GUILDERLAND — A week after the governor announced his budget proposal and the day before the comptroller declared school tax levies would be capped near zero — at 0.12 percent — the Guilderland School Board heard a sober analysis of how the state directives could affect next year’s budget.

“The budget proposal for Guilderland was underwhelming,” said the district’s assistant superintended for business, Neil Sanders, of the governor’s plan.

The $863 million that the governor proposes devoting to school operating aid statewide is about half of what is needed to maintain current services, given the tax cap, Sanders told the board.

He also said that the $189 million the governor has targeted for restoration of the gap elimination adjustment is less than half of the $434 million owed to school districts across the state.

The gap elimination adjustment was originally put into place as a temporary measure to help the state make up its budget shortfall, and many school leaders still consider the money to be rightfully theirs.

Guilderland, Sanders said, received no increase in Foundation Aid and is still owed $1.4 million or 68 percent in GEA restoration.

If the legislature were to agree with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan, Guilderland would receive $23.5 million total in state aid — $292,225 more than the current school year, which has a $93.7 million budget.

The proposed aid for next year is less than the $23.6 million Guilderland received in the 2008-09 school years.

“We’re still climbing out of the hole,” said Sanders.

With five years of large budget gaps, Guilderland cut over 200 staff members.

If it were not for construction growth in Guilderland, Sanders said, the tax levy limit threshold would have been capped at $196,626, or $754,950 less than now projected.

“If we didn’t have that piece, we’d be in much worse shape,” said Sanders.

Sanders reiterated four options that Superintendent Marie Wiles had introduced at an earlier meeting: reduce programs and services, deny increases requested by program leaders, dip into the district’s fund balance, or challenge the tax-levy threshold.

For the past two years, Guilderland has been on the state comptroller’s list of school district susceptible to fiscal risk. “We’re just about to come to more solid ground,” Wiles had said when first presenting the four options.

The current state laws says that increases in the tax levy are limited to 2 percent or the preceding year’s consumer price index, whichever is less, unless schools can get 60 percent or more of voters to approve a hike over that.

Guilderland has never tried this, always staying under the state-set limit and passing budget with a simple majority of 50 percent or more. Many districts that have gone over the levy limit faced defeat at the polls. If a budget is ultimately defeated, the state allows no levy increase.

Sanders concluded his presentation, “Under this proposal, the district will be forced to maintain the status quo, established by years of diminished resources, with state financial support still below 2008-09 levels.”

 “You have to hope the legislature will be more generous than the governor,” said board member Colleen O’Connell.

“We’re optimistic,” rejoined Sanders, “but we have to develop a budget in the meantime.”