Tax levy up 3.92 percent
VCSD proposes $21.7M budget for next year

VOORHEESVILLE — At the behest of the school board, administrators here pared down their budget proposal for next year to $21,662,438, a 2.8-percent increase over this year’s budget.

“You told us you’d prefer for us to sharpen our pencils,” said Superintendent Linda Langevin to the school board Monday night as she presented the revised spending plan.

The budget proposed earlier this month totaled $21.8 million and would have brought a tax-levy increase of 6.2 percent. The new plan calls for a tax-levy increase of 3.92 percent, up $554,043 from this year.

Opening-day enrollment this school year was 1,232 — “just two kids off from 20 years ago,” Assistant Superintendent for Business Sarita Winchell told The Enterprise this week. The peak year was 1996-97, when enrollment was 1,369 for the elementary and secondary schools combined, she said.

“The last of the big classes — a class of 119 — graduates this year,” Winchell said. The junior class has 103 students, the sophomore class has  90, and the freshman class has 99. Voorheesville is expecting 90 kindergartners next year, Winchell said, to bring enrollment to 533 for the six elementary grades.

The enrollment decline doesn’t impact the budget, Winchell said. “If you lose 10 to 15 kids, it’s across the board,” she said, and not enough in one place to cut staff positions.

Towards the end of Monday’s meeting, Langevin told the board that, according to the fiscal-accountability report, the average annual cost at Voorheesville for educating a special-needs student is $16,473 compared to $25,026 at similar school districts. Langevin said the reduced cost “has a lot to do with inclusivity.”

For regular education, the cost per pupil at Voorheesville is $8,488 compared to $9,936 at similar schools.

The school board had asked for a shift of about $300,000, combining reductions and additional revenues.

Additional revenues were found, totaling $146,250, which includes $50,000 from transfer of debt and $60,000 from the appropriated fund balance as well as $10,000 more in state aid and $26,250 for renting a second classroom to the Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

Additionally, about $176,000 in expenses were cut in 16 different areas, ranging from supplies to staffing changes. This includes an $18,000 reduction, which was meant for tuition for a Voorheesville student to attend the regional Tech Valley High School, which Langevin said the board would discuss further.

Combined staffing changes will save about $31,000, which the board discusses in closed session. Winchell said the board will make a decision on those changes at its March 24 meeting.

Winchell said that, without the bond issue, which is paying for facility improvements, largely at the elementary school, the budget would have increased $352,280 or 1.67 percent from this year.

She also said of the projected 3.92-percent tax-levy increase, “We don’t have figures yet on assessments. That 3.9 will get lower.” And, if the state budget restores BOCES aid that the governor’s proposal cut, “We’ll be in the low 2s,” Winchell said of the tax-levy percentage increase. 

Board member Kevin Kroenke was wary about the projected $10,000 more in state aid.

“I wouldn’t count on a dime more,” he said.

Vice President C. James Coffin pointed out the $10,000 was for transportation aid, based on increased fuel consumption, which hasn’t been targeted as a category to be cut by the state.

“The worst thing that happens is your appropriated fund balance is $10,000 less,” said Winchell.

“Sarita follows it very carefully,” said board President David Gibson. “We trust her judgment.”

The school board is slated to adopt a budget proposal on April 7.

In addition to the budget vote on May 20, district residents will vote on three new buses and possibly on two other propositions — to make up losses in the lunch program, and to reduce the school-board term from five to four years.

New buses

The board approved a proposition on Monday, which must be passed by the public, to buy three new buses at a total maximum estimated cost of $189,000. This would pay for one 60-passenger bus and two 28-passenger buses.

The request was scaled back $37,000 from an initial proposal that included three 20-passenger buses instead of the two for 28 passengers. The slightly larger buses have a wider chassis and an extra row of seats, according to Transportation Supervisor Michael Goyer.

The 28-passenger buses will hold members of some of the district’s small teams, Goyer said, such as for cheerleading, golf, and bowling. Those teams don’t fit on the 20-passenger buses, so 60-passenger buses are used, which are more costly to run.

Lunch losses

The school lunch program is losing money.

“We are not alone,” said Winchell, stating many school districts are in a similar situation.

“Food prices keep going up,” she told The Enterprise. “We really emphasize serving a healthy menu and fresh is more expensive.”

“We need to face the music,” Winchell told the school board on Monday, stating the board can either “wipe the slate clean with a proposition for the voters” or “gradually eat away” at the deficit through inter-fund transfers.

If voters passed a proposition, said Winchell, it would not impact taxes because the money would come from the unappropriated fund balance.

She declined to tell The Enterprise how much money would be needed, explaining she didn’t “want to get ahead of the board.”

“Is there any chance we’ll be able to stop the bleeding ever?” Coffin asked at Monday’s meeting.

“Yes, charge three dollars for lunch,” responded Winchell.

Current lunch prices are $2 at the elementary school and $2.25 at the secondary school.

“Some of the school districts just bury the costs elsewhere,” said Gibson. “What we charge for students’ lunch more than pays for what the students eat,” he said.

The biggest additional costs are for health insurance and payments to the retirement system, Winchell told The Enterprise. “Health insurance is 50 percent the cost of the payroll,” she said, explaining part-time workers, who work four hours or more, qualify for health insurance. “Family health insurance is 12, 13, 14 thousand dollars,” said Winchell.

She also said that, “because of the profile of our population, we get very little from the state and federal governments for free and reduced-price lunches.” Voorheesville gets about $40,000 annually, she said, since just 6 percent of its students have family incomes low enough to qualify for the program. 

“It’s not like we’re giving them food,” Gibson told the board, adding the audit committee had recommended, “We don’t try to hide it.”

Using round numbers, Gibson said the lunch program lost $24,000 in 2004-05; $39,000 in 2005-06; $45,000 in 2006-07; and through January in this school year, $14,000.

“We’re doing considerably better this year,” Gibson said. “The more students that buy the food, the less our loss...Healthy food that is attractive to students is selling more meals.”

High school Principal Mark Diefendorf said that snack sales are down probably because healthy snacks are being served rather than, say, potato chips.

“We’re either going to have to support it or shut it down,” said Coffin, indicating he wants to keep the school-lunch program.