Fifty-five point three percent of the proposed 2019-20 school year budget for the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School district directly pertains to student instruction. The remaining 44.7 percent is for things like debt, buildings and grounds, transportation and support services (the Board of Education, central office staff, etc).
That information was part of Assistant Superintendent of Business Denise Cedeira’s presentation to the Board of Education on March 14.
Of that 55.3 percent, 36.9 is labeled as ‘instruction’ and 18.4 is labeled as ‘special education’. Instruction costs are expected to be $11,888,574 in the year ahead, while special education costs are expected to be $5,925,023.
Pertaining to special education, the increase over 2018-19 is $285,796. That’s adding a teacher ($48,905), adding more services such as physical therapy and speech therapy ($21,500), and increased out of district tuition ($266,695). Cedeira has also increased the ’emergency line’ in that budget by $110,000 as the district expects a student coming in who will need out-of-district placement.
The budget as Cedeira presented it last week was up $263,285 from the week prior. Those increases came from the $110,000 special education emergency line, $140,000 in expected out-of-district tuitions. $35,000 for another computer technician for the district (although by hiring an in-house person, the district will spend $20,000 less with BOCES, who provided a one-day-a-week person in the current school year), a $2500 stipend for a deputy district clerk, and some increases in retirement and Social Security costs.
That brings the proposed budget to $32,230,441, up from $30,606,772 in the current school year.
But again, Cedeira reminded the board, the numbers will continue to change as the district awaits final state aid and tuition figures, local assessment data and Impact aid information. The proposed budget, as presented, is still within the district’s mandated tax cap.
In the overall budget, several of the most significant drivers in the year ahead are salary increases totalling $700,953; operations and maintenance increases of $73,934; security costs of $165,000 (armed sheriffs deputies in each building); $82,400 in instructional increases; $236,891 in special education increases; $41,154 in new computer assisted instruction; $167,971 in increased transportation costs (much of which is new out-of-district placements for special education students); $36,339 in increased retirement costs; $66,778 in increased Social Security costs; and $99,913 in health insurance costs.
Cedeira did present the board with several non-instruction items that could be cut if needed. Reducing all of these items would save $185,493, she said. They are: not getting a forensic audit ($20,000), a new vehicle for Buildings and Grounds ($42,000), the computer technician ($15,000 and benefits of $4530), a groundsman/custodian ($46,765 and benefits of $10,591) and a new clerical position ($38,000 with benefits of $8607).
The board meets next on Thursday, March 28 for a regular business meeting and budget work. The public hearing on the budget is May 9, and the vote is on May 21.
All of Cedeira’s budget presentations are on the district’s website at www.hffmcsd.org, under ‘district’.
