Otselic Valley budget proposes 3.6 percent tax levy increase
SOUTH OTSELIC – The Otselic Valley Board of Education adopted the 2008/2009 budget proposal Monday night, hoping the district will be pleased with the lowest tax levy increase they have been able to offer in the last four years.
The board proposed a budget of $8,837,381 for 2008/2009. That’s an increase over the 2007/2008 budget of $8,178,842; however due to a positive state aid situation, the tax levy increase is the lowest it’s been in years at 3.6 percent.
According to Superintendent Lawrence Thomas, some of the big reasons for the increases were the increasing costs of fuel, other energy costs and benefits. Thomas said the school also saw an increase in the number of students utilizing the career and technical education programs at the Delaware Chenango Madison Otsego BOCES, which also increased costs.
Last year, the Otselic Valley budget was voted down, and the school had to operate on a contingency budget. Although the total amount of the contingency budget was exactly the same as the amount of the proposed budget, some funds could not be allocated in the ways the district initially had planned. In response, this year, the school is trying to make up for that by budgeting funds for additional technology and equipment. “We’re trying to fully recover from the contingency situation that we were in last year,” Thomas explained.
The Reading First program provided the school with additional funds for elementary reading programs in the last few years, but with that program no longer active, the school is hoping to maintain some of the aspects of that program. While the school knows it will not be able to continue the program as it was, they have budgeted funds for a licensed teaching assistant to work with reading programs at the elementary level. The budget also includes increased supply line items to maintain the updated pieces of the reading first program.
High School science teacher Patsy Graham asked the board if the budget contained any major program or staffing cuts.
Thomas said at this point there are no major program cuts and no real staff cuts at this time. He explained that one elementary teacher may be retiring, and because of the loss of funding for the Reading First program, the district is not planning on hiring a new person to fill the position. Instead they will transition a Reading First teacher into a regular class room setting.
The board will present the spending plan at the budget hearing at 7:30 p.m. on May 13 in the Otselic Valley High School cafeteria. The budget vote will take place on May 20 at the Elementary School in Georgetown.
The board proposed a budget of $8,837,381 for 2008/2009. That’s an increase over the 2007/2008 budget of $8,178,842; however due to a positive state aid situation, the tax levy increase is the lowest it’s been in years at 3.6 percent.
According to Superintendent Lawrence Thomas, some of the big reasons for the increases were the increasing costs of fuel, other energy costs and benefits. Thomas said the school also saw an increase in the number of students utilizing the career and technical education programs at the Delaware Chenango Madison Otsego BOCES, which also increased costs.
Last year, the Otselic Valley budget was voted down, and the school had to operate on a contingency budget. Although the total amount of the contingency budget was exactly the same as the amount of the proposed budget, some funds could not be allocated in the ways the district initially had planned. In response, this year, the school is trying to make up for that by budgeting funds for additional technology and equipment. “We’re trying to fully recover from the contingency situation that we were in last year,” Thomas explained.
The Reading First program provided the school with additional funds for elementary reading programs in the last few years, but with that program no longer active, the school is hoping to maintain some of the aspects of that program. While the school knows it will not be able to continue the program as it was, they have budgeted funds for a licensed teaching assistant to work with reading programs at the elementary level. The budget also includes increased supply line items to maintain the updated pieces of the reading first program.
High School science teacher Patsy Graham asked the board if the budget contained any major program or staffing cuts.
Thomas said at this point there are no major program cuts and no real staff cuts at this time. He explained that one elementary teacher may be retiring, and because of the loss of funding for the Reading First program, the district is not planning on hiring a new person to fill the position. Instead they will transition a Reading First teacher into a regular class room setting.
The board will present the spending plan at the budget hearing at 7:30 p.m. on May 13 in the Otselic Valley High School cafeteria. The budget vote will take place on May 20 at the Elementary School in Georgetown.
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