The Herricks Board of Education voted unanimously last Thursday to approve a district budget of $104.40 million for the 2013-14 school year that calls for the elimination of 16 teaching positions.
The budget, which represents a 2.98 percent increase over the current $101.27 million budget, calls for a 3.16 percent over the current tax levy to $89.43 million,
Herricks Assistant Superintendent of Business Helen Costigan said the increase fell within the state-mandated tax cap.
“I think overall we appreciated everybody’s input to the budget process. We tried to make it as fair as possible for everybody,” board Trustee Brian Hassan said after board members restored $478,968 in programs that district administrators recommended be cut.
Costigan said the 2013-14 budget includes $60.3 million for instructional services, which includes teacher salaries, $10.75 million for general support services; $3.35 million for student transportation services; $506,197 for community services and $29.47 million for undistributed expenses, including debt service, and health insurance and employee pension costs.
The budget items restored by the board include approximately $170,000 for the mathematics coordinator, $132,000 for a Gemini teacher and program supplies, $125,000 for one elementary school teacher, $18,698 for the school clubs, approximately $10,000 for the high school fall drama and $10,000 for a Philadelphia day trip for seventh graders replacing an annual Boston trip.
Board members had reached a consensus on restoring those items at the previous board meeting.
At Thursday’s meeting, board members also restored $13,000 to intramural sports in grades K through 12, with the funds to be divided equally between secondary and elementary school programs. The intramural program, which already had been reduced, was to be eliminated entirely as part of $152,977 in cuts to district sports programs the board planned to make.
“I think it’s important for all the kids to have this activity in their lives,” Herricks PTA activist Judy Olsen said prior to the board’s vote.
Olsen said 60 to 70 students participate in intramurals at each of the district’s three elementary schools, with 50 to 60 students participating at the middle school and 30 to 40 students in the program at the high school.
Board Vice President Jim Gounaris suggested taking $2,000 from the $20,698 that was to be restored to the school clubs districtwide for the intramural program.
High school students had made an appeal to save the fall play at a recent school board meeting. Grade school students had lobbied to class trips. Parents of Gemini students had repeatedly called for the program to be saved at previous meetings.
The board voted unanimously to return the $350,000 tax certiorari fund reserve to the general fund so they could be used for 2013-14 budget expenses.
Costigan said a balance of $121,132 would remain from that money in the general fund in the wake of the restored budget expenses.
The New York State Appellate Division Court recently overturned a Supreme Court ruling which would have passed a portion of Nassau County’s property tax settlements onto local municipalities, including school districts. The appellate court ruled the county could not abandon the county guarantee to make up shortfalls in property taxes.
Herricks Superintendent of Schools John Bierwirth said school district attorney Lawrence Tenenbaum said the board’s action in putting the tax appeal funds in the general was “reasonable.” He said he thinks the anticipated $250,000 increase in state aid is “relatively safe.”
Board Trustee Nancy Feinstein expressed reservations about restoring the intramurals, saying she preferred maintaining funds to restore a second elementary school teaching position.
“I think the real value would be not having a class of 30 on the elementary level,” she said.
“It’s going to be arbitrary whatever number you decide,” said board Trustee Dr. Sanjay Jain. “I don’t think it will ever be fair to everybody because somebody’s going to feel they’ve been cut unfairly.”
The Herricks School District currently has 3,900 students enrolled with and spends $22,241 per student.
In other developments:
• The Herricks School District raised $21,479 at its annual dinner-dance last week. The funds will be used for college scholarships for Herricks High School graduates in the class of 2013.
• Board President Christine Turner sharply criticized a headline in the Williston Times that said, “Turner slams teachers’ inflexibility.” The story reported on a statement she read at the March 7 school board meeting when she said Herricks Teachers Association negotiators had turned down three offers from the school board during last year’s talks to amend the district teachers contract. She said the story was accurate, but the headline was not.
“I’m finding it a little offensive that the whole community is getting a bad rap,” she said. “I find it disheartening that we’re expanding on the negative feeling because we have a difference of opinion. Are we becoming the Williston Times or the Williston Inquirer? Personally, I don’t appreciate it.”
