If New York state lawmakers do not pass a state budget by their April 1 deadline, the Cazenovia board of education may be forced to seek a tax levy limit increase in its 2015-16 budget to ensure it can continue to fund all existing district programs. Such a move is a gamble, however, because to exceed the limit requires a 60 percent voter majority or else the budget goes back to the community for a re-vote.
This was the message conveyed to the Cazenovia Board of Education at its March 16 budget work session by Assistant Superintendent Bill Furlong during his presentation on the preliminary budget.
Furlong said he feels comfortable with the preliminary budget assumptions, but, since Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not released school district funding aid estimates, the district is budgeting blindly.
“I think we need a contingency plan,” Furlong told the board.
The district’s preliminary 2015-16 budget presented this week has changed little from the budget estimates Furlong presented during the board’s Feb. 23 regular meeting. The preliminary budget 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 budget assumes that the district will receive a $450,000 increase in state aid funding due to restoration of Gap Elimination Adjustment funds.
Last year, Cazenovia received a $225,000 increase in state aid under GEA restoration.
Since the governor is not releasing state aid estimates, however, the district has no idea what to insert under the state aid line. And, with the district bound by law to adopt its final budget by April 27, if the state legislature does not pass its budget before then, the school board must approve a budget with the amount of state aid revenue inserted as a best guess.
Superintendent Matt Reilly said he was in Albany last week lobbying state lawmakers for a full restoration of Cazenovia’s GEA funding, and said he came away “buoyed with some optimism.” He said State Senator Dave Valesky and Assemblyman Bill Magee, the elected representatives for Cazenovia’s legislative district, both feel positive that Cazenovia will receive as much or more state aid as it received last year, and also that the legislature will adopt its budget on time and there the district will be able to move forward on its budget with a full knowledge of the state aid numbers.
“So I’m hopeful,” Reilly told the board.
Furlong said that if the district receives a 0 percent increase in its state aid funding this year, it would have to cut $450,000 out of the currently proposed budget to make it balance. To do so would require potential actions of increasing the size of elementary school classes, eliminating certain high school electives, reducing the number of music and athletic programs in the district — or some combination of all three.
If the district has to adopt its budget without knowing the amount of state aid it will receive, Furlong suggested that the board could increase the tax levy increase from the 2.16 percent currently proposed to 3.44 percent. That would allow the district to have enough money in the budget to avoid cutting any existing programs, he said.
If the board took this action and then the state aid came through at or above the district’s needs, them the board could reduce the district tax levy in August, thereby “returning” the taxpayers money to them.
“We’ve done it before; this is not unprecedented,” Furlong said of the August refund idea.
Board members voiced some concerns about budgeting blindly or exceeding the tax levy limit, but all agreed that they cannot and should not make any decisions on this until the state legislature either does or does not adopt its budget by April 1.
The board scheduled a special budget meeting for 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 13, in the board meeting room to discuss the situation before its April 20 meeting at which it expects to adopt its final budget.
If the state legislature passes a budget, then the district can move forward with its preliminary budget and make any adjustments that may need to be made due to the state aid funding final number; if there is no state budget passed, then the board must decide how to proceed and whether or not to seek a higher tax levy limit.
Under state law, the district has until April 27 to approve its final budget. The current schedule then has a public budget hearing on May 12 and the budget vote on May 19.
More information on the 2015-16 district budget can be found on the district’s website at cazenoviacsd.com, under the “Business Office” tab.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
