SCOTIA-GLENVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Superintendent’s Office

January 29, 2010

TO: All Staff

FROM: Susan M. Swartz

On January 11, 2010, I presented a carry forward 2010–2011 budget to the Scotia-Glenville Board of Education. On January 19, 2010, Governor Paterson released his proposed New York State budget which includes a 5% reduction in school aid. As we have worked to understand what the governor’s proposal means to us as a district, the need to provide you with accurate information about this situation has become even more apparent.

Many of you have read or heard information about the State’s fiscal challenges and how these issue are impacting school districts. 2009–2010 aid to schools was ultimately ‘flat’, meaning we received the same level of aid as we had in 2008–2009. Initially, I had hoped aid would remain flat in 2010–2011 but, with the release of the governor’s budget, we are now aware of the proposed reduction.

In addition, the State ‘borrowed’ in excess of $390 million from last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allocation to help balance its budget. These federal funds were to be paid out over a three-year period; in fact, $1.56 million of those dollars were used to flatten school aid to Scotia-Glenville in the current year’s budget. Given borrowing against these Federal dollars and the State’s precarious budget position, the district faces significant challenges in developing next year’s budget. To complicate matters, the situation at both the Federal and State level is far from being resolved and we will be developing our budget with less than complete information.

We will continue to work to control what we can…..which is the expenditure side of our budget. Furthermore, through our budget development process we will continue to explore ways to provide quality programs for our students at a cost which can be supported by our community.

This past Monday evening, I spent part of the Board of Education meeting reviewing areas where we might reduce or eliminate spending. Though the items reviewed do not comprise a comprehensive list, they do provide a more global look at the district. For each item or scenario reviewed, Board of Education members provided feedback and comments. I will use this information, as well as input from administration, teachers, and other district personnel, to produce my superintendent’s recommended budget. That budget will be reviewed at the March 1, 2010, Board of Education meeting.

As I have traveled around the district this week, I have had a number of questions asked by staff including:

Q: Will we need to reduce or cut personnel?

A: While I hope that we are able to make reductions through attrition and retirements, it will not be feasible to close the budget gap (as we now know it) solely by this means. While we gather information and work through the budget development process, every effort will be made to ensure we continue our high-quality programs for students. Any reductions or eliminations in personnel will be spread across the district as evenly as possible.

Q; Will we need to cut programs or reduce services to children?

A: Unfortunately, as we work to close the budget gap, we will have to evaluate our programs and services to students with an eye toward possible reductions. A large budget gap may result in the reduction or elimination of programs or services such as extracurricular activities, field trips, and professional development for staff, athletics, some programs for struggling students, and opportunities for enrichment. Again, my goal would be to spread any reductions or eliminations as evenly as possible across the district.

Q: Is it possible class sizes could increase?

A: If you review the PowerPoint I used Monday evening (www.scotiaglenvilleschools.org), you will note that increases in class size across all levels is being looked at as a possible strategy for reducing costs. That said, the district remains committed to reasonable class sizes at all levels, but particularly at the primary level.

Q: What other areas are being considered for reductions or elimination?

A: Again, I encourage you to look at the district’s website and review Monday evening’s PowerPoint. In addition to personnel and instructional programs, reductions are being considered in support services, transportation, maintenance, and administration. I have also met with the Presidents of each of the bargaining units not currently negotiating and asked them to consider unit concessions. You should be hearing more about this from your union leadership.

Q: What if I have an idea for cost savings?

A: The challenges we will face over the next several months will not be easily resolved. I would welcome any ideas or thoughts you may have about possible cost savings measures. Please feel free to drop me a note or e-mail.

It is important that you understand my first goal in budget development is to construct a budget that provides for the needs and growth of all Scotia-Glenville students while recognizing the difficulties many in our community are facing. The purpose of this letter is not to cause panic……actually, just the opposite. I want to provide you with accurate information about where we are in the budget process, where you can find updated information (our website), and the challenges we are currently facing.

I do expect that further questions will arise. If you have questions, I encourage you to speak with your school principal, department administrator, director or me. In addition, I will provide periodic updates, like this one, as our work continues.