SOUTH OTSELIC – Administrators at Otselic Valley have put together preliminary budget figures and if state aid remains where it currently is, the district could face a 15 percent tax levy increase for the 2009/2010 school year.

“We took an early look at what the budget might work out to be next year,” said Business Manager George Lott. He explained that planning for just the basic increases in salaries, contractual costs, retirement and health and dental, the school is looking at a 4.62 percent budget increase, taking the budget total from $8,837,381 for the 2008/2009 school year to approximately $9.2 million for 2009/2010.

“Those are just the modicum increases. The costs that we know are there,” said Superintendent Larry Thomas. “Just to make the budget run, we’re talking about raising $408,000.”

Thomas explained that according to Governor David Paterson’s current executive proposal, the school is looking at a 0 percent increase in operational aid. “We need $408,000 to plug in to what we’ve got now,” Thomas said. “We need the stimulus package.”

While the district is hoping to see some relief from the stimulus package, they have no idea how much money they may receive or how it will be applied, and they are not relying on it for this year’s budget.