Malverne BOE Reviews Budget, $1.6 Million Proposition

Story by Steve Fiorentine:

The Malverne Board of Education reviewed the proposed 2013-14 school year budget in advance of next Tuesday’s vote and recognized students from throughout the district for various achievements at its board meeting Tuesday night at Malverne High School.

During the budget hearing, the board recapped the details of the school budget proposal it has been working on over the past few months. The $51.2 million budget is a 5.45 percent budget-to-budget increase from last year.

The tax levy in the proposed budget is going up by $1.4 million for a 3.66 percent increase, which is right at the tax levy. This increase is the second lowest tax levy increase for the district in the past 15 years, with the lowest coming last year at 2.44 percent.

Malverne taxpayers’ money will cover 78 percent of the budget proposal, which is $700,000 less than it did in last year’s budget, with the rest of the money coming from state aid and fund reserves.

The majority of the money is covering classroom instruction and benefits, with 81 percent of the budget tied up in those two areas. Increases in pension costs and health care costs are the main drivers of the budget, as benefits are increasing by $1 million.

The proposal also calls for the use of $1.7 million from fund reserves, with a large chunk of it going toward technology, which is seeing a $400,000 increase. The district is adding $200,000 in reserves toward computers for PARCC testing equipment. Technology instruction will see increases in the budget, as well.

“They tell us that we need to have enough computers for one full grade in each building,” District Business Administrator Thomas McDaid Jr. said. “By the year 2014-15, we have to have each building equipped with approximately 140 to 150 either computers or iPads.”

In addition to voting on the budget, voters will vote on another proposition to allow the district to use $1.6 million from capital reserve funds for capital improvements to Malverne High School and Howard T. Herber Middle School. Whether this proposition passes or not has no effect on the tax levy.

The money from the reserve funds will go toward the replacement of the public address and clock systems in the high school, as well as improvements to bathrooms and classrooms throughout the building. Funds will cover the same projects at the middle school, as well as the expansion of the cafeteria and upgrades to the audio and video equipment in the auditorium.

The budget vote will take place on May 21 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Howard T. Herber Middle School.

Prior to the budget hearing, the board recognized a number of students for achievements in various fields. The Malverne High School robotics team and boys varsity lacrosse were both honored for taking part in the FIRST Robotics Competition and Hempstead Mayor’s Tournament, respectively. A number of individual students were also honored for variety of accomplishments in academics and the arts.