The Cazenovia school district administration last week discussed the current estimates for its initial 2015-16 budget and Assistant Superintendent Bill Furlong said he feels “pretty comfortable” that all current district programs will be maintained — as long as Cazenovia receives at least half of its expected state aid funding, or $450,000. If Gov. Andrew Cuomo decides to eliminate state education aid increases this year, the effects will be “devastating” to Cazenovia, and will result potentially in the loss of some district programs and possibly high school electives, and an increase in elementary class sizes, Furlong said. “I’m a little more comfortable now than I was last year at this time,” Furlong told the board of education at its Feb. 23 regular monthly meeting. “The initial budget maintains all the current programs.” The initial budget currently totals $26.8 million, which is a 1.29 percent increase over last year’s budget, and includes a 2.16 percent tax levy increase and the use of $250,000 in district reserve funds. The initial budget, however, estimates that the district will receive $450,000 in state education aid this year — which is half of the district’s total $925,000 state aid expected for this year. Whether the district receives that aid, or any aid, has not been determined in Albany yet. Each year for the past six years, state districts have not received their full share of state aid funding due to the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which was created in 2010 to fill state budget shortfalls by taking money out of education funding. The state is now in a budget surplus, and district and education advocates throughout New York have been calling for the law’s repeal. Members of both the state assembly and state senate this year have introduced legislation to repeal the GEA, including Cazenovia’s representatives Assemblyman Bill Magee and Senator David Valesky. This year’s budget battle is different than in the past, however, in that Cuomo is conditioning state educational aid on the legislature’s acquiescence to his demands for more educational reforms, including a new teacher evaluation system. The governor’s office has even refused to release school aid estimates that districts use to plan their budgets. Without that information, districts must budget blindly, which led the New York State School Boards Association in January to accuse Cuomo of sabotaging school districts’ abilities to plan for next school year. Cazenovia has included the $450,000 in state aid in its initial budget, but if that number comes out of the governor’s office at $0, then the budget will have to be reworked and reduced. The first $234,000 in reductions would not impact existing programs, but the remaining $216,000 will be very difficult and painful, Furlong said. The district would have three main options to consider as to how to reduce the budget, he said:
1) Increase the size of elementary classes.
2) Eliminate certain high school electives.
3) Reduce the number of music and athletic programs in the district, including the elimination of many sports teams. “These are the three options, and they are not very good options,” Furlong said.
Board Member Karin Marris emphasized that the administration and school board have made no specific decisions or plans on what programs would be cut, if any are cut. These are all just “general ideas” based on the current information the district has, she said. The board has scheduled a budget work session for 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, in the board meeting room. The work session is open to the public. Superintendent Matt Reilly said that Cazenovia’s advocacy efforts to make Albany aware that the community wants to receive its fair share of state aid this year has been “making a difference.” He said that more than 2,000 emails and letters from more than 400 people have been sent to Magee, Valesky and Cuomo from Cazenovia district residents demanding an end to the GEA this year. Reilly urged district residents to continue advocating for the Cazenovia district and against the continuation of the GEA. The district has information on the issue and sample letters to send to state representatives on its website at cazenoviacsd.com. Also at the meeting, the board:
—Authorized Reilly to contract with the educational consulting firm Castallo & Silky, of Syracuse, to undertake a configuration study of the Cazenovia Central School District at a cost not to exceed $12,000. The study will look at the use of space in the district’s three buildings, at what grade levels are in what buildings, and determine if greater efficiency can be had by “moving things around,” Reilly said. “I think it’s a great investment and I advocate strongly that we do this,” he told the board. —Announced that district utility costs have been reduced by 50 percent — or about $250,000 — during the past three years as the result of the district’s efforts to increase its energy efficiency. There are also work projects coming this year to Burton Street Elementary School to change power outlets and windows, upgrade the heating and air conditioning and repair portions of the roof, which are expected to generate even more savings in the future. —Adopted the 2015-16 draft school calendar. Reilly said half days will again be scheduled to occur on Fridays rather than Thursdays. —Honored members Leigh Baldwin, Karin Marris, Pat Vogl and Jan Woodworth who each received the Leadership in Governance Award from the New York State School Boards Association for the time and dedication they each devote to their school board positions. Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].