Genesee County school district officials are contending with reductions in state aid – some that may occur due to the economic situation created by COVID-19 – and increased expenditures as they work to balance their budgets for 2020-21.
Toward that end, The Batavian reached out to superintendents of the seven districts, asking them to respond to three questions:
- Is your district facing a deficit for the 2020-21 school year and, if so, how much?
- Is the school board intending to seek a property tax increase?
- Is the school board considering asking teachers/administrators to take a pay cut or a pay freeze?
(Note: On April 21st, The Batavian was the first to report the situation facing the Batavia City School District).
Here are the responses from the seven superintendents::
Catherine Huber, Alexander
We are not. We are certainly impacted by the anticipated budget cuts but we are able to manage our budget through the strategic use of reserves and other adjustments.
Our budget to budget (from 2019-20 to 2020-21) increase is 1.7 percent due to contractual and other required increases. We are going out with a zero percent tax increase.
We do not anticipate cutting positions, although our business official, our administrative unit and I will take salary freezes for 2020-21.
Mickey Edwards, Byron-Bergen:
Byron-Bergen will face a deficit, but the amount is unknown at this time.
An increase is a possibility, but that won't be determined until our first Board meeting in May.
This has not been discussed with our Teacher's Association.
Ned Dale, Elba:
Yes, the district is facing a shortfall. The exact amount is unknown based on the three lookback periods that the state will assess their own revenue and then determine how much each district will lose. I have estimated for the Board that it could be $300,000 or more for our approximately $10 million budget.
In March, we initially adopted a budget with a 2 percent tax increase. In April, we rescinded the budget proposition. We are looking to reduce that tax increase based on the loss of revenues and impact on our community from this pandemic.
The Elba Faculty Association and Board of Education are currently working collaboratively on a new agreement for next year. The EFA has been responsive and understands the financial impact that the district is under based on the loss of state aid. Their efforts are appreciated and will allow us to preserve some positions.
Merritt Holly, Le Roy:
We are waiting for the "first lookback" coming from Governor Cuomo and the State at the end of April. Our understanding is that picture should be clearer by May 4th and we will wait to see what those implications are for Le Roy CSD.
Furthermore, we are following the conversation if any additional federal funding is coming back to New York State and then to schools.
John Fisgus, Oakfield-Alabama:
The Oakfield-Alabama Central School District is closely monitoring the Governor's Executive Orders and announcements with respect to the ever-changing financial positions under the COVID-19 hardships that New York State is enduring.
At this time, our District is facing a roughly $200,000 budget shortfall with the current State Aid run calculations.
We are experiencing some cuts in equipment, supplies, and operational costs that are manageable at this point. We are projecting a zero percent property tax increase and we do not foresee any wage freeze propositions.
Unfortunately, it is anticipated that additional cuts in State Aid are imminent. Any further lack of educational funding could be detrimental to our District. We will adjust our budget accordingly if this is the case.
Kenneth Ellison, Pavilion:
Yes, we will face a deficit; amount is unknown at this time.
To be determined at our first meeting in May. A (property tax) increase is unlikely due to the economic situation.
This (wage cut/freeze) has not been discussed.
Matthew Calderon, Pembroke:
Based on the most recent state aid information we received, Pembroke is facing a deficit of $1.1 million, and that does not include additional state aid cuts that the Governor can enact each quarter moving forward.
The $1.1 million deficit assumes a zero percent tax levy increase.
I am not recommending a pay cut or a pay freeze for any employee group, and the Board has not made that request.
My recommendations to the Board include four (4) Levels of cost saving measures:
Level 1 includes cutting at least half of the requests made to purchase additional supplies and equipment.
Level 2 includes cost savings due to attrition (for instance, we will not replace half of the teachers who already gave notice they are retiring).
Level 3 includes using the Employee Benefit Accrued Liability Reserve (EBALR) to develop a retirement incentive for additional teachers and support staff members to consider. If our deficit remains at the $1.1 million, these three levels of cost saving measures will get us very close to closing that gap. However, if the Governor enacts additional cuts, then we may need to consider.
Level 4 measures, which unfortunately would include personnel cuts. Unfortunately, as a small rural school district in Genesee County, we already offer a relative lean educational program compared to the suburban schools in Erie and Monroe counties, and we can only cut positions so far before it has a significant negative effect on the quality of education we provide.
The Governor recently referenced an additional state aid cut up to 20 percent and an additional 20 percent cut in our state aid would be $1.8 million for Pembroke. If that happened, the number of personnel cuts required to close that gap would put us well below the level to enable us to provide a "sound basic education," which is a right afforded to all students in the New York State Constitution.
