The following article, written by Crispin Kott, is reprinted from The Saugerties Times, 04-17-08  How Low Can You Go? by Crispin Kott   To reduce budget, BOE suggests staff retirement, program cuts Dissatisfied with what they considered a tax levy increase that was higher than area homeowners could afford, trustees of the Saugerties Central School District's Board of Education asked school officials to consider further cuts to a proposed spending plan for the 2008-09 school year. Presented with a pair of budget options that would have seen the local tax levy increase by either 7 percent or 6.32 percent, trustees on Tuesday night (April 15) failed to adopt a spending plan, charging superintendent Richard Rhau and his cabinet with the task of reducing the jump by as much as three percent. The matter took on some urgency, with the public heading to the polls on Tuesday, May 20. "I'm looking for an increase considerably lower than what was proposed," said school board president Donald Tucker. Rhau contended that most of the increases in the budget were mandated and/or cyclical, and warned trustees that cuts now might reduce the tax levy in the short run but lead to reduced state aid and other costs in the future.   You've had a good run Trustees focused on budget run #4, with a 6.32 percent tax levy increase they said was much too high in a community faced with increases in fuel and food costs. Budget run #4's tax levy increase was lower than the 7 percent in budget run #3 as a result of retiree breakage, or the difference between the salary of a long-time employee coming off the books and the cost of hiring a new employee to replace them. Retiree breakage on the 2008-09 budget would total $175,690, including $136,690 for the retirement of two elementary school teachers and two special education teachers. Also included in the total is $39,000 breakage in the retirement of a custodian. Budget run #4's total expenditures came in at $52,583,535, an increase of $2,801,105 or 5.63 percent over the current school year's spending plan. Trustee James Steinhilber said he would like to see further retirement incentives utilized in an effort to compel eligible teachers to add to the breakage, but Rhau said it was something that would have to be negotiated with the Saugerties Teachers Association and wouldn't likely have any effect on the 2008-09 budget. "I'm not saying it's not a good idea," Rhau said. "It could be a possible thing for the next budget." Trustees asked Rhau to look into the impact of cutting some budget items, such as summer school and driver's education. According to the district's business administrator Joseph Dziadik, summer school for grades 7-9 costs $56,025. Included in that total is $34,500 in teacher salaries, $14,025 in transportation, $5,000 in principal costs and $2,500 in supplies. Rhau stressed that the cost of not running summer school could be felt elsewhere, as school districts receive some federal funding based on the percentage of students who graduate within a four-year period. Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Nuciforo added that eliminating summer school could impact the district in other ways as well, including increasing sections or class sizes. According to Nuciforo, 29 seventh graders successfully completed summer school last year, eliminating the need for the addition of one and a half sections during the regular school schedule. Eliminating summer school in Saugerties schools would not eliminate the need to send those students elsewhere, most specifically to a BOCES-sponsored program expected to be held at Kingston High School. In addition to transportation and program costs, Nuciforo said the county-wide summer school program is geared toward general education rather than concentrating on each school's programmatic focus. According to Dziadik, driver's education costs $109,838, including salaries and other associated expenses.   Budget is already spare Rhau said he understood that the tax levy increase was higher than in recent years, but that it was important to look at the average jumps over a few years rather than an individual year's increase. The current year's budget came with a tax levy increase of 1.92 percent, with a 3.16 increase in 2006-07 and a 3.26 increase in 2005-06. Rhau added that, with contracted and mandated obligations, there were few places where reasonable cuts could be made. In order to drop the tax levy increase one percent, around $250,000 would have to be cut from the budget, meaning eliminating summer school and driver's education would still come with around a 5.50 percent tax levy increase. "This budget is basically a maintenance budget," Rhau said. "It allows us to continue to do what we have been doing within the constraints that we have." Rhau added that the district is still spending far less than most per pupil in Ulster County. In 2007-08, per pupil costs in Saugerties were $15,229, with a per pupil tax levy cost of $7,986. In Ulster County, the average per pupil cost in 2007-08 was $19,933, with a $12,266 per pupil tax levy cost. Budget run #4 for the 2008-09 school year would have still seen Saugerties come out on the low end of the spectrum in the county, said Rhau, with an average per pupil cost of $16,628 and an average per pupil tax levy cost of $8,720. Dziadik went over some of the line items that increased in the proposed spending plan from the current year's budget. Most of them are contracted, and can not be cut. Salaries in the district will rise $1,845,515, or 7.52 percent in the new spending plan, with employee benefits rising 3.33 percent, or $371,995. Also impacting the spending plan is the addition of capital debt on the ongoing facilities improvement project, adding $335,395, an increase of 12.35 percent. Adding to the budget constraints is the modest increase in state aid announced last week. Saugerties will receive an increase over last year of $464,085. "It was nice to get that additional aid," Rhau said. "Maybe not as much as I would have liked to receive, but it was still substantial." Trustees unanimously supported seeking further cuts from the administration in an effort to bring the tax levy increase down further than 6.32 percent before presenting the budget to the public. "We're at some hard times right now," said school board vice-president George Heidcamp. "I just can't in good faith support a 6.32 tax levy." Trustee Michael Brennan agreed. "It has to be lower than five percent in my opinion," Brennan said, adding that he wasn't sure how the administration would make it happen. "I'm sure the numbers are as tight as they can get." Rhau cautioned against making too many cuts. "The impact of this may not be felt this year, but it may be felt down the road," Rhau said. "It's going to affect the kids down the road and it's going to affect the community down the road." The Board of Education is expected to reconvene on Tuesday, April 22 for more budget discussion.   Crispin Kott