SCOTIA-GLENVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESENTS BUDGET

Posted on: 04/01/09

Jennifer Farnsworth, Contributing Writer
email: news@spotlightnews.com

Following the overwhelming defeat of a $26.76 million building project in December, the Scotia-Glenville Board of Education has put together a two-part building proposition to be voted on alongside the district’s $46.65 million budget in May.

The scaled-back building proposition will include an upgrade to the district’s technology server capabilities and infrastructure at all six schools. It would also pay for replacing the public address clocks at all schools, reconstructing the roofs at four schools, upgrades to the heating system, track improvements, as well as several other energy upgrades.

Board members said the improvements in the proposal are necessities and not just cosmetic.

Board president Margaret Smith said she wants voters to know that the project, which will come in at under $12 million, addresses priorities for the district. She said the board felt addressing the track was an absolute this year because it has been a problem ignored for too long, and it affects not just the track team but close to 125 physical education students per day. She said the track is also something the entire community uses.

“We want to fix the track not just for our students but for all of those in the community who depend on it and use it. We also want our taxpayers to know that we based our building proposal on exit surveys, public opinions, necessity and how we could best utilize the EXCEL funding,” said Smith.

Smith also said that the board has always known that the EXCEL funding could be taken away from the state at any time.

“Just letting that money come and go would be a disservice to our district. We have real maintenance issue that it will allow us to address,” said Smith.

The district replaced Glendaal’s roof last summer and is now hoping to replace the rear canopy as well as the entrance road at Glen-Worden. Other improvements will include the chimney at Lincoln, bleachers in the middle school gym, as well as renovations to the front walk of the high school.

The board has been focused at keeping building project’s tax impact at or close to zero. The first part of the project, at $9.3 million, would cover roof repairs, track repairs, technology infrastructure replacement and high school library heating system upgrades. The second part, at $2.57 million, would reconstruct the Middle School open library by adding walls, ventilation and expansion of floor space. The cost would be covered by state aid, special EXCEL funding, declining debt costs and other sources of revenue.

According to Communications Director for the District Bob Hanlon, the first proposal must be passed in order for the second to be successful. He said second proposal standing alone would not generate enough aid to offset the construction costs and by including projects like new roofs, the second project will be eligible for more state aid.

The Board of Education adopted a final budget of $46,651,381, representing a 1.7 percent or $794,249 spending increase from the current budget of $45,857,132.

Changes made to the initial proposed budget included adding back $12,000 to send one more student to the Tech Valley High School. Some residents spoke at previous meetings in favor of preserving the tuition for a student who was already told he was picked to go to Tech Valley in the fall.
District official said they expect that taxpayers will see a zero percent increase in their school tax bills after the state budget is approved and factored in to Scotia’s Glenville’s proposed budget. If no additional aid was approved by the state, the worst-case scenario for taxpayers will be an increase of about 2.97 percent.

Superintendent Swartz kept the proposal to have Young Scholars taught in-house, despite many parents asking to keep it outsourced through BOCES. Swartz said she is confident that the program will continue to prosper with a Scotia-Glenville staff that is trained in teaching gifted students.

“I understand parents’ concerns, but we as a district are dedicated to addressing the needs of all of our students. This is something that we feel we are equipped to handle as a district,” said Swartz.

Young Scholars for grades four and five will add a math and science component in house at a savings of $25,000. The humanities component for those grades will continue to be taught through the Warren-Washington BOCES.

The budget proposal also includes not replacing reciting Director of Instruction and Curriculum Joe Kavanaugh until November. Kavanaugh will be retiring form the district in June.

A public hearing on the budget will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, at the middle school. It will be followed by the PTA Council’s Meet the Board of Education candidates’ forum.