West Hempstead Begins Budget Review, Struggles to Close $2.4 Million Gap

The West Hempstead school district began to chip away at the $2.4 deficit that it is facing as it prepares to craft its 2011-2012 budget during its first workshop on Tuesday night. 

The March 1 meeting brought together school administrators, board members, employees, parents and taxpayers to scrutinize the first half of the budget draft, focusing on non-instruciontal items. (Instructional items will be reviewed at a workshop, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight. for details.)

“We find ourselves in an extremely challenging budget cycle, which began with the collapse of the economy in September 2008,” Superintendent John Hogan stated at the start of the March 1 meeting. “And while Wall Street may have recovered, the reality is that Main Street has yet to do so.”

Hogan explained that despite the fact that the district has excessed over 80 positions in the past two years, leading to increased classes sizes and cuts in programs, services and sports, West Hempstead still finds itself “treading water.”

This year, West Hempstead – like school districts throughout the state – are facing cuts in state aid, the loss of federal stimulus funds, rises in salaries, pension, health care and energy costs, and the addition of unfunded mandates.

A proposed sewage tax that Nassau County is pushing for could cost the district as much as $90,000, but West Hempstead has teamed up with other school districts to challenge this mandate in court. They are also part of a lawsuit to fight a proposal that would shift the burden of tax certiorari judgments from the County to school districts, which could cost West Hempstead anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 in future years.

Adding to the gap in expenses and revenue that the district is facing is a proposal by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that would move summer special education costs out of the state budget, forcing local school districts to use fund the programs. This would add an additional $80,000 to West Hempstead’s expenses, Hogan said.

“None of us can afford the luxury of approaching this budget season only through the lens of our own interests,” Hogan  said.

 He told the board members, residents, employees and school administrators present at the meeting to that sacrifices will have to be made, bracing them for the elimination of 15 to 20 more positions and program cuts, and asked them to look at the big picture.

“By walking in each others’ shoes, by listening to one another and realizing that sacrifices will be required across the board,” he said, “we can approach our challenge with a positive attitude, and with confidence, in the knowledge that together we can and will succeed in this budget season for our entire community, but especially for the boys and girls in our care.

 With that, Hogan turned the microphone over to Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham, who led the group though an in-depth look at the first half of the drafted budget, the non-instructional items, and fielded questions. 

Cunningham went through the drafted budget line-by-line, explaining the areas where their have been cuts and increases, and where they have held the line. He also pointed out expenses that the district has little to no control over, such as contracted salaries and benefits, and figures that have yet to be determined at this time, transportation being one of the biggest.

Some of the increases include:

Cunningham also pointed out that for the third consecutive year, the superintendent's salary remained the same, $210,000, as Hogan opted not to take an increase.

Many other areas of the budget were unchanged from the previous year, including:

$5,000

Some board members and residents questioned whether some of these items could be reduced, especially postage and public relations.

Cunningham pointed out discontinuing mailing out calendars is not an option, because the district uses these as a means of distributing information that it is required to mail to all residents, including asbestos notification and Title 9 policies. However, he said, "We can look at how we’re packaging the calendar...and perhaps could economize postage by its changing dimensions."

Regarding the PR service, Cunningham said, "They help us develop mailings...and we have them on a retainer for times when we find we really need them."

"Crisis management," is when this service is needed, Hogan said, using the fire at George Washington that happened last year as an example of a time the district needed their help.

"If we don’t spend the entire amount we encumbered it comes back to us," Hogan added. 

Cunningham also explained that the BOCES Business Service is also a key expense, because it allows the district to purchase products at the lowest possible price.

"In most places we're budgeting right on the line," Cunningham said, cautioning against trying to strip these budget lines any further, especially those that deal with maintaining school buildings since these affect the safety of students and faculty. "We need some wiggle room."

That being said, a few areas of the budget were slashed. The draft budget calls for the elimination of one nurse in the high school, as well as these other cuts:

The district also saw its BOCES administration charge continue to decline as a result of its decreased enrollments. West Hempstead was also able to save money over the past year by taking on the responsibility of preparing their own financial statements, which they will continue to do in 2011-2012. The external auditing services are required though so this is an expense they can not avoid.

POTENTIAL SAVINGS

Cunningham said that some areas of the budget could be adjusted as more information becomes available.

Transportation:For instance, he is hoping that the district will be able to make significant cuts in transportation costs, which are relatively high compared to other districts because a large portion of students need to be bused to schools outside the area. He said transportation as a whole accounts for about 9 percent of the budget, with $2.5 million spent on transporting those who attend parochial and private schools.

The Residents Budget Advisory Committee made for how to bring down these expenses, but he hopes the consultant recently hired to review the district's routes and transportation budget will be able to find areas for savings.

Utility Costs: He also hopes to find savings by lowering heating and water bills. Through the energy performance contract, the district will be installing more efficient boilers and they have already put water conservation tools in place, including sub systems that regulate use of water, foot pedals and faucets with auto turn off.

They want to get to the bottom of the mystery of why George Washington uses 45 percent more water than Cornwell Avenue School, even though the enrollments and size of the facilities are nearly identical.

Custodial Staff: Cunningham said that overtime for custodians has been an ongoing issue. Snow removal and sports teams, clubs or community organizations using facilities on the weekends contributes to this.

One resident suggested altering schedules to reduce overtime, while Cunningham posed the idea of hiring custodians who would work weekends only, but said it would be necessary to keep their hours below the point where benefits would start to kick in.

Insurance: Property and casualty insurance is another area that Cunningham is further researching, looking to find a better deal. He expects the premium for the current provider to rise as a result of the fire at George Washington, but he's hoping that since the insurance industry is still soft that other companies "will show up with pencils and fight for our business."

Cunningham said he'd also like to see the district evaluate the health insurance plans it offers its employees, but wants to make sure that any new options that are explored make sense in the long-run too.

 The board of education will consider all these numbers and recommendations, along with the figures presented at the for instructional items, when working with the administration to craft a proposed budget. This will then be presented on April 12 to voters in West Hempstead, who will have the final say when they go to the polls on May 17. 

*The slight increase was due to a stipend Cunningham received when he served as acting Superintendent in Hogan's absence.

**This is a bidding service the district subscribes to in order to ensure products they purchase are at lowest possible price.