Local schools to adopt budgets

Officials react to state aid after budget passes

ALBANY, N.Y. >> School officials breathed a sigh of relief over the weekend as the state Legislature wrapped up work on a new state budget a week late, giving them the final school aid numbers they need to complete their own upcoming budgets.

The $153 million state budget for 2017-18 approved by the state Senate and Assembly over the weekend includes a $1.1 billion increase in total education aid, to $25.8 billion. Almost as importantly for school officials, they now have definitive numbers with which to finish compiling their own budgets before the April 21 deadline for school

boards to adopt the spending plans and the April 24 date by which property tax levy data must be provided to the state in preparation for public votes on May 16.

Troy City School District Superintendent John Carmello said Monday his district is in line to receive about a projected $1.2 million increase in aid over the 2016-17 state spending plan, about $600,000 more than was originally proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Carmello said that reduced the hole the district had to fill in its 2017-18 budget to about $1.3 million.

“Some things came out the way we wanted, some didn’t,” he said. “I think we can close the remaining deficit with non-staff and non-program cuts.”

Carmello said the new numbers will be incorporated into a third and final budget draft, which will be submitted to the school board during a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Troy Middle School.

Districts throughout the region saw a wide range in their final numbers. While the Burnt Hills-Ballston lake Central School District saw its aid increase by more than 8.6 percent and the Berlin Central School District saw an increase of nearly 7.5 percent, the Lansingburgh and East Greenbush school districts each saw their total aid cut by about 1.1 percent.

Assemblyman John McDonald III, D-Cohoes, said in a weekend email to constituents that the 4 percent overall aid increase reaffirms the Assembly majority’s “unrelenting commitment to putting every student on their path to success.”

“There is no better investment in our children than in education,” he continued. “By giving our schools the funding and resources they need, we can protect vital education programs and help our kids learn, grow and get ahead.”

Across the Hudson River, the Watervliet City School District will receive more state aid than had been originally projected, with an overall increase of nearly $590,000, about $180,000 more than had been proposed in January’s executive budget. District Superintendent Lori Caplan said the increase will allow the district to maintain current programs and services, while providing a few additional teachers to support struggling learners and special education students.

“We are reinstating some programs, like modified sports, that had been eliminated in recent years to reduce costs,” Caplan said in an emailed statement. “As a district, we are slowly trying to rebuild programs and provide the opportunities that our students need and deserve.”

That district’s Board of Education is set to adopt its proposed 2017-18 school budget during its Wednesday night meeting. The most recent proposal included a spending increase of about 2 percent, including restoration of the modified sports program and additional teachers, but officials said they did not plan to ask for a tax increase that rose above the state-mandated cap of 1.3 percent.

New York State Senator Kathy Marchione (R,C,I,Reform-Halfmoon) said putting students first and supporting our schools will help ensure that every child receives a first-class education.

“We also rejected a proposal to eliminate the Foundation Aid phase-in and secured an additional $272 million in Foundation Aid, bringing the year-to-year increase to $700 million, and total funding to $17.2 billion, ensuring that every school district will see an increase in this funding of at least 2.74 percent,” said Marchione. “These are important victories for even better schools.”

Saratoga Springs School District’s assistant superintendent for business Tim Hilker said the district was anticipating a one-percent, or $210,000 increase, in foundation aid.

“And what we received was an overall increase of $285,000, so it was just slightly better than what was anticipated based on what we were hearing out of the state budget talks,” said Hilker.

Tuesday night the Saratoga Springs School District hopes to adopt the final budget for 2017-2018.

Shenendehowa received about $296,045 more than expected in Foundation Aid.

“We are pleased that we have a budget passage prior to our adoption of a school budget. We know have greater certainty and Cbs more effectively plan,” said Shenendehowa’s superintendent Dr. L. Oliver Robinson. “The additional state aid will be used to offset the tax levy impact. Shen was already below the tax cap limit and this makes it even more so.”

Like Shenendehowa, Ballston Spa Central School District received an increase in Foundation Aid. Initially Ballston Spa expected a $259,669 increase but instead received a $496,263 increase.

“We were happy to see the increase in Foundation Aid,” said superintendent Dr. Joseph P. Dragon. “We are moving forward with our proposed budget.”