Letter: Re: 2011-2012 School Budget

Friday, 13 May 2011 00:00

(Editor’s Note: This letter was sent to the Manhasset Board of Education, Manhasset Public School District and to the Manhasset Press for publication.)

The Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance (CACF) supports the adopted Manhasset School District Budget of $85,592,098 for the year 2011-2012. The budget represents an increase of $2,079,421 (or 2.49 percent) over the prior year.  The largest factors in the increased expenses is a $1,340,620 increase in mandated pension contributions to the New York State Retirement System and a $940,530 increase in healthcare contributions, which by themselves would have increased the year-over-year budget by $2,281,150.  The net impact of all other budget line-items was a reduction of $201,729.

The reduction in expenses exclusive of the retirement and healthcare expenses was made possible by the elimination of the Assistant to the Superintendent position and nearly 12 full-time equivalent positions.  These steps were made while retaining all core academic, co-curricular and athletic programs with a limited impact on some elective programs at the secondary school.

The adopted budget increase in expenses is expected to be paid for primarily by a $2,065,151 (or 2.79 percent) increase in the property tax levy.

The CACF, which is comprised of residents of Manhasset selected by the board of education, is responsible for advising the board on financial matters, specifically on the annual school budget.  As in previous years, we note with appreciation the transparency of the budget process, the wealth of financial information made available by the administration and the administration’s responsiveness to CACF inquiries. In this year’s letter, we would like to address some general questions that have been raised in the community.

How does Manhasset’s school tax compare to other districts? Manhasset has the lowest school tax rate of the 62 public school districts in Nassau County as of the 2009-2010 school year, which is the most recent, comparative data available.

How does Manhasset’s expense per pupil compare to other districts? For the 2009-2010 school year, Manhasset ranked 13th among Nassau County’s public school districts, spending $26,130 per pupil.  Over the last 4 years (2008-2009 to 2011-2012), spending per pupil has increased a total of .86 percent.

What has happened to State Aid? In the proposed budget, State Aid was decreased $127,787 to $3,532,424 (or 4.1 percent of the total budget).  Over the past two years, total State Aid has decreased by $803,169.  There has been a long-term decline in the district’s ability to rely on State Aid. In 1990-1991, State Aid accounted for 10.6 of the total budget, and at 4.1 percent, this year will have the lowest level of State Aid support on a percentage basis of any year since at least 1990/91.

Is the General Fund Balance too high, or too low? At the end of the 2009/2010 school year, the General Fund Balance was 15.9 percent of the budget, which ranked 24th out of 43 public school districts in Nassau County surveyed by Nassau BOCES.  Over the previous 8 years (since 2002-2003), the General Fund Balance averaged 15.3 percent of the budget. Because of the use of the General Fund Balance over the past two years to pay for renovation projects and reduce tax levy increases, the district projects that the General Fund Balance will fall to 10 percent of the budget as of June 30, 2011.

The CACF recommends to the board of education that it adopt a policy regarding a target for the minimum level of the General Fund Balance as a percentage of the budget.

John H. Haberkern, Chairperson

Vlassi Baktidy

Merilyn Donnelly

Michael Gaffney

Edward Garofolo

Daphne Hildebolt

Greg Johnston

Dorothy Price Hill