When it comes to budgeting, school districts, like other institutions, worry about how to manage projections of increasing costs and decreasing revenues. The Onteora School Board last week got a first look at the proposed 2024-2025 $62.4-million budget calling for a tax-levy increase of $1.6 million, or 3.46 percent. Spending is proposed to increase a bit over a million dollars, or 1.72 percent.
Assistant superintendent for business Monica LaClair was concerned the district might lose as much as $3 million in state aid this year.
“Our final state aid, that is probably our biggest area of uncertainty, special-ed needs, whether or not additional faculty staff retirements come in, and then of course the effect of closing Phoenicia,” LaClair said. “If we hadn’t have lost state aid, and we went with a two-percent levy increase, which is what we did for this year, we would be looking at an increase of about $940,000 in revenue. In addition, with the same expenditures, our projected difference would be a little under $3.4 million. So you can see how that loss of state aid has really affected our budget.”
All the cuts aren’t likely after the changes the state legislature makes, but they are a possibility.
LaClair also advocated for a ballot proposition to use capital reserve for upcoming projects. “We are in the process of doing four or five projects this summer, the high-school generator, the exterior doors, the HVAC and floor tiles in all of the buildings,” she said. She had concerns about change orders.
The school bus garage desperately needs improvement, she said. “Our bus garage is falling apart. It’s been falling apart. We are still looking at having to do electric buses at some point and the governor has not backed down on that, to my knowledge,” LaClair said.
Salaries of $25.44 million and benefits of $20.3 million make up the bulk of the budget “Other” category, which includes supplies, materials, outside contracts, maintenance and parts, and BOCES capital and administration, is budgeted at $16.5 million.
A new transportation contract was also a big driver of increases, with some routes going up 25 to 40 percent. Health insurance is projected to increase ten percent.
The district will no longer receive American Rescue Plan funding.
“The ARP grant required 20 percent of the grant to be used for learning loss,” LaClair said. “So over a million dollars was funded for mental health for after-school support for summer school. Now in order to keep that for the next budget, it has to come out of our budget because we will no longer have the ARP grant. So unfortunately, there’s a lot of things not working in our favor,” LaClair said.
In other business, some have suggested the board consider renaming the Bennett School because the Bennett and Phoenicia schools will be combined. Superintendent Victoria McLaren asked the board to consider the history before making a decision. She shared a book detailing the beginnings of the district.
“I think if the board were going to contemplate changing the name, I just felt like it was really important that everybody have a chance to read that information and understand who Reginald Bennett was, and that he was really a pioneer here. And he without him, this district would not be the same district it is. So I don’t know how everybody feels about that,” she said.
Bennett was the first superintendent when the district was founded in 1948.
Trustee Emily Mitchell-Marell suggested putting the matter up for public vote, with Bennett as one of the choices.
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