Farmingdale School District administrators on March 15 unveiled a draft budget for the 2000-2001 school year which increases spending by 8.26 percent over last year, and includes the addition of 13 new teaching positions.

The proposed plan recommends spending $86,982,470, while the 1999-2000 budget was $80,349,228. Salaries for the new instructional positions, the equivalent of 13 new full-time staff members spread throughout the district, as well as contractual salary increases for all existing employees, represent the lion's share of the increase, according to Gerard W. Dempsey, Jr., superintendent of Farmingdale Schools.

Yet the superintendent noted that the thrust of this year's budget lies in a combination of factors. "Teachers, technology, standards and enrollment growth - all four of those elements are the major focus of this budget," Dempsey said. "There are new teachers. There is new technology. State standards is still a major component of not only the new staff, but also the current staff, because we have in place a lot of specialized programs. And then, there are some additional programs in here that are part of it. And then enrollment growth. The enrollment growth this year is focused at the middle school, so the largest number of new staff - 5 out of the 13 - are at Howitt."

He added, "The technology is a combination still of elementary, middle and high school, a little bit more emphasis on the two secondary schools, in the libraries, in the computer labs, and in individual classrooms."

The budget addresses the new state learning standards, which include new, all-Regents graduation requirements, in several ways. Some of the additional staff positions at the elementary schools and high school, in particular, are for support personnel, such as for reading and English as a Second Language. These, noted Dempsey, are closely linked to getting students primed for the new learning standards, which are being mandated throughout the state. In addition, at the high school, some support labs in English and Social Studies which have been budgeted are directly standards-related. A new afterschool program aimed at giving elementary students extra academic support is also proposed in the draft budget.

As part of the new standards, the current senior class is the first group which has a Regents examination as a graduation requirement, and the number of Regents required increases with each ensuing grade. Members of the senior class must pass the English Regents to receive a diploma, and, according to Dempsey, only two members of the class (excluding special education students) have not yet met that requirement. Current 11th graders must pass both English and Math, while 10th graders must pass English, Math and Social Studies. Current ninth graders will feel the full effect the program, which is gradually being phased in by the state; they must pass English, Math, Social Studies and Science in order to graduate.

Despite efforts to spread the word about public budget meetings through mailings and local newspaper announcements, the district has experienced low turnout at the meetings over the past few years. Administrators hope to have increased participation this year. "My hope is that either through discussion at meetings, anywhere from PTA meetings to board meetings, to those on any other public issue related to the school district over the next several months, that dialogue and discussion about the budget takes place - so that people feel informed," said Dempsey.

The following important dates regarding the 2000-2001 budget remain: Wednesday, March 29 - Budget Workshop; Wednesday, April 5 - Regular Meeting/Budget Workshop; Wednesday, April 12 - Public Input Meeting; Tuesday, April 18 - Special Meeting to Adopt Budget for Voter Approval; Tuesday, May 2 -Budget Available to Public in Schools and in Public Library; Wednesday, May 3 - Regular Meeting of the Board of Education; Saturday, May 6 - Voter Registration in Howitt East Lobby from noon to 9 p.m.; Tuesday, May 9 - Public Hearing as Required by State Legislation. Thursday, May 11 is the last day to register for the budget vote, which will be held Tuesday, May 16 in the Howitt East Gymnasium from 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. All meetings will be held in the A. Terry Weathers Board Room or the Howitt auditorium, at 8 p.m. The district has already held a budget workshop on Wednesday, March 22, in addition to the March 15 meeting.

The district does not yet have an estimate on how next year's budget will impact the tax rate, since a state aid figure has not yet been received, according to Dr. William Fanning, assistant superintendent for business. An estimate is expected at one of the upcoming meetings.