This is the first year in many, that I am publicly not supporting the school budget.
My decision is not guided out of malice for the students or a lack of support for the board or administration – many of whom I admire and hold in the highest regard.
Further, my lack of support for the budget this year does not imply a lack of support for future budgets.
It’s simply an acknowledgment that the school budget presented, in my opinion, does not put investments in our students first, fails to establish a framework to measure incremental investments vs. student achievement and defers tough decisions about the growth in costs.
Especially, this year’s budget is burdened with administration, wages and benefits increases – none of which directly impact our students’ needs and “one-time” investments which, in my opinion, should be funded out of existing reserves vs. in the budgeting process.
Further, if the past is a predictor of the future (and I believe it is) and due to the disarray in the Nassau County tax system, the proposed 3 percent increase in school budget will likely lead to a real tax increase for residents of 6 percent or more for residents. This is almost 3 times the Consumer Price Index and simply not acceptable.
Below I will present some observations that informed my decision.
For perspective, I believe when most people spend money, in general, they expect the highest value for the lowest cost.
At restaurants, hair salons, grocery stores, etc. – regardless of the product or service we consume, we look for value and reward those institutions who provide it.
And when the value proposition changes or we feel we are no longer getting a good value, we tend to limit or stop the activity. In my opinion, this is perfectly logical behavior that has withstood the test of time.
Yet, in general, when it comes to the education of our children, most people largely accept that the value being offered as the best available.
Sure, there are exceptions to this, and many parents are strong advocates for their children – but few ever compare the “cost” of the service to the value of the education they are receiving.
And, further almost none benchmark the performance of their school against the overall cost or incremental investment.
This never made sense to me. After spending over seven years on the EWSD Financial Advisory Committee and hundreds of hours studying the school district and its finances – it still does not.
Observation No. 1. The cost of public education is now higher than private education.
The proposed EWSD Budget is $60 million and has almost doubled since I first moved to the community almost 15 years ago.
For residents, school taxes represent the majority of their total taxes and many residents can trace their increase in property taxes to the growth in the school budget. Without meaningful reform these trends will continue.
The cost per student in the EWSD of $35k is now greater than the average private and religious schools and most public schools on Long Island and New York State.
I can say with confidence that the growth in the school budget has not benefited the students by an equal amount.
For example, we educate fewer students, produce about the same results and our costs are almost double of where they were just a short-time ago. By any measure that is not good fiscal performance and most importunately, the impact on student achievement is unclear.
And despite all of the rhetoric over the past years from special interest groups – the school budget has never been cut and New York State aid is near an all-time high.
When New York State adopted the Property Tax Cap, the rate of growth of the budget began to slow and our school district was a beneficiary of that slower growth. This year, that is not the case.
After stripping out some noise related to “one-time” investments the reality is our costs for salaries, benefits and administration have begun to accelerate again – and the growth is simply not sustainable.
ObservationNo. 2. Higher budgets have no correlation to student achievement.
I repeat, higher budgets have no correlation to student achievement.
The biggest misperception in public education is spending more money leads to better outcomes. In short, it simply does not. Numerous studies have proven this point.
What the studies conclude is that it’s not the level of spending that matters, but rather how those funds are prioritized that influences outcomes.
Historically, I believe the recent Board and Administration have done a good job is setting these priorities – but their effectiveness is now being limited by legacy contracts and mandates, some of which are outside of their control.
Observation No. 3. The growth in salaries and benefits for staff drives the budget.
The school budget can really be viewed in two parts. Salaries and benefits 80 percent and all other 20 percent.
The increase in the School Budget this year of 3 percent is compliant with the tax cap limits, but it’s 50% higher than the average growth over the past five years.
The budget growth is also 50 percent higher than CPI.
Salaries are growing 3 percent year over year, above CPI and benefits are growing 8 percent year over year, 4 times CPI. Administration costs are growing 6 percent, 3 times CPI and 4 times higher than the historical increase.
Simply put, the growth in these budget items is above historical norms and not sustainable.
In addition, one item rarely discussed is the total amount of post-employment healthcare benefits. This future cost for the EWSD is now projected to be $30 million.
The growth in this liability has grown from a few million dollars just a few years ago and today is equal to 50 percent of our total annual budget – a shockingly large number.
Observation No. 4. Tough decisions are needed to rein in the growth of costs.
The ability for the EWSD to continue to be able to support the educational priorities of its students will depend on reining in the growth of wages and benefits. These benefits have continued to grow well in excess of CPI and inflation as taxpayers subsidize the benefits for employees.
The cost of these benefits must be factored into new employee contracts and controlling the growth in these costs needs to become the sole focus of the board going forward.
I believe the greatest challenge for the Board in the near-term is to negotiate further concessions during the current round of contract negotiations.
Observation No. 5. It’s OK to vote no, just as it’s OK to vote yes.
Community input will dictate the future direction of our school district.
Further, I believe discussion can help bridge the dialogue between residents who support the school budget without question and those that oppose it under any circumstance.
I believe more dialogue is needed about putting the needs of students first.
When a budget prioritizes our students’ needs and can show a benefit for incremental investment – it is worthy of support. If it does not, in my opinion, it should not be supported.
Each year the FAC presents information to the community about the EWSD and the proposed budget.
I encourage all residents to review this report and its recommendations. In short, I believe the FAC helps inform the community about aspects of the budget that should be supported and aspects that should not.
Stephan Leccese
East Williston
