2020-2021 Budget
PLEASE NOTE:
On June 8, Governor Cuomo extended the deadline for mail-in ballots for the budget vote and school board election.
Ballots that are hand-delivered or placed in the ballot box will not be accepted after 5 p.m. on June 9, 2020.
Ballot boxes for absentee ballots will be closed at 5 p.m. on June 9.
Absentee ballots may be accepted by mail only no later than 5 p.m. on June 16, 2020.
Board approves $204.6 million spending plan
Change to the Budget Picture
Due to the impact that COVID-19 has had on the state, the budget situation has changed dramatically.
New York State schools are not receiving any increase in Foundation Aid for 2020-21. That changes the landscape and our planning.
With no increase in Foundation Aid, we have a $4.6 million budget deficit.
Kimberly Lewis, District Director of Business and Finance stressed, "while we can’t ignore it, there is no need to panic." She noted that the district has done a good job building toward financial stability and is well-positioned to handle the challenge.
Among the options in the toolbox that can help close the gap, without creating job or program cuts, are:
• Using reserves
• Increasing the tax levy (We have been committed to decreasing the levy over the last few years.)
• Tightening our spending
• Leveraging the current year budget
• Utilizing other things like Smart Schools
At this time, the tax cap would be 2.6% (the most we can increase levy with a simple majority). This can change. There are many variables that can impact what our tax cap calculation will be.
Timeline
The governor did provide an executive order that delays school board elections and the budget vote until at least June 1.
Other pieces to state aid picture
• Possibility of state aid reduction next year.
• State aid runs show $5.7 million reduction for “pandemic adjustment.” Another line of $5.7 million for federal restoration. Is this the stimulus … keeping our aid flat? We’ve not been able to dive into this yet.
• If there are mid-year reductions in aid - we would have to plan carefully regarding how to handle.
• There are a number of things we are still looking to refine.
Where do we go from here
Now that we have a sense of where we stand in terms of Foundation Aid, we have the pieces for how to build the budget for next year.
More than $12 million worth of budget proposals were submitted for next year. Many good ideas on how we can improve with additional money. Some of these are still really important. Administrators are identifying what is necessary and non-negotiable. In this case of new things to be added, we will need to find something to offset.
Administrators are re-engaged in the process - looking at scenarios. Looking at the items that make up the budget and assessing them. Asking - What things can be removed from the budget?
We need to be cautious as this will be more than a one-year event.
We don’t know what the “new normal” is. We don’t know how much is permanent and how much is temporary. We have to plan for the worst but hope for the best.
State-wide, all things are going to be changing – everyone is looking at things differently.
Dr. Aaron Bochniak pointed out that we all are learning and doing things a little differently. We are making connections with kids in ways we’ve not done before. He stressed, however, that nothing can replace the interaction between teacher and student.
Times Union: Hard Choices for 2 Schenectady County School Districts, April 16 2020
BUDGET PRESENTATIONS
BUDGET PRESENTATIONS FACILITIES, CENTRAL STORES and CENTRAL PRINTING (FEBRUARY 05 2020)
REVENUE and the PROJECTED GAP (JANUARY 22 2020)
The Governor's education proposal would result in a $2.5 million increase in Foundation Aid, the district's primary source of revenue. When applying this to the projected gap of $6.2 million, the adjusted projected gap is $3.7 million.
ROLLOVER BUDGET (JANUARY 08 2020)
Rollover budget is our starting point assuming no changes to programming, Foundation Aid, tax levy or use of fund balance.
The projected gap is $6.2 million. This is preliminary based on the information that we currently have. This will become more precise as we move through budget development
FOOD SERVICE PRESENTATION (JANUARY 08 2020)