Last year, the proposed Mineola School District budget for the 2003-2004 school year failed twice, causing the board of education to adopt a contingency budget. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lorenzo Licopoli still believes that proposed budget was a fiscally responsible one, although the public did not support it. This year, the district feels it did even more cost cutting to put forth a fiscally responsible and sound budget.

On Thursday, the board adopted a budget for the 2004-2005 school year that will be put before voters on May 18. The proposed budget called for $64,970,912 in expenditures, a 4.28 percent increase over the 2003-2004 contingency budget of $62,301,459.

Of the proposed $64,970,912 in expenditures, $59,570,941 will be raised by taxpayer dollars, an increase of 4.67 percent over the contingency budget of 2003-2004.

The district had originally proposed a budget of $65,405,643 at the March 18 board of education meeting, but the district was able to cut $434,731 to get the proposed budget down to $64,970,912. The district is saving money by the reduction of an elementary guidance position, filling the director of guidance at the high school position internally and cutting three substitute teacher positions.

The district also anticipates saving money by bringing more special education students back into the district. The district's committee on special education recommends that educational services for 16 special education students that are currently in alternative placement can be serviced in the district in 2004-2005.

In order to service those students, the district will need a new special class at the Willis Avenue School as well as maintain a class at the Meadow Drive School. The district will also need another speech teacher, school psychologist, special education teacher and five full-time equivalent teacher aides, although three of the five will be transferred from other assignments in the district.

The salary and benefits from the professional staff and the two full-time aides will be $327,525. However, by bringing the 16 students back in the district so that the students can be as close as possible to home, the district will save $500,000 in tuition expenses for a net savings of $172,475 in the 2004-2005 budget.

Dr. Licopoli said the district has done its homework in terms of trying to save money while maintaining the current educational program. If the budget were to fail and the district were to go on a contingency budget, the district would need to cut another $1.2 million and would look at non-mandated items in the budget.

The district is anticipating a tax increase of $157 per year for those with no exemption, $115 for those with Basic STAR and $86 for those with Enhanced STAR.

However, those estimates can change. As of April 2, the state has yet to pass a budget so the district can only estimate what it may be receiving in state aid. Also, if the assessed valuation of the community were to decrease, the taxes would increase. Although the assessed valuation came out on April 1, the district hasn't calculated the new estimates on the tax increase. Also, the adjusted based proportion, which comes out on May 1, could mean more of a tax increase for residents if there is more of a shift in the tax burden toward residential properties. For the 2003-2004 budget, residential homes paid 45 percent of the tax levy, commercial properties paid 43 percent while condos/co-ops paid 9 percent and utilities paid 3 percent.

Dr. Licopoli and Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations John Jackson said the Mineola budget increase is one of the lowest in the county if not the lowest and hope, along with the rest of the district, that the budget will get a different result this year so that the district doesn't get into a trend of adopting contingency budgets.