A comment called out from the back of the auditorium  -- “And they do it with a smile!” -- was met with applause.

Why Is It So Hot in Here?

Trustee Andrew Kaplan brought up a comment by a resident at a previous work session: Why are the buildings so warm? Rouse explained that in addition to old buildings that are difficult to regulate, the systems themselves are antiquated and steam traps need to be constantly replaced. There are more than 700 traps throughout the district; each classroom has two. Rouse said trap replacement at the Elwood Middle School is 90% complete, with Harley Avenue Primary at 70%. John Glenn High School is next on the list, but as Rouse pointed out, the work in the classrooms can be done only at night or on weekends.

Pastore said that the district is purchasing natural gas through a Suffolk County Natural Gas Commodity Contract and, as a result, is paying reduced prices.  In addition, National Grid is installing energy saving devices on the burners at the high school, middle school and Harley Avenue.

Trustee Dan Ciccone reminded the Board and the community that a few years ago, the district had considered floating a bond to bring heating and lighting in the buildings up to date. Ciccone said that when the interest was calculated over twenty years versus the savings in energy efficiency, it would have taken 17 years to pay for itself. At  the time, grounds leaders were asked to look at repairs that could be done with staff as a way to save money and improve efficiency.  “That’s what we’ve done.”

Co-Curricular Activities and Athletics

Pastore presented an itemized look at the cost of co-curricular activites, including chaperones and stipends, which are contractual expenses. In response to a question from Ciccone, Pastore said stipends costs were in line with other districts, although some districts pay higher fees.  In the case of PTA-run events, the fees charged to students cover the cost of food and entertainment, not the stipends themselves.

Lou Tuorto, Director of P.E. and Athletics, said the district has saved $133,000 over the past two years through the reduction of “yellow jackets” to assist on such things as crowd control at events by using school security guards instead. According to Tuorto, “yellow jackets” are only being used at sporting events as needed, and none are being used for security.

Tuorto detailed other ways his department has economized, including eliminating stipends at both the high school and middle school for someone to check in new equipment and handle getting invoices paid.  It’s  now a shared responsibility, Tuorto said, with coaches and members of Rouse’s team pitching in wherever needed.  Coaches even wash uniforms themselves using a washer and dryer that was purchased by the district a couple of years ago.

Trustee Patricia Matos spoke of the importance of the coaching staff in helping students maintain their grades. Tuorto said that Youth Directions and Alternatives (YDA)  had offered to provide extra help to student athletes at no cost. Ronald Friedman, Assitant Superintendent of Human Resources, said that would need to be explored.

Transportation

The district is legally required to provide transportation to all students, even if they attend private school. Budgeted expenditures are increasing by $258,681, primarily due to the addition of one bus and three vans for private, parochial, and out-of-district placements.

Gene Tranchino, Executive Director for Administrative and Instructional Technology/Transportation explained that transportation is an expense-driven cost, with the district receiving $800,000 in state aid. There was much discussion among Board members as to what would happen if the district followed the state guidelines of three miles, rather than the current two. Tranchino said not only expenses would go down, but state aid as well. He also pointed out that other, unforeseen costs could go up as well, and cited the case of another school district which had to install a circular driveway to handle additional traffic.

Employee Benefit Fixed Costs

The Employee Retirement System costs will increase by $245,014, with an additional $628,626 needed for the Teacher Retirement System as well. Both are mandated.  The appropriation for health insurance will increase by $281,656.

Technology

The district recently made the switch to GMail, which is free for K-higher education via Google Apps for Education. Tranchino said he had looked at Microsoft’s email system in comparison, which cost more than $68,000. Through G-mail, members have access to free content such as maps, and can share documents easily. The complete presentation is attached in PDF form to this article.

Kindergarten

Part time Interim Assistant Superintendent Maryann Lewellyn followed up on a suggestion made by Ciccone at the previous Board meeting to add a reading enrichment component to a half-day kindergarten program. She said that 10-12 students who had been identitifed as needing reading help would remain through the end of the day to receive additional instruction. At the end of ten weeks, those students would be assessed and more students would be moved in.   A parent-training component would also be included. This would require the addition of one full-time teaching assistant and a .5 reading teacher for a total of $98,400.

In response to questions from the trustees, who said they hadn’t yet seen the new proposal. Llewellyn said students who needed additional instruction could remain for the next ten-week session, and the group could include up to 12-14 students. Matos was concerned about the small group size, and noted that AIS costs could increase down the road as students moved through subsequent grades.

Scordo recognized the challenges in tryingto come up with alternatives. "It's like putting a band aid on the fact that we’re going from full day to half day while recognizing that there are some students who need additional support.”

The at the Elwood Middle School library.

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