BOE Meeting: Budget Set at 1.94 Percent Increase

On a night when the Sachem Central School District celebrated its 55th anniversary, the board of education voted unanimously on the budget line of a 1.94 percent increase Wednesday evening at Samoset Middle School.

The district was officially centralized with a vote of 707-26 in 1955 and the community hasn't looked back. Fittingly, on the historic night, the board of education and school district administrators hammered out the final details of the budget in one of the most trying years financially that New York and Long Island has ever witnessed.

The school budget for 2010-2011 will be $280,711,665 and the contingency plan is set at $276,124,265. The community can vote May 18.

"We're not going to lose any people, which is important for the economy of Sachem and on Long Island," said board president Anthony Falco, who is running for reelection in May. "I'm not happy, but I feel good about the fact that we're coming in under two percent. Let's hope the community supports us and backs us."

Added board member Jim LaCarrubba, "if we can get more money [from the state], we'll try and bring that number down as much as possible when we set the tax rate in September."

One of the key questions in the budget process has been whether or not to drop JV9 sports teams at the high schools. Superintendent James Nolan said most local school districts are having similar problems, therefore Section XI has not begun to schedule games for those teams. The JV9, JV2 and middle school athletics will cost the district $1,067,850 million in 2010-11.

In response to the news about Suffolk County buying the IRS building in Holtsville, the board spoke of sending a letter to the county government to share their thoughts on what losing $220,000 a year would do the school district. LaCarrubba said he will lead the charge in drafting the letter.

"We'll let Mr. Levy know where his roots are," Falco said.

Key budget info

-On the latest and final budget draft, the district is cutting $421,852 in staff development positions, including two literacy coaches, money for a teacher summer academy, mapping incentive coordinators and five curriculum principal aide stipends.

-The district is saving $251,824 in minimal reductions relating to COAT testing ($129,596), Terra Nova testing ($38,784) and one OSS assistant coordinator ($129,596).

-The district has saved $1,456,000 in student impacted reductions: 10 positions are not being replaced, saving $1.1 million; $156,000 is being saved from AP test reductions and $200,000 from BOCES technology.

-Two capital projects are figured into the budget - and require a vote on May 18 ... the track at Sachem High School North ($700,000) and the bleachers at Samoset Middle School ($177,000).

-The board said it would discuss contingency reductions in-depth if needed. There was a list of potential reduction items given out at Wednesday's meeting, including co-curricular activities ($766,304) and capital projects ($877,000)

Notable action items

-The board approved a $70 million tax anticipation note, "in anticipation of the receipt of taxes to be levied for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011."

-The board approved the Ronkonkoma Fire Department to install one repeater at the Wenonah Elementary School tower and one at the district office tower to improve their communication system.

-The board approved that the middle schools participate in the Cornell Life Skills Training Drug Abuse Prevention Project. 

Next up

The next board meeting will be Wednesday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m.. This will be a public hearing for the budget.