District continues work on budget
Latest proposal still has $1.1 million gap
TROY, N.Y. » Troy City School District Superintendent John Carmello recently presented the second draft of the proposed 2018-19 budget to the Board of Education.
The proposal currently includes a budget gap of $1.1 million.
As of March 21, the proposed budget was cut from about $113.1 million to about $112 million.
During Carmello’s February budget presentation, the district was then looking at a budget gap of about $2.3 million.
However, during the presentation of the second draft last week, Carmello noted that the district was able to cut that gap down by more than 50 percent.
Some of those budget changes included 10 teacher retirement breakage/ attrition, changing por- tion of laborers salary and benefits to the cafeteria fund, teachers supplies being reduced to $100 per teacher, and the prescription rate increase being reduced by 4.5 percent from the first draft.
“We need to develop a budget that is fiscally responsible and educationally sound,” Carmello said in his draft two presentation on March 21. “This is proving to be much more difficult this year than in the recent past, especially the educationally sound piece.”
The final tax levy cap for the district is 1.88 percent, a slight change from Draft 1. However, district officials also noted that this will only generate $682,334 in additional revenue.
The state’s tax cap limits the amount a school district can increase its tax levy — which is the amount of money it collects from property taxpayers in the district — each school year. The specific tax cap rate for each district varies based on a state formula.
School districts generally try to keep their tax levy increases within the tax cap. A supermajority of voters — at least 60 percent — need to approve a district’s budget proposal if it exceeds the
tax cap.
Carmello warned that it will be difficult to go below the tax cap this year, given State Aid projections are far less than what the District needs to maintain programs and staff.
Carmello mentioned some recent past years tax cap with the district seeing a zero percent increase in the 2016-17 budget and a 0.45 percent increase in the current school year budget.
“This is mainly due to our PILOTs and Capital Exclusion,” explained Carmello last week. “This will only generate $682,334 of additional revenue.”
As of the March budget presentation, the district was eying a total state aid increase, without expense-driven aid, of $774,399.
“We are still over $13 million underfunded in Foundation Aid,” explained Car---
mello during his recent presentation.
Carmello also noted last week that officials will continue to review and analyze the proposed budget further and that the cabinet will continue to meet and discuss the proposed budget with the school board and school administrators. Carmello also said that the district is still currently in “a holding pattern” and are waiting on final State Aid numbers.
District officials said the next steps will include another presentation by Carmello on April 11, when he will present Draft 3 of the budget. Then the Board of Education will vote on the proposed budget possibly on April 17, with a budget public hearing then scheduled for May 2. Residents will vote on the budget May 15.