LSD Budget Adoption Delayed, Vocational Ed TA Stipends to be Cut

Though the Levittown School District's new budget was scheduled to be adopted at Wednesday night's meeting, the Board of Education decided it was not yet ready for a hearing.

Instead, the current budget status was reviewed and discussed by Board members and Superintendent Herman Sirois. 

As was reported last week, it is now projected that the budget will need to be reduced by $12.8 million. 

Previous projections of a $4.3 million budget cut would have resulted in an estimated 20.8 percent tax increase in 2013-14.

"That drove us to the realization that it’s not going to work...even if we cut the budget by $4.3 million," Sirois said of the potential tax burden. "The difference between our current tax levy and our expenditures is too great."

Sirois said there are "honorable" reasons for the gap, such as the district's educational program and the tax breaks provided to local taxpayers over the past six years.

Though expenditures need to be cut by $12.8 million, the cuts may come from a variety of areas, Sirois said, such as programs and personnel or negotiations with unions, which are currently in progress. Negotiations with unions have the potential to save a large portion of the budget, Sirois said.

The goal is to cut expenditures while avoiding tax increases, and the most recent proposed budget foresees taxes increasing by 3.6 percent next year and then leveling off at 5.5 percent each year for the subsequent four years.

The newest budget projection maintains a minimum fund balance over the next five years, whereas the previous one left $0 in fund balance. "We need those monies in order to stabilize our tax rate," Sirois said, emphasizing the importance of looking into the future and having a five-year budget in spite of the challenges this strategy has brought.

"There's a misperception out in the public that they're cutting this year, and they will cut again next year," Board of Education President Mike Pappas said. "We're getting the tooth pulled. What we're doing is to right the ship this year with recurring expenditure reductions. There are no plans for additional reductions."

As discussed last week, the Board is considering the proposal of increasing class sizes in grades kindergarten through eight and raising the minimum enrollment in the high schools to save a total of over $3.4 million. 

Sirois also said the district found out this month that a 4.4 percent state aid increase is being earmarked for the 2012-13 school year. Additional revenue will come from raising the cost of enrollment for out of district students, Sirois said, and while he said other districts have been warned about the raise in cost, they have not yet been informed in writing.

Newly added to the list were cuts in vocational education TA stipends. The district is operating on a seniority basis when making the cuts, Sirois said. He also said the estimated $108,939 in savings does not include the benefits of the three full-time and one part-time faculty members, which means more savings will be added to the equation.

When looking at the proposed budget, Board of Education Vice President Peter Porrazzo pointed out there is at least $1 million that still seems like it can be shaved off, such as surplus money allotted for supplies. Pappas asked this money be identified and stripped down as soon as possible, and Board of Education Trustee Ed Powers emphasized that extra material objects should be traded out to save as many jobs as possible.

"Without touching bodies, find all the 'stuff' and rip it out," Powers said.

As for when the budget will be finalized and adopted, Pappas said it would be delayed at least a week, maybe longer.

"There's a lot of discussion going on," he said. "There's no rush."